BREAKING NEWS: Olivia Russo, current frontrunner in the race for Governor of Florida, was terrorized after a campaign speech in Miami. Photos of Russo after her vehicle was vandalized show a shaken and pale Russo hiding in a hotel lobby as her security team dealt with the situation. An investigation is underway and . . .

Joey hadn’t been lying when he said he’d been absolutely exhausted. The last forty-eight hours had been hectic with a new job checking the integrity of the cybersecurity of a large financial institution. It had taken him all of three minutes to break through their firewall, wiping the cocky smiles off the faces of the arrogant sonsofbitches who’d installed it. He’d been hired to test it, but then the president of the bank immediately hired him, at double his usual rate, to repair the faulty gaps in the system and consult the other firm.

He’d been ready to start on the second phase of the install when Annie, his sister and employee of ICS, had texted him the link to the breaking news of what was happening in Miami with Olivia. Immediately he’d called Olivia and when she hadn’t answered her phone, he’d quickly given the firm detailed instructions of what needed to be done. He’d talked them through most of it during his seven-hour drive back down.

Normally, he’d have called one of his guys at ICS to check in on things, but he couldn’t help feeling protective of, if not responsible for, Olivia. Even if they hadn’t had a conversation about it, even if she didn’t realize it, and even if it was too soon, she was his and he was the only one who would be protecting her. So he’d had his employees monitor her house until he was able to get to her.

Maybe it was the way she’d melted in his arms. It was probably arrogant of him to think he was the only man to make her feel this way, but she didn’t seem like the kind of woman who let her guard down and let a man touch her in an elevator or go racing in a go-cart. Hell, there was not one single photo of her with a man since Neil had passed away, and even in the few photos he’d found of her and Neil they looked more like friends than lovers. Everything with her was proper and calculated. Neil at her left, her manicured hands on her lap or by her side. No cute hand-holding or stolen glances. At least not in any of the photos he’d found. For God sake, she didn’t even let her hair down—literally.

Again, it was arrogant for him to make that call from just a few photos, but there was something—somewhere inside he felt as if it had been as different for her as it had been for him.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but fuck, he really wanted it to be different for her too. Which is why he was now camping out on her uncomfortable sofa instead of at home in his soft bed.

With Olivia, he had to proceed with caution, he’d seen that from the first day. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to want him. She needed help, but she didn’t want to need help. So he decided he wasn’t going to give her many opportunities to think or to second guess anything. As soon as she had gone to bed, he jumped up from the couch and did a quick search and lock up of the downstairs of her house. Once he felt that it was as secure as it could be, he took out his Sig, the metal of his weapon digging against his ribs, and slid it under a cushion. Then he put his feet back up and closed his eyes, knowing he’d be up in a few hours—like always.

Tom had better be there bright and early, because Joey had a lot to say to him. What had gone down today in her car? He should have never let that shit happen.

And her face on the photos he’d seen from his phone, ashen and alarmed—he didn’t want to see that look on her again.

These were the thoughts swarming his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Like clockwork, Joey woke up at a quarter to six. Even if he wanted to sleep in, his eyes popped open at the same time every morning. It was a big fucking parting gift from the United States military.

As he yawned and stretched his arms, he opened his eyes and immediately yelled like a fucking little girl. “Jesus Fucking Christ!”

And speaking of little girls . . .

A small girl with dark brown hair tousled all over the place, with cute freckles splayed around her nose and cheeks and the same plump lips as her mother, sat with her legs crisscrossed right in front of him, eating Cheerios straight from the box, just staring at him.

How long had she been staring?

He normally stirred with even the slightest noise, but this little girl could’ve been there for hours and he hadn’t noticed.

“You said a bad wod.”

Clutching his heart, which felt like it was about to beat right out of his chest, he dropped his legs to the floor.

“Sorry ’bout that. You scared me.”

She just kept staring. Quite frankly, it was scary.

She just continued to look at Joey as if trying to figure him out. “Who are you?”

He sat up now that his heart rate was under control and extended his hand to her. “You must be Sophie. I’m Joey. I’m a friend of your mom’s.”

She didn’t shake his hand back and he wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t like him or maybe she was scared of him. He was, after all, a stranger. “You like lizards?”

He tilted his head. “Lizards? Uh . . . yeah. I guess.”

She clapped excitedly before hopping off the coffee table. “Yay! Me too.” Then as if she’d known him her whole life she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “You like Cheerios?”

He shrugged. It had been a long time since he’d eaten Cheerios. “Yeah, sure.”

She reached into the box and took a handful and handed it to him, which made him laugh. “How about we get some bowls?”

“Mum likes bowls too.”

He opened drawers until he found what he was looking for and then put the handful of cereal into one and then poured some more into the other.

She sat across from him, swinging her legs back and forth. “Cheerios is your favorite cereal?” she asked.

“I’m more of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch kind of guy.”

“What’s cimonon? What is the cartoon on the box?”

Slowly, he repeated the word. “C-i-n-n-a-m-o-n. It’s a spice, I can’t really describe it. But it’s good. I can’t remember if it has a cartoon. How about I bring you a box next time I see you.”

“Good idea. I want to taste cimonon.”

He was about to correct her when he Olivia walked in.

“Good morning. I can’t believe I didn’t hear her wake up.” She kneeled in front of her daughter and kissed her forehead.

“He said a bad wod, Mommy,” Sophie said, pointing at Joey.

“You little snitch,” he teased her, then looked back up at Olivia. “I was sleeping. Woke up, and she was staring at me, The Ring style.” When she looked at him questioningly he continued. “You know. The horror movie about the little demonic girl that crawls out of the television in pajamas with her long hair down. That was your daughter.”

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you just call my daughter a demon?”

“She almost gave me a heart attack,” he said incredulously.

“Mum, he said he was going to buy me cimonom cereal.”

“Cinnamon,” Joey corrected.

“Oh, the one with all the sugar. I’m looking forward to that.” She smiled. “So, I guess you met my daughter.”

“Sure did. She loves lizards and Cheerios.”

Olivia laughed. “Yes, she does. Not sure why, but she does. She asks everyone about it.”

“Okay.” Sort of random, he thought. Kind of like when she’d asked him about vegetables when they’d met.

“I’m making coffee. Help yourself. I’m going to go up to change.”

“Where’s Tom,” he asked.

“Should be here soon,” she answered.

He groaned loudly.

“I know. I know. He’s terrible. I have to have a talk with him,” she said, taking a step toward the stairs. His eyes roamed her bare legs.

He took a step so he was right by her ear and whispered, “Yes, he’s terrible. But also, I’m not thrilled about another man seeing your bare legs or ass.”

She scowled, then playfully shoved his shoulder and ran up the stairs. One thing he did notice was that she didn’t pull down the bottom of her shirt. Which, for some reason, gave him hope that she was starting to feel the pull between them.

Joey went to the bathroom to freshen up before walking back to the kitchen where Sophie was still eating. He sat back down to finish his cereal.

He smiled at her because she was adorable now that she wasn’t scaring the shit out of him. He began to eat as he watched her watching him. “You need milk. Milk gives you muscles,” she said, flexing her tiny bicep.

“You saying I need more muscles, freckles?”

She squished her face together. “Daddy Pig has big huge muscles!” She opened her arms wide as she said it. Then she walked to the refrigerator and hefted the gallon of milk out. Joey grabbed it before she dropped it all to the floor. He wasn’t sure how much she weighed, but the gallon looked bigger than she did.

“Well, I certainly want to look as big as Daddy Pig, whoever that is.” He poured some milk into the bowl and they ate breakfast together as she regaled him with stories about a pig and its family.

He saw her having a hard time finishing the little bit of milk in the bowl.

“Look,” he gestured and brought up the bowl to his mouth and slurped it down like a drink.

“Uh oh! My mum don’t like dat.”

He wiped his chin.

“Yeah, we’re not savages here.” He heard Olivia behind him, and then her arm went past him and she took the bowl from his hand.

“Says the woman who inhaled a chocolate sundae the other night.”

She scowled at him.

“Go brush your teeth and get dressed, Soph.” Olivia took the plates from the table to wash them. “I need to teach her manners. At least I need to pretend to, right?”

He laughed.

“Did she call you mum or did I misunderstand?”

Olivia smiled and then chuckled. “She only watches two television shows. One is a home repair reality show called Flip or Flop. Don’t ask me why a little girl would watch that, but she loves it. The other show is Peppa Pig, which is a cartoon about a family of British pigs. Sometimes she calls me mum.”

“It’s cute.”

“It’s weird.”

“A little. But in an endearing sort of way,” he said, as she cut a banana into a bowl of cereal, looking so domestic in her kitchen. For some reason he found that mesmerizing. How one moment she could be the intimidating politician and the next she was cutting little pieces of fruit for her daughter. Two very different sides of a woman who fascinated him.

“What’s the plan today?”

“Tom should be here shortly. Normally we take Sophie to school then I go to the office.” When he didn’t move she eyed him. “You don’t have to wait for him, you know.”

“Yes I do. I don’t mind.” He moved his head from side to side and rubbed the back.

“You slept terribly. That couch is uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine. It’s fine.”

She walked over to him. She had on a form-fitting skirt that went past her knees and a white button-down shirt that was still untucked and she was barefoot. He couldn’t help it, he pulled her to him and caught her before she tumbled, forcing her onto his lap. “I like seeing you in the morning. Fresh-faced and a little frazzled.”

“Joey.”

“I like you.” He just said it. No need to beat around the bush. “I know you have a million excuses and reasons, but I just wanted to tell you that.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

That was it. That’s what he wanted to hear. That she had noticed. That she had missed him the last couple of days he’d been away. It made him feel an odd sense of relief because if there was one thing that sucked it was feeling something for someone and it not being reciprocated.

“I was busy with work. You have my number. You could’ve called me, you know.” His palm rubbing up and down her thighs.

She let out a breath. “I know. But I wasn’t sure.”

“You weren’t sure? About me? About how I felt? How to use a phone?”

She playfully shoved his shoulder but he gripped the back of her neck and pulled her to his lips and kissed her softly. “I want you. I want to see where this goes. The only one who is unsure and pulling away is you. So whenever you get the urge to call me or kiss me or whatever . . . do it. Don’t think about it so much.”

The sound of the door opening and closing caused Olivia to jump from his lap and straighten her skirt. “’Morning, Ms. Russo.”

“Good morning, Tom.” Tom eyed Joey questioningly, but Joey didn’t care. Yes, he looked comfortable in Olivia’s house and he wanted her to feel comfortable with him being in her house. “You got a minute to talk about the security plans, Tom?”

“Yes.” Tom said, his brows furrowing, probably wondering why Joey was there and why he was asking about the security.

“It’s okay. I’m not ready yet,” Olivia said to Tom. “Sophie, how are we doing?”

“I’m ready!” her daughter yelled, but Olivia rolled her eyes and mumbled, “doubt that. I’ll be back.” She moved upstairs as Joey questioned Tom about everything from their daily routine to the security of the car to the alarm system. . He wasn’t Tom’s boss, but Olivia was very important to him and he wanted Tom to understand that he’d be checking and rechecking his work henceforth.

By the time Olivia was ready to leave—looking flawlessly beautiful in her professional but sexy outfit with high as fuck non-sensible high heels—Joey had come to one conclusion: Tom sucked and the only security that would do was himself.

* * *

“I want more security on you,” Mark said, that afternoon at her office.

“More? Why? Do you know something? What was the outcome of the car thing yesterday?”

“Tom and their team are looking into it,” Mark said. ICS was also looking into it, Joey had told her, as well as the police. For some reason her gut told her that Joey would have answers before anyone else.

“Have you heard about Iron-Clad Security?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Well, I met this man, Joey Clad. He’s one of the owners and I think we should have him check things out.”

“You met a man? When?”

She put her pen down and sat back. “The other day when I went to fix my laptop.”

“Okay,” Mark said, eyeing her suspiciously. Mark was protective of her. He’d been very good friends with Neil.

“It’s not what you think.” Well, it was. But she wasn’t ready to tell him that just yet.

“So, he wasn’t the man in the elevator?”

She let out a breath. She’d been caught. “Okay, fine. Yes. Maybe it’s more than just

friends but I don’t want to make a big deal about it. I just met him and I like him,” she admitted. And damn, it felt good to say that out loud. As if saying it made it real.

“So what, you’re dating?”

“It’s . . . complicated.”

“Livie, you don’t have the luxury of complicated. We’ve based your entire campaign on your family values. You are the single mother, the poor widow, the—”

“I don’t want to be the poor widow, Mark. I want to win on merit.”

“And you will. You have a strong platform. People love you. But, scandal, this late in the race? Having a man we know nothing about around Sophie? The media would have a field day.”

“I don’t want a scandal. I’m not even telling you this because we’re dating. I’m saying this because I don’t think Tom is exactly doing a stellar job.”

“You fought me tooth and nail over having a bodyguard and now you want this new company? Or a second security guard? What’s really going on, Livie?”

“I didn’t think we needed it, but I have to think of Sophie and the thing in the car . . . well, that seemed personal.”

He let out a breath and sat down letting his shoulders sag. “Yes, I agree that it did seem personal. That’s why I want more security on you. I’ll look into this guy and his company. I want you and Sophie safe. I made Neil a promise, Livie. If you think Tom’s not working out we’ll find you someone else, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks Mark. Now, tell me about the events coming up. And what’s the latest polls?”

Later that that same morning, Mark walked into her office as she checked her schedule. “I’m having ICS go by the house this afternoon and check things out. I haven’t let go of Tom yet, though. I have to admit ICS is very highly recommended once I started checking around.”

“Great.”

“After your two o’clock meeting, Tom’ll take you back home and ICS will be there shortly thereafter, then you have a Skype interview tonight for the evening news. You should be all set up, so you can do that from home. The questions are in your inbox. I’ve sent you a dozen email responses. If they’re good, send them.”

“Who answered them?” She didn’t like that other people were answering her emails, but the truth was, she was receiving hundreds of correspondences and she just didn’t have the time to check every single one herself. She did, however, want to review everything that was sent with her name on it.

“One of the interns.”

She groaned because she would have to review them carefully, which meant she’d have to work late into the evening . . . again.

Olivia ate her lunch at her desk and was nonstop all day. As soon as the meeting was over at three, Olivia had Tom take her home, where Winnie was already waiting with Sophie like every afternoon.

“Soph, change out of your school uniform,” Oliva instructed when she saw Sophie in the backyard with a net, running after a butterfly. A few minutes later, a black Suburban pulled up to her driveway.

All she’d had time for was to untuck her shirt from her skirt, unbutton the top button of her blouse, and slip out of her heels.

“Hello,” she said, breathlessly, as she opened the door. “Come on in.”

“Olivia,” Joey said as a hello. “This is Ben and Rollins. They work with me at ICS. We’re just going to walk around and check things out. Where’s Tom?”

She looked over her shoulder. Where was Tom?

“I’m sure he’s around. Maybe in the backyard smoking.”

Joey rolled his eyes as he stepped inside.

“Make yourself at home. I have a few things to do.”

Ben and Rollins walked off to the kitchen, but Joey lingered, his eyes roaming her body. He wasn’t even trying to hide it, and she suddenly felt naked and flushed. “Hi,” he said, in that deep sexy voice.

“Hi.”

“I think I need a kiss.”

“Yes. I think you do.” She took a step closer to him. “My daughter’s here somewhere.”

“’Kay.” He took the remaining step and then one hand was wrapped flush against her waist and she was firmly pressed against him, her palm on his chest. He smelled good. Manly, like he’d been out in the sun. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her. The way he held her promised more than a chaste kiss, but that’s all he gave her and it left her wanting more, her knees wobbling in its wake.

“Dinner later?” he asked.

But it took her too long to reply because he’d turned her normally sane and rational mind into jelly. “Uh . . . no. Soph—”

“I know. You have a daughter, Livie. We’ve been through this already. I’m not scared of her. We’ve met. We bonded over Cheerios this morning, remember?”

“Joey, I just—”

“I’m not going to maul you while she’s around. It’s just dinner, darlin’.”

“I don’t think—”

He kissed the top of her head sweetly, and then stepped away. “That’s your problem right there. You think too much. Stop thinking.”

He winked and then stepped away, leaving her discombobulated.

* * *

Joey couldn’t be around Olivia one more moment without being able to touch her. He liked her too much. From the moment he’d met her he’d been attracted to her. And then every time after that his hands twitched to kiss her, hold her, touch her. And those goddamn skirts she wore that clung to every bit of curve, accentuating her small frame and toned legs that went on for miles, were making him insane. Even with the skirt going past her knees, her legs still looked miles long.

Deciding it was a good time as any to get the lay of the land, unable to be this close to her and not touch her the way he wanted to, he went outside to walk the exterior of the house, checking for safety concerns since he hadn’t had sufficient time to do so this morning.

It was a smallish home, not at all what he had expected. Not when she was the future governor, not when she drove a Lexus, not when she looked the way she looked, and not when he knew she had a shit ton of money thanks to her late husband’s very generous life insurance policy and her hefty portfolio. But even though the house wasn’t very big, the land it sat on was. At least two acres with a lot of trees surrounding it.

Stepping over a broken log, he stopped when he heard leaves rustling behind him. He had his hand on his Sig before he turned around.

“Hi.” Sophie stood a few feet behind him with a cute wonky smile, a big floppy hat, a little net, and a clear box.

Immediately he let go of his weapon, which he’d luckily not unholstered. He did note, however, that this was the second time in less than twenty-four hours he’d come close to pointing a gun at the girl. She was a sneaky little thing. If he was going to be spending time with Olivia and Sophie, he needed to take extra precautions with his weapon, especially since the little girl had a tendency to sneak up on him, ask a lot of questions, and touch everything.

“Hey, freckles,” he said, kneeling down to get eye level with her.

“I’m Cwocodile Hunter,” she said, with that little lisp and the r’s sounding like w’s.

He chuckled. “Is that what the net is for?”

“No silly. It’s to catch lizards. Lizards are baby cwocodiles. Did you know that?” It was said very matter-of-factly.

He chuckled again. “I actually did not know that. Shouldn’t you be a princess or a fairy or something?” Wasn’t that what little girls played? She was wearing overalls and big rain boots with ladybugs on them.

“My mommy says girls can do whatever they want and I want to play with lizards.” She had a hand on her waist and her hip out. She said it with the same sass her mother had.

“You certainly can.” The girl was as fearless as her mother. “And are you supposed to be out this far from your house?”

She bit her fingernails, which were full of dirt, making him cringe but also smile. He noted that the Russo girls fidgeted, bit their nails, were feisty, and had a lot of energy.

“Tell you what, I won’t tell your mom you wondered off this far if you promise you won’t ever do it again.”

“Okay I pwomise, but only if we find lizards first.”

“Are you negotiating with me?”

She looked at him with confusion and it made him chuckle.

“Sophie!” Olivia called from afar. “Sophie!”

Her eyes widened big, so he winked at her and said, “Hurry.” He walked ahead of her. On his way he stopped and caught a lizard with his palm. “Open the box.”

“Eww!” she shrieked, but then did as he said. He dropped the lizard inside which made her giggle and forget she was two minutes away from getting in trouble with her mom.

“Sophie Alexandra, you better not be by the Bougainvillea trees.”

She looked up at him through the wide brim of her hat and he had to stifle a laugh. “We’re here, catching lizards!” he hollered.

Sophie looked up at him in utter shock, like he’d just blown their cover. A moment later Olivia appeared through the bushes. “Sophie! What have I told you about running off by yourself?”

Her lips started to wobble and he quickly stepped in. “It was me. I saw all those lizards and lost track of where we were.” He winked at Olivia, and she narrowed her eyes. “It was all my fault, isn’t that right, Sophie?”

He was sure she was going to agree so she could get off the hook with her mother but her bottom lips started to tremble and a second later she burst out in full blown sobs and tears. “I ran off. I’m sorry, mommy.”

“Inside. Go wash up for dinner.” Sophie jogged quickly into the house.

“That was sweet of you, trying to protect her. But we don’t lie to each other.”

“Okay. I’m sorry, I was just trying to be nice.”

She looked down at the clear box. “You caught her a lizard. You’re her new favorite person.”

“How do you know it wasn’t her who caught it?”

“We Russo girls, we like to play in the dirt, but we don’t necessarily like to get dirty. Now let that thing go.” She pointed to the lizard and shivered. He laughed as he turned the box over, allowing the lizard to escape.

“Ms. Russo, I’m headed out, unless you need something else,” Tom said.

“Thank you, Tom. Have a good evening. See you tomorrow.”

Tom walked off and Joey looked at his watch. It wasn’t even four o’clock. He wanted to tell her to fire him immediately, but he needed to sort a few things out at ICS before he could take on this job. Jax was about to leave on tour with Megan and he needed to man ICS while Jax was gone, but he also wanted to be the one to guard Olivia.

“Stop it,” she said, walking into the kitchen.

“Stop what?”

She looked into the freezer and took out a lasagna. “Oh, don’t act coy. You know exactly what. He’s only supposed to be here until Sophie and I are safe at home. He’s not doing anything wrong by leaving.” She looked over her shoulder and glared. “Dinner will be ready in—” She looked at the instructions on the cardboard box. “—in an hour.”

He stepped off the wall he’d been leaning against and pressed his front to her back and looked over her shoulder to the frozen Italian food. “I thought you’d be cooking me a nice dinner.”

“I am. This is the best frozen lasagna money can buy.”

He shook his head and went to the fridge to take stock.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She had her hand on her waist exactly the same way her daughter had a minute ago.

“I’m going to cook you dinner.” He looked at the box. “That’s not suitable for human consumption.”

“Of course it is.”

“Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes,” he said, taking out cheese and milk and all the other ingredients he could find for mac and cheese. She had Gruyère, which would kick it up a notch. “Why don’t you go change, grab a glass of wine, and relax. You said Sophie liked mac and cheese, right?”

“Yes.” She eyed him as he smiled and went to work. “What are you doing, Joey?”

“I told you, making dinner.”

“We’re complicated, Sophie and I. You can have your pick of hundreds of women without kids, without a demanding career, without a crazed stalker or whatever the hell is happening. Why are you trying to so hard to insert yourself into our lives? You keep saying not to think but how can I not think? This is all . . .” She threw her hands up in the air. “Too much.”

He flipped the dishtowel he’d been using to dry his hands over his shoulder and walked to her. “I didn’t take you as insecure.”

She opened her mouth with a gasp and indignation. “I am not insecure.”

“Then stop questioning us. Stop fighting it. You’re ending something that hasn’t even started. I like you, Livie. Does there have to be more of a reason than that? I also like Sophie. She’s precocious and cute, and unlike any other kid I’ve ever met. I’d like to get to know her a little better too. I get that you’re a package deal, you don’t have to keep reminding me as if I’m going to be scared off.”

She let out a breath, her bangs flying up with the movement and her shoulders slacking a little. “She’s a handful, but she can also be the sweetest little person you’ll ever meet.”

“So let me in so I can see all of that about her. I’m patient and have a lot of energy, Livie. Neither of you scare me off, okay?”

“Okay.” She finally relented.

“Then just go with it. I get that you’re worried about Sophie, just tell her we’re friends. It’s not a lie.”

She seemed to mull it over before finally nodding and then saying, “I’m going to go change.”

And it felt like a small victory.

“Wait!” she said, turning around and quickly jogging up to him and kissing his cheek. “I like you too, Joey.”

Then she left the kitchen and he tried to concentrate on what he was cooking on and not the unexpected kiss from Olivia.

A little while later, Sophie walked down the stairs with her mom in tow. She was wearing her pajamas which had frogs all over them. She also had a big frown.

“Why the sad face, freckles?”

“My mommy got mad at me for catching lizards.”

“Soph, honey, I didn’t get mad at you for catching lizards. I got mad at you for wondering off.” She poured a glass of milk and placed on the spot at the table where Sophie sat.

“You know, some lizards get awfully big all the way back there. Your mom is right, you don’t want to get snatched up by a big giant lizard.”

The little girl’s eyes went wide, then she burst out in giggles. “You so silly. There’s no big lizards. But cwocodiles can be big. I don’t want to get bited by a cwocodile.”

“Bitten,” Olivia corrected her.

“So, let’s make a pact. If you absolutely must go hunting for lizards or crocs, you’ll ask your mother and she’ll take you.”

“Mum hates wepitailes.”

“Wepitailes?” Joey asked.

“She means reptiles.” Olivia explained, as Joey portioned the food. He’d found some tomatoes and had sliced them and drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar on them.

“Yeah, I’m not going out there either,” Olivia said, again shuddering. “Sorry, sweets, you know I love you, but I’m not touching any lizards.”

“Okay, then you call me and I’ll go with you,” Joey said. “But only if you promise not to go alone, deal?”

“But what if you’re not here when I need to go?”

He chuckled. “How about this, I’ll write my phone number on a piece of paper and you can hold on to it. If ever you have a lizard-hunting emergency and I’m not around, you call me and I promise to be right over.”

“You pwomise?”

His heart melted at the way her long lashes and big eyes were staring at him with so much hope. “I promise, freckle. And I never, ever, go back on my promises, okay?”

“Yay!” she said with a little giggle. She looked down at her plate and shoved the tomatoes aside and dug into the mac and cheese.

“You have to eat those veggies, Soph,” her mother said.

Sophie pointed to Joey’s plate and he immediately knew what was coming. “How come Joey doesn’t have to eat vegetables?”

He groaned and stabbed at a couple of slices and put them on his own plate and plastered on a fake smile. “Of course I do.” He took a bite. “Mmmm.”

Olivia looked at him and then burst out laughing. That’s how the rest of the meal went. Sophie telling him all she knew about “wepitailes,” which was surprisingly a lot, while they all ate the “fancy” mac and cheese.

It was after the dishes were all washed and Sophie sat watching television that Olivia finally looked a little relaxed.

“When can you get a babysitter again? I want to take you out.”

“This week is busy but I think I can get away Friday evening. I’ll talk to Winnie.”

Five days until he saw her again? That wouldn’t do.

He leaned in and kissed her lips just like he had earlier. “I like you amenable like this.”

“It’s the wine,” she shrugged, cheekily.

He kissed her again. “It’s not the wine, darlin’.”

And that was how they ended their evening. Full bellies and content hearts.

Before he left he kissed both females in the cheek, making both of them giggle adorably, and then he went home with a big smile on his own face too.