Free Wife and Mother Wanted by Nicola Marsh Page B

Busying herself with the cups, she didn’t sense him sneaking up on her till it was too late.
    ‘You look tense,’ he said, reaching around her to place the bag of croissants on the tray she’d arranged, effectively trapping her between his body and the bench.
    Heat radiated from him, warming the bare skin on her back. Of all the days she could have chosen she’d had to wear a halter top today…
    She took a steadying breath, hoping to get her pulse under control before she turned to face him. Instead, the heady combination of warm chocolate, cinnamon andpure Brody assaulted her senses, leaving her even more breathless.
    And confused. One minute he was pushing her away, using every weapon in his nasty verbal arsenal, the next he was doing his nice-guy act. The man was driving her mad.
    ‘Here, let me,’ he said, pouring boiling water into two mugs and arranging the croissants on a plate.
    He was right. She was tense. And getting tenser by the minute with him standing so darn close.
    ‘Thanks,’ she said, bustling around like a busy bee and giving him no option but to back off or bump into her. ‘Sugar?’
    ‘No thanks. I’m sweet enough.’
    ‘That’s debatable.’ She handed him a mug, taking care to avoid brushing his fingers.
    Tahnee was right. She did have a teensy, weensy crush on this guy, bad attitude and all, and the funny thing was she could handle him being grumpy but his nice side scared the daylights out of her.
    Sipping her coffee, she tried to ascertain his mood by staring at him over the rim of her mug. Their gazes locked across the tiny room and she expected him to look away, to mumble something about getting to work.
    He didn’t, and the moment stretched on for ever, a loaded silence fraught with electricity that zapped between them even at this distance.
    ‘I guess I deserved that.’
    ‘Yep, you sure did.’ She picked up a croissant, took a bite and sighed with pleasure. ‘Mmm…if this is your way of apologising for acting like a jerk yesterday, it’s a start.’
    She expected him to bristle, to glower, to frown.Instead he managed a rueful chuckle, the sound of his deep laughter warming her better than the Brazilian coffee she was addicted to.
    ‘Hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying. I thought it was pretty grown-up of me to find out your weakness for croissants, and surely with my expertise as a handyman you can wipe the slate clean?’
    ‘I haven’t seen how you wield your tools yet.’ Oops! The words had just popped out. Darn it, now he’d think she was flirting with him.
    He grinned—a wicked grin that spoke volumes.
    ‘Ah, but you will. And I guarantee you’ll be impressed.’
    ‘We’ll see.’ She kept her answer deliberately evasive, deliberately cool. No use advertising the fact she was a total schmuck and had a crush on the grizzly from next door. ‘How did Molly pull up after the party?’
    Once again he smiled, and if she’d been counting them, she’d have been sure he’d just created a personal best. She’d never seen him this relaxed, and if Brooding Brody captured her attention, Mellow Brody knocked her for a six.
    ‘She had a ball. I’m happy she’s made friends in town so quickly, and it looks like Daisy is making a big effort to get to know her.’ His smile faded and he glanced away, not quite meeting her eyes. ‘Speaking of the party, I really owe you an apology. I was way out of line with that comment about you buying Molly’s affection. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to sharing her.’
    ‘You were jealous?’ she asked, wondering what had gotten into the guy. First a record number of smiles, now a genuine apology?
    The men she’d had the misfortune to know had neverapologised for anything—especially her adoptive father, who would rather have eaten dirt than say sorry.
    ‘Yeah, pretty lame, huh? You’ve been a great influence on her, and don’t think I’m not grateful, but it’s tough when I’ve done it on my own for so long and then