Crouching low, Max trailed Olivia as the little girl waddled around the backyard, kicking out her little feet with every step. Once in a while, something would catch her attention and make her abruptly change course, leaning this way and that way before regaining some balance.

It was his day off, and both Addison and Gage had gone into town, Addison to her office and Gage to run some errands. So he had a whole day to spend with his daughter, and he was going to make the most of it.

“Where are you going?” he asked, as Olivia tottered along. “Do you want to go see the horses?”

“’orses,” Olivia repeated, struggling to fully pronounce the word.

“That’s right, horses,” Max said. “Or maybe we should find your ball? Yes? No?”

Olivia seemed to consider that for a moment, and Max couldn’t help but chuckle at the very serious expression on the little girl’s face.

“It is an important decision,” Max said. “So what’s it going to be?”

“Yes,” Olivia said, even though she was already plopping down on the ground to study a small flower peeking out from the grass.

Behind him, he could hear the door of the main house open and fall shut, and someone’s light steps slowly approach. Max knew who it was from the scent – warm, sweet, with a hint of something floral. There was no perfume to interrupt with it now, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking in a deep breath.

Angling himself around, he sat down next to Olivia and looked up at Riley, the sun warm on his back. Clad in a knee-length, long-sleeved dress that perfectly hugged her curves, Riley looked a little overdressed, both for the ranch and the weather.

“Hey, there,” she said, looking rested and absolutely delicious.

“Hey,” Max replied. “Say hi, Livvie,” he prompted his little girl.

Barely looking up, Olivia babbled something that vaguely resembled a hello, before going back to the very important task of studying her flower. Riley laughed.

“Hello, Olivia,” she said.

“Sorry, I guess you’re not that interesting,” Max teased.

Riley made a shocked face, but her smile didn’t leave her face. Stepping closer, she sat down close to him, folding her knees beneath her. Her wild hair had been tamed, braided down her back and pinned down at the sides.

“She’s not wrong there,” Riley admitted.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Max argued. “I’m pretty interested.”

The words came out on their own, before he could really think about how it sounded, or how it might be interpreted. But Riley’s smile made him forget all about his doubts. All he wanted was to know more about her.

His bear was on edge, almost as if pushing him closer to Riley. Max had to swallow back a growl as his eyes slid over Riley’s body, the swell of her hips and breasts. Even sitting on the grass, her posture was perfect, and he found her cool and collected vibe sexy as hell.

“Addison must have mention I’m a lawyer, too,” Riley said.

“Yeah, but that’s about all she said,” he replied. “She also called you beautiful. But since I have eyes, that’s not exactly information I couldn’t have gathered on my own.”

“Why, Max,” she said with some exaggeration. “I do believe that is a compliment.”

“You got me,” he couldn’t help but grin.

The sparks between them were hard to ignore, and without even realizing it, Max had ventured into flirting territory. It felt too natural for him to stop. And seeing the glint in Riley’s eye, he didn’t want to.

As they continued to talk, Olivia turned her attention to them, crawling closer to Max as she looked up at Riley with large, curious eyes.

“I think I just got more interesting,” Riley remarked. “I’m Riley, nice to meet you,” she added, smiling at the baby girl.

Max watched as Olivia still looked slightly apprehensive. Glancing from him to Riley, his daughter seemed to be making up her mind about something. Finally, she got back on her feet to take a couple of wobbly steps toward Riley.

Riley caught Olivia when she started to teeter dangerously, and gently sat the baby down on her lap.

“Hey, cutie,” Riley cooed.

That went over well with Olivia, as she suddenly started giggling, craning her neck to get a better look at Riley.

“Seems you’re not half bad at compliments, either,” Max remarked.

“It’s not hard when you’re just being honest,” she replied. “Right, Olivia?” she added, lightly tickling the little girl.

Bursting out in another fit of giggles, Olivia wriggled around in her lap. Max was surprised Olivia had warmed up to Riley so quickly. It had taken a couple of days until she had stopped looking at Addison with reticence.

“So, how’s your vacation going so far?” Max asked. “Missing Chicago yet?”

“Oh, god,” Riley nearly moaned, making his body instantly perk up with attention. “Not at all. I don’t think I’ve slept this well in ages. Being away from work helps, of course, but it’s just so… quiet here. No distractions. I feel like I can really hear my thoughts again.”

“It’s a good place for that,” Max agreed.

“Is that why you came back?” Riley asked.

“It kind of is, actually,” he replied. “I can’t think of a better place to raise a family. I have a support system here I didn’t have back in Carson City. And it’s a fresh start for me and Olivia.”

For a moment, Riley looked like she wanted to ask him something, maybe about why he had had to do it all on his own back in Carson City, but she thought better of it, opting to focus her attention on Olivia instead.

“Well, you have the cutest daughter, and I’m sure your fresh start is going to go great,” she said.

Squirming, Olivia wriggled out of her lap, probably bored with staying in one place for more than a minute. Those little legs of hers were actually faster than one would think, so when she started scurrying off, Max got to his feet, reaching out a hand for Riley.

She grabbed it, and he pulled her up, feeling her soft skin against his. A jolt of electricity rushed through him, and from the look on Riley’s face, she had to have felt the same thing.

“I have to go catch that little troublemaker,” Max finally said, backing away from her.

“Do you like horror movies?” Riley blurted out, before he could get too far.

Seeing the confused look on his face, she flushed for a moment.

“We’re having a movie night with Addison, if you’d like to join us,” she added.

“Sure,” he called out, before rushing off to catch up with Olivia.

He was actually glad to turn away from Riley. If he didn’t, she would have seen the embarrassing, goofy grin taking over his face.