Curves and the All-American Male (BBW Western Romance - Coldwater Springs 7) (2 page)

“No thanks.” She shook her head. She was a light drinker at the best of times, and beer was something she wasn’t keen on. Besides, it was probably a good idea that one of them kept a clear head. “But you go ahead.”

“I think I will.” He quirked his eyebrow in invitation, but she remained seated.

She heard him rummaging around in the refrigerator, and if she turned her head just so, she could see him through the doorway, his firm, tight butt poking out of the open fridge. A rush of awareness ran through her, and she tried to tamp it down. Bottles clinked, and then he emerged, holding aloft a slim-necked bottle. She quickly switched her gaze back to the living room décor, hoping he hadn’t noticed her admiring his physique. But it was positively sinful the way his blue jeans molded themselves to his--

“You sure?” He waved the bottle in her direction.

“I’m sure.” She snapped her thoughts back to the situation in hand and commanded her facial muscles to move into a smile.

Ty returned to the sofa with the opened beer bottle, taking a sip once he settled back against the cushions.

Just watching him enjoy his cool refreshment suddenly made her feel thirsty. It had nothing to do with the way his throat worked when he took a swallow of the amber liquid. Nothing at all.

“Um … perhaps I will get a drink.” Lori strode to the kitchen. She had to stop this! Although it had been six months ago, Ron’s betrayal still stung. So did losing her friend Stacey, over a man. Obviously her ex-friend didn’t operate to the same girlfriend code Lori did.

So what if Ty was attractive? He reminded her too much of Ron, for a start, although the two men looked completely different. Now that she thought about it, there had been a hint of weaselyness
in Ron’s features, particularly his nose and eyes. And his jaw wasn’t as strong as Ty’s. In fact, some people might consider it a trifle weak. She didn’t care if weaselyness wasn’t a real word; it ought to be. It perfectly described Ron.

Ty was better looking than her ex, for sure, but she just didn’t trust that air of easy charm, it reminded her of a rock star carrying his guitar.

You’re not in any danger. There’s no way he’d be interested in a curvy girl like you. He just can’t turn off his flirting mechanism. He sees a woman - young, old, fat, thin - and he just does it automatically.

Feeling happier at her rationalization, she looked in the fridge. A pitcher of lemonade was the first thing she saw. Grabbing a tumbler from the cupboard, she poured herself a glass, and carried it back to the living room.

Lori raised the glass to her lips, the sweet tartness of the lemons and sugar making her mouth water. She sipped slowly, trying to make her drink last. Which also meant less talking with Ty.

“Good?” Ty looked at her enquiringly.

“Mm-hm.” She set down the glass. “Very good.”

He took a swallow of his beer. “So is this.”

She racked her brain for something to say next, relief stealing through her when she heard the baby cry.

“I’ll go.” She jumped to her feet and headed toward the bedroom, not even giving him a chance to react.

Lori entered the small bedroom. Jessica swung her legs and arms in the air, crying loudly.

“Shh, it’s okay, little one.” Lori looked down at her in the crib, then with a deep breath, reached in to pick her up. She’d only held the infant once before, and that was when she’d been happy and content, and Sarah had placed Jessica in her arms for a couple of minutes.

She jiggled the baby against her shoulder, hoping that would calm her. It didn’t. Lori furrowed her brow, gazing at Jessica, wishing the infant could talk. “What’s wrong?”

“Let me.” Ty’s voice was close to her ear, his deep, rich voice sending a shiver through her. He took the baby from her and crooned softly. “What’s up, sweetheart?”

For a second the infant cried louder and Lori felt a pang of satisfaction that he wasn’t any better than she was at determining what was wrong. She watched Ty place a hand on the baby’s diaper.

“She needs changing.”

How on earth could he know that? It hadn’t been obvious to her.

“I’ll do it,” she volunteered. Surely he didn’t know how to change a diaper anymore than she did?

“She’s all yours.” He placed the baby back in her arms and gestured to the changing table.

Lori swallowed, then gently lay the baby down on the pink changing pad. She mightn’t have changed a diaper before but she’d watched actors do it in movies. It was just common sense.

She glanced at the diaper pail besides the table, hoping the diaper wouldn’t be too messy.

Taking a deep breath, she unsnapped the edges of the diaper and maneuvered it off Jessica.

Wrinkling her nose at the pooey smell, she tossed it into the pail.

Now what?

Spying the container of baby wipes, she pulled one out, gently wiping the infant’s bottom. Jessica had stopped crying once the diaper had been removed and was now looking at Lori and Ty, her brown-eyed gaze watching both of them.

Ty had stood next to her during the changing operation. This close to him, she could smell his scent of fresh country air and hay, even over the lingering aroma of eau de poo. It was far nicer than the soiled diaper.

She reached for a new diaper, aware of his gaze upon her. Growing flustered when one of the tabs proved difficult to fasten, she stepped back when he moved in to help.

“Like this.” Ty expertly fastened the diaper and was rewarded with a gurgle from the baby.

“How do you know how to do that?” She looked up at him, then was sorry she did. For a moment she felt as if she were drowning in his molten brown gaze.

“My sister has a little boy. I babysat when I stayed with her last year.” He picked up the infant, smiling at the tot. “There. All done, sweetheart.”

Jessica chattered unintelligibly, as if thanking him. What about me? Lori couldn’t help wondering. She was the one who’d actually taken care of the dirty diaper.

Perhaps everyone except her was charmed by Ty.

“Why don’t you hold her?” He placed the baby in her arms. “I think the diaper was all that was bugging her.”

Lori smiled down Jessica, who didn’t seem unhappy to be held by her instead of Ty.

“You can sit down over there with her.” He motioned to a white wooden rocking chair on the other side of the crib.

Lori sank into the chair, careful not to jog the infant. Jessica gurgled once, then fluttered her eyes closed, her delicate dark eyelashes a startling contrast to her pale face, but matching her mop of hair.

“I think she’s gone to sleep,” Lori whispered, finding it hard to keep her gaze off the baby’s face. This is what she wanted one day. To hold her own baby in her arms, and to have a loving husband by her side.

“She’s a cutie, that’s for sure.” Ty looked down at the sleeping baby, seeming to be just as careful to keep his voice low.

For a second, Lori could almost imagine that this was her baby, and her husband. Then she snapped back to reality. Ty, her husband? She couldn’t imagine that happening, no matter how often she felt a tug of attraction to him. Even if that tug was actually a tidal wave.

She slowly rocked for a couple of minutes, aware of Ty’s gaze on her. Lori kept her eyes on the baby, tracing her finger over Jessica’s chubby fist, marveling at how soft her skin was.

Her heartbeat quickened, and she shifted in the rocker, no longer able to ignore the effect of Ty’s perusal.

“I should put her back in the crib.” She struggled to get out of the chair with the infant in her arms. The last thing she wanted to do was jog Jessica and awaken her.

“Let me.” Ty placed his arm under her elbow and helped her stand.

A shiver ran down her spine at his touch.

“Thanks,” she murmured, carefully walking the few steps to the crib. She couldn’t believe how his touch affected her.

Lori placed the infant down, stroking her forehead. “There you go, little one,” she whispered.

Ty cleared his throat. “Maybe we should go back to the living room.”

She nodded, following him back down the hall. 

“Want to watch some TV?” He gestured to the big screen standing in the corner.

“I guess.” She sat down in the armchair and picked up her half-full glass of lemonade, taking a healthy sip. She still had trouble believing that Ty was good with handling babies.

Ty picked up the remote and turned on the TV, lounging back against the sofa. Lori turned her head to view the crime show on the screen.

“You’ll be able to see better from here.” He patted the empty seat next to him.

She hesitated. Her head was turned at an awkward angle in order to see the TV. It would be ridiculous to turn the armchair around just to get a better view of the television, when there was an empty seat next to Ty. And sitting next to him would prove to him that she
wasn’t
attracted to him.

She rose from the chair and walked over to the sofa, sitting down on the edge of the leather seat.

“Better?” Ty grinned at her.

“Mm-hm.” Lori pressed her lips together. She did have a better view of the screen, but now she had to deal with the fact that his thigh was a couple of inches next to hers. His strongly muscled thigh. That’s what it looked like through the faded denim of his jeans, anyway.

Telling herself not to be fanciful, she focused her gaze on the screen. After a couple of minutes, she’d realized she’d watched this episode before, and her thoughts drifted.

This close to Ty, she could smell his tantalizing scent again. His body heat enticed her to inch closer to him. She resisted the temptation.

“Comfy?” He asked, stretching out an arm and resting it on the back of the couch.

“Uh-huh.” Actually, she wasn’t that comfortable, perched as she was on the edge of the sofa. But there was no way she was going to wriggle back against the soft, inviting cushions and relax, when he had his arm stretched out like that.

What would his arm feel like around her shoulders? The weight of it resting against the wool blend of her sweater, the warmth of it making her pulse skitter?

Don’t go there.

She wasn’t going to give herself the chance to find out. Lori sat upright, her back ramrod straight, as the commercials came on. She was determined to sit like that until Sarah and Chase returned home.

During the next hour, Ty got up from the sofa, offered to get her another drink, which she refused, and made himself a cup of coffee. Throughout, she sat tensely, never wavering from her intention of not succumbing to temptation and relaxing against the squashy cushions.
Relaxing next to Ty.

Her eyelids drooped for a second, before she jerked them open. It had been a long day: a normal work day, having a quick dinner and coming over here. And then meeting
him.

And now she couldn’t even settle in on the couch this evening, because she wanted to make sure Ty got the message that she wasn’t attracted to him. At all.

Gradually, she sank back against the comfy cushions. Just a couple of minutes, she told herself. The softness of the pillows
felt blissful against her tense back muscles, and she allowed herself to relax against them.

Her eyelids fluttered closed again before she opened them with an effort, forcing her gaze back to the TV screen.

Now she was settled on the couch, she was even more aware of Ty than ever. His shoulder was practically touching hers, the cotton fabric of his shirt brushing the sleeve of her sweater. This wouldn’t do
at all.

The sound of the front door opening galvanized her into action. She jumped up, instantly awake, trying to ignore the wryly amused expression on Ty’s face.

“Sarah’s home,” she said unnecessarily, relief sweeping through her.

“Hi.” Sarah entered the room, Chase right behind her. “How was Jessica?”

“Good.” Ty rose from the sofa, standing next to Lori. “We changed her diaper but other than that we haven’t heard a peep.”

“You both did?” Sarah looked surprised.

“Yep.” Ty smiled at the couple. “No problem.”

“Lori?” Sarah turned to look at her.

“What Ty said,” she murmured. Right now she didn’t want to explain that Ty was better at changing a diaper than she was.

“So … did you two have a good night?” Sarah looked at Lori and then at Ty.

“We just watched some TV.” Ty flashed a grin at Chase. “Thanks for the beer.”

“No worries. Thanks for baby sitting,” Chase said.

“Did you and Chase have a nice time?” Lori felt duty bound to ask, although the only thing she wanted to do was jump in her car and drive home. Away from Ty. And her annoying attraction to him.

“Yes.” Sarah gave her friend a dreamy smile. “The food was the best. I had duck a l’Orange and chocolate mousse. Chase booked us a corner table so we had some privacy.” She looked at her husband adoringly, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her to him. Whatever misgivings she’d had about Ty babysitting as well seemed to have been worked out during dinner.

The Petite Duck was the fanciest restaurant in Coldwater Springs and a new addition to the local dining scene. Apart from the diner, and Lori's new friend Kate’s bakery, it was really the only other place to go. And if you wanted a romantic date night, the
only
place to visit.

Perhaps, one day, a gorgeous guy would take
her
there for dinner. And he didn’t have to be gorgeous on the outside, either. A kind, thoughtful and considerate man would certainly brighten up her non-existent love life. She cast a sideways glance at Ty, talking easily with Chase. Too bad it seemed he was only gorgeous on the outside.

Telling herself she wasn’t in the market for a new boyfriend now, anyway, she made herself break into the conversation.

“I should be going, Sarah.” She grabbed her purse, purposely not looking at Ty.

“Want to stay for a cup of coffee …” Sarah’s voice trailed off as she read the expression on Lori’s face. “I’ll walk you to the door,” she hastily added.

“Bye, Chase.” Lori forced herself to say the next name. “Ty.”

“See you around.” Ty smiled at her, looking as if he was prepared to stay there and talk to Chase all night long.