Maybe it was crazy to want Rain and Izzy to move in with me.

It had only been eight months since Jennifer tore my heart out of my chest, shredded it into tiny pieces, and then stomped all over it. To discover it was still here with me, beating, doing somersaults over another woman, surprised the hell out of me. I hadn’t believed it possible I could ever fall in love again or allow anyone to get this close to me, but Rain was all I could think about. It didn’t matter how fast it had happened.

She was intoxicating, and I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything or anyone. No woman had ever had this kind of an effect on me, not even my ex-fiancée. To be able to have her, to make love to her, was indescribable. I was no novice in the bedroom; I’d had my share of girlfriends and even girls I’d hook up with for a good time.

But with Rain, a touch of her hand, a flick of her tongue, and I would happily have signed over the title to my truck as well as my bike. She should teach classes, write books, you name it—she knew what to do to make me nearly lose my mind, and she did it well. I could understand why Preston didn’t want to let her go. The difference, as far as I was concerned, was that I also saw the person Rain was. I saw what was hidden behind those baby blue eyes. I saw the woman.

But while I saw who she really was, everyone else just saw great tits and legs that went on for miles. I’d seen how guys looked at her and talked to her, especially at Blondie’s. While it had bothered me in the past, now that we were together, it was making me a little nuts. I was never one for jealousy before, but now, every time I caught some guy look like he was trying to picture Rain naked, I wanted to rip his face off. Making it more difficult was that Rain left little to the imagination, especially when she was tending bar. Even when it was too cold for shorts and tank tops, she was more exposed than covered. I didn’t know if she realized it. I think she’d been dressing that way for so long it was just who she was. I didn’t want to start trying to change her, but either I was going to have to spend every night she worked sitting on a bar stool for eight hours, or I would just have to suck it up and trust that she could handle herself.

In spite of this newfound insecurity, things between us were great. It had been four weeks, and I couldn’t have been happier. For as much as was falling in love with Rain, I was also falling in love with Izzy. I hadn’t thought I was ready to be a father, but it sure as hell seemed that way. That little girl had me wrapped around her finger, maybe even more so than her mother. I was at their mercy.

I came home from work on the Friday before Halloween to find Rain and Izzy in my living room. Izzy was wearing black tights, black shorts, and a black sweatshirt, on the front of which Rain had painted a white oval. A glittery headband with pointy black ears perched above her excited little face, her nose and cheeks painted to look like a cat. Rain was pinning a tail on her when I walked in.

“Uh-oh,” I said when Izzy gave me one of her big grins. “Better tell the mice to go hide—the cat’s out of the bag.”

She held up her paws and was about to make a run at me, but Rain held her back.

“Wait, Iz. You’re going to tear your tail off.” She finished what she was doing, then gave Izzy a pat on the bottom. “Go.”

Instead of the hug I was used to, Izzy got on her knees, rubbed against my leg, and meowed.

“What do you think, Mommy?” I asked. “You think this kitty is ticklish?” I didn’t even have to move, and Izzy collapsed into a giggling mass at my feet.

“How was school today?” I asked.

“Good,” she rolled onto her back. “I got to pick a prize from the treasure box.”

“Nice work!” I held out my hand, and she high-fived me.

“So if you’re going to be a cat, should I be a dog, and Mommy can be a mouse?”

“Uh-uh. Mommy’s going to be a bunny.”

I looked at Rain. “A bunny?”

She flashed me a salacious grin, and I felt a little nauseated. Rain was working the Halloween party tomorrow night at Blondie’s, and she’d told me she’d be wearing a costume.

“You want to model that costume for me?” I asked, praying it came with lots of white fur and a basket of colored eggs.

She winked. “Maybe later.”

* * *

Just as I feared, Rain wasn’t dressing as the Easter bunny. Nope. She had a genuine Playboy bunny costume complete with tall, semi-erect ears and a big, fluffy tail.

“Well? What do you think?” She strutted around the bedroom in four-inch heels and fishnet stockings. “How about you get one of those smoking jackets? Like Hugh Hefner?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

“C’mon, what are you going to wear?”

“A hard-on, just like every other guy who sees you in that.”

She frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a costume. I’m hardly showing any more than I normally do.”

I must’ve grimaced, because her eyes flashed.

“Do you have a problem with the way I dress?”

I shook my head. I did, it seemed, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to say so.

On Saturday, I dropped Rain off at Blondie’s, fed Izzy, and then took her to Rain’s mother’s to spend the night, promising I’d wait for her to get home before making our Sunday pancakes.

When I got to Blondie’s, the place was standing room only. Rain gave me a wide grin and dragged a bar stool out from behind the counter.

“Reserved seating,” she yelled over the jukebox as I took my seat. She looked me up and down. “I thought you weren’t wearing a costume.”

“Who says this is a costume?” I was wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie. I’d slicked my hair back into a ponytail and sported a pair of dark aviator shades. An old Bluetooth ear piece was tucked against my right ear.

“Seriously,” she made a face as she tried to figure out who I was supposed to be, “who are you?”

I lowered the glasses so she could see my eyes. “I’m your bodyguard.”

The guy sitting beside me burst into laughter. Rain smiled and shook her head. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

At least she was laughing.

“Heineken?”

I shook my head. “Tequila shooter for me and one for the bartender.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Holgate?” She batted those sinfully long eyelashes at me.

“Not yet, but I’m hoping to get lucky later.”

She leaned across the bar and reached for my face with both hands, then kissed me.

“Oh, baby. You can count on it.”