Matters of the Heart (7 page)

Presley was
probably almost ready for bed and he’d go up there and kiss her goodnight. When
she was a little older he’d start a tradition of reading to her. Even though
his mom had been a single parent who worked all day waiting tables and then
cleaning offices three nights a week, she’d never ever been too tired to read
him a story before he switched off the light. Now, he’d like to do the same
with his daughter.

A sudden
sadness swept over him. If only his mom had lived a few more years to see her
grandchild. He’d hazard a guess she’d have spoiled her rotten.
If not with material things, then with her love.
She had a
lot of that to share. The best gift a parent could give to a kid. Geez, if he
didn’t think of something else he was going to tear up and feel down for the
rest of the night.

When he got
to the top of the stairs, he heard Lucy singing to the baby. If he wasn’t
mistaken it was 'The Power of Love' from the movie
Back to the Future
, and it sounded like it was coming from the
bathroom. That definitely put a smile on his face. As he edged closer to the
door he heard Presley giggling and it made him almost want to burst out
laughing.

He leaned
against the doorjamb and took another sip of beer watching as Lucy passed the
washcloth over Presley’s chest as she sat in the bath. She continued to sing as
the baby fisted the water and made gurgling noise as if she was trying to join
in.

Brad should
have made his presence known as poor Lucy might be embarrassed when she
realized that someone was listening to her crooning. But he wanted her to be
unaware he was there. He wanted to observe her with his daughter. Watch those
delicate hands of hers rub soap into the baby’s skin.
 
And yes, he’d admit it, check out her cute
butt as she leaned over the edge of the bath and held Presley safely in the
water.

Brad took
another sip of beer, feeling stirrings in his groan again. How he wished he’d
met this young woman under different circumstances.
Maybe in
a bar where he could ask her out without any complications getting in the way.

 
Of course, they probably would have never met
if it hadn’t been for Presley coming into his life, or him running into Sadie
Sutton outside the supermarket that morning.

Asking out an
employee didn’t seem right but at the same time he was desperate to take Lucy
out on a date. Maybe their night out to the playhouse would have to suffice and
that would get it out of his system.

Lucy turned
to grab a towel, and stopped singing when she noticed him standing there. He
smiled and then she smiled too

“Guess you’ve
realized that I like singing but I’m not that great at it.”

“Didn’t
sound too bad to me.”

“You’re just
being nice.”

“Here, let me
help you with Presley.”

He put the
beer bottle down on the top of the counter and held up the towel as she lifted
Presley out of the tub. He wrapped it around his daughter’s shoulders, brushing
Lucy’s fingers and hands as he did so. They stood looking at one another without
saying a word. He ran his fingers over her knuckles, wondering if she’d
realized that it hadn’t been by accident.

“I should dry
her off before she gets too cold,” said Lucy.

She’d found
it awkward which made him realize that he shouldn’t have done it because it
would put their working relationship in jeopardy.

“You know
there is something you could do.
The mobile for her crib.
Could you put it together so I can turn it on for her? She seems to love
watching things move around.”

“Sure. I’ll
go do that while you finish drying her.”

Brad handed
his daughter back to Lucy. Was that true, or was it her very polite way of
diffusing the uncomfortable situation?

****

Lucy watched
Brad turn and leave the bathroom. When his fingers had touched hers, her blood
had pulsed throughout her body so fast that she’d felt it cascade through her
veins. It had sent her nerve endings into high alert and she wanted him to hold
and kiss her. She sat on the stool next to the bath and patted the water from
Presley’s chest and belly.

“You have
such a handsome daddy and I like him a lot,” she whispered.

She needed to
share her secret with someone and who better than a baby who could never reveal
the truth?

Lucy stood
and placed the baby on the countertop, diapered her and then put on the pink
sleep suit Brad had brought her. She lifted her and made her way to the
nursery.

“Shit, the
diagram makes it look so much easier.”

She smiled
when she heard Brad talking to
himself .
She stepped
inside the room to see the mobile still in lots of pieces of top sitting on top
of the changing table.

“I never was
very good at putting things together. My mom always said I was better using my
brain than my hands,” he said.

“You want me
to see if I can figure it out?”

“And make me
look bad.”

“I wouldn’t
do that.”

She placed
Presley in her crib and walked over to where the parts lay scattered.

“You have
this piece fitted together okay,” she said lifting up the section that hooked
on the crib.

“Probably
because that already came like that.”

They both laughed.

“Okay, let’s
take a look at the box. I always say if all else fails, just copy the pros.”

Lucy placed
the box in front of her and clipped two pieces together and then slotted it
into the main section.

“Not just a
pretty face,” he said.

Had
she heard right?
Did he really think she was pretty or was he
merely reciting the saying?

“Now I think
this piece there should clip in here and then you can hang each of the animals
from these sections,” she continued, not wanting to think about his last
comment any more just in case it had rolled off his tongue without thinking.

“Good thing
we have Lucy,” he said as she handed the now completed mobile to him and he
hung it over his daughter’s crib.

Lucy stood
beside him and looked down as Presley watched it going around for a few minutes
and then her eyes fluttered and slowly closed. A few seconds later she was fast
asleep.

“Maybe I
should put one of these over the bed for when I can’t get to sleep,” said Lucy.

“Do you have
insomnia?”

Only last night thinking
about you.

Lucy shook
her head.

Brad put his
finger to his lips and then they both crept out of the room.

“Thanks for
putting that together,” he said. The nursery’s beginning to look great and like
it’s actually her room. That’s what I was hoping for.”

“When she
gets older I think she’ll love and appreciate you so much.”

They stood
looking at one another again. Lucy knowing she was blushing and not being able
to think of one damn word to break the uncomfortable silence.

“I’m going to
turn in for the night. I have to be up early for a meeting so if you want to
watch the TV, go ahead.”

“Maybe I’ll
play my yoga DVD and do some stretching before I turn in for the night.”

“Sure,
whatever you like. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,
sweet dreams.”

“You
too.”

Lucy watched
as he headed to his room and closed the door. It wasn’t even nine yet and she
hoped he wasn’t hiding himself away because of her.

The tension
in her neck and back was starting to feel like she was made of cement so the
yoga would be great for her. Maybe after that she’d take a bath and hopefully
sleep through the night.

****

Brad turned
the page of his book. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the plot even
though it was written by one of his favorite authors. Instead he’d been
thinking about Lucy again and hence the reason he’d retreated to his room so
swiftly. He’d never been to bed this early. Well, not since he was a kid at
school.

He placed the
open book flat on his chest as he lay on the bed. It would probably be another
insomnia ridden night for him. Maybe he’d go make himself a hot chocolate or
even just warm some milk. He slid off the bed, walked into the hallway and
headed down the stairs. When he got to the bottom step he glanced into the
living room and stopped in his tracks.

Stupid me.
I forgot Lucy had mentioned she wanted to
practice her yoga.

Brad stood
spellbound as he watched Lucy bend over in one of the poses. She wore a short
top that showed her belly, and leggings that outlined every curve in her calves
and thighs.

He swallowed
suddenly,
feeling like every ounce of breath had been
knocked from his lungs. She was the most beautiful girl in the world.

She moved,
quickly morphing into another pose and he felt himself getting hard again. He
couldn’t budge. No other woman had ever had this sort of effect on him that he
felt from head to toe and yes, even in his heart as he felt it pound against
his chest. He held the banister tightly, feeling his cock pulse and his balls
pull almost to the point of pain.

Had he made
indentations in the wood? Either he had or his fingers were broken. Brad felt
the stirrings in his thighs too. Shit, he wanted to have sex, needed to have
sex, and very soon.
 

Upstairs.

I need to get back upstairs and take refuge in
my room.

He turned to
leave but couldn’t.

Lucy moved
again, this time bending over, offering him the most wonderful view of her cute
ample ass. He bit his fist, feeling pain when he sank his teeth into the skin,
hoping that would take the edge off his erection or thoughts about it.

If this kept
up he’d need to see a doctor because surely experiencing this many hard-
ons
without finding relief through sex was bad for a guy?
He kicked the edge of the stair with his toe hoping it would help but all it
did was jar his cock, putting it on higher alert.

Find yourself
a woman.

Yeah, maybe if I find someone to have sex with I
won’t think about Lucy anymore. I’ll go the bar tomorrow night and check out
the prospects.

Brad shook
his head. No, he didn’t want to do that. Now he’d seen Lucy he knew she was the
only one he wanted. He tried to move again, but this time the step he stood on
creaked. Lucy turned around. He’d been caught red-handed ogling her.

“Hi, I was
just heading to the kitchen to make myself a drink.”

Problem is I can’t move.

“I didn’t
wake you did I? I mean the yoga DVD wasn’t too loud?”

“No,
no, absolutely not.
I often come down to get something warm to
drink.”

Good thing you’re not hooked up to a lie
detector machine, sheriff.

She walked
toward him. There was a little perspiration clinging to her neck and chest and
even that looked sexy. The top she wore wasn’t sheer but where she’d sweated it
was almost opaque and her nipples strained against it.

What he
wouldn’t give to touch them, even taste them.

“Are you
okay? You looked far away just then?”

“What, I…

“I’m sorry.
Long day at work.
I’ll just go get myself that drink.”

“And I’m
going to take a long soak in the bath.”

Shit, why did
she have to say that? Now he wouldn’t be able to get the image of her naked and
reclined in the tub, out of his mind.

She stood at
the bottom of the stairs and he wondered what she was waiting for and then he
realized he was blocking the way.
Me and my very large and obvious erection.

Now he’d have
to move if he liked it or not.

“Night,” he
said moving stepping down from the stairs.

“Goodnight.”

She brushed
by him and he caught a whiff of her perfume and he closed his eyes. Lucy
smelled heavenly too. He loved just everything about her.

Brad hurried
into the kitchen, ignoring the pain in his groin and balls. He opened the fridge
door with every intention of pulling out the carton of milk but then decided it
was pointless: not even something hot would help him sleep after what he’d seen
in his living room.

He pulled out
a chair and sat, fingering the placement in front of him. He glanced up when he
heard the water being run in the bath.

A man could
dream, couldn’t he?

She was
naked, stepping over the edge of the bathtub and then lowering herself down
into the bubbles. Maybe she’d perch her ankle over the side, massage soap into
her breasts, down her belly, and then finger her pussy.