Free All I Want by Natalie Ann

had plenty of other men.
    Except, Sean pulled at her. He was sweet, considerate, and went out of his way to help her. Not just with Droopy that night, offering to walk him and feed him, but also with dinner. He helped her bring the food to the table and clean up afterward. She didn’t think he did it to score points with her either. It all seemed too natural for him.
    He did say he’d worked in a pub growing up, so he obviously spent his fair share of time around food and cleaning up. But still, he didn’t hesitate to help her.
    It felt nice having him drying the pots that she washed first and handed over. Crazy, she knew, but there it was in her mind anyway, adding to the homey feel of it all. A normal family night she’d conjured in her thoughts while growing up, hoping and wishing to find it.
    After their date, they’d spoken each morning when she dropped Droopy off and each night when she picked the puppy up. Neutral conversation—how their days were, how the dog was—nothing deep.
    She’d waited for him to make another move, but he didn’t and she worried that maybe having him over for dinner hadn’t been such a good idea. Maybe he was turned off by the domestic feel of it. Was she showing her cards too soon? Should she have played harder to get?
    Then the weekend had come and gone and Sean texted her a few times, keeping in contact and letting her know he was thinking of her. By Tuesday he broached the subject of them going to dinner except she had plans that night and the next two nights. Volunteer time for her, making up the time she had canceled when she was afraid to leave Droopy alone the week before.
    They finally agreed to a Friday night date. He’d pick her up about six, which gave her plenty of time to finish up grading papers at school, meet with the students that needed extra help, and come home to change and get ready.
    And to pace, like she’d been doing for the last twenty minutes.
    Stopping in the middle of the living room, she inhaled deeply and let the breath out, then repeated a few more times. Relaxation techniques. There, she felt better now. More composed. Calm. Until the doorbell rang.
    Rushing forward, she opened it up and saw him standing there. He looked even more handsome to her at that moment. All last week he’d been wearing more casual business attire, obviously, since she was seeing him at his job. No one really dressed up at Harper’s, but Sean never wore jeans either, Brynn had told her.
    Matter of fact, the first time Carly saw him in jeans was when they were painting Brynn’s house. She totally wasn’t prepared for it. Well, it wasn’t the jeans, but the T-shirt he was wearing. She knew he was on the lean side, but his body was really hidden in his work clothes. Not showing off nearly what that T-shirt did.
    He was lean, but had plenty of muscle showcased. Not too much, but the perfect amount. He clearly took good care of himself and his physique.
    Most of the men she dated wore a suit and tie, or dressed casual at work like Sean did. No one ever looked like Sean in a pair of jeans or a T-shirt though. At first it gave her a moment’s pause. He already was bigger than she was used to, and then she saw how muscular he really was.
    But the longer she was around him, the more she forgot about his body and focused on him as a person. So she relaxed and enjoyed herself.
    Until now. Because there he stood in nicely fitted jeans and a tailored shirt broadcasting just how nice of a body he had. It might not have been as fitted as the T-shirt from a few weeks ago, but it didn’t need to be. Nope, it showed just enough for her to imagine his body underneath. And there went the nerves again.
    Worse yet, he seemed to notice. “Hi, can I come in? Everything okay?”
    “What?” She shook her head to clear it. “Yes, sorry. My mind was wandering.” On your body. What was wrong with her? “Come on in. I’ll just grab my purse and we can go.”
    “You look nice.”
    She looked