Her massage had been a waste, she could see that now; the man was determined to be tense. She sighed.
What a twist of fate, she thought, her heart sinking a little at the sight of his retreating back. Her hands were still tingling from touching him, from feeling all those smooth hard muscles and hot skin and vibrating tension. She huffed. The first man who really pushed her buttons, who made her feel like gelatin on the inside and made her breathe too fast just being near, and he was a blasted prude.
Her thought process crashed there and she was forced to face the possibility that he wasn’t a prude at all. A man as big and sexy and intelligent and responsible as Zack was more likely suffering disinterest than moral restrictions.
Why would he be interested in her?
She’d done nothing but make a fool of herself since meeting him, and her naturally forceful personality had been in rare, suffocating form. But he brought out the extremes in her, and half the time she didn’t even know what she was going to do until she did it.
She closed her eyes on a wave of remorse and embarrassment. God, she’d accosted him at every turn, provoked him and even rolled on the grass with him. She’d called him names and insulted him, and here she was, wishing he’d want her just a little?
Wynn shook her head. She was a complete and utter dolt.
She left the window and moved blindly toward the hall. She needed another shower—this one preferably ice-cold to chase away the lingering hunger. She knew she wouldn’t sleep tonight, not after feeling him atop her, not after inhaling his aroused scent.
She had to get herself together, and she had to give the man some space. Rushing him was not the best tactic. No, Zack was a subtle man, when he wasn’t challenging her. He was a father, and his sensitivity toward his daughter only made him more attractive. He was the hero Dani had described him as being, and by far the most appealing male Wynn had ever met.
Zack needed time to get used to her, to get to know her.
She’d ease her way in, she’d be charming and sweet and polite...because knocking down his defenses sure didn’t seem to be working.
ZACK SAW HER every damn day. He woke up in the morning and she was outside working in the yard or cleaning her driveway or chatting with the other neighbors.
He got home from work and she’d just be coming in or going out.
He ran into her at the grocery store and once while they were both taking out their garbage. Dani chatted her up every time, like she was a long-lost and valuable friend. And Wynn was forever sweet and attentive—to Dani.
It irked him, especially since she lounged in that hammock every damn night. Before bed, he’d find himself standing at his window, watching for her like a lost soul. And sure enough, she’d come traipsing out, her long legs bare and her stride sure to the point of being almost mannish. Not that anyone would ever mistake Wynn Lane for a man. She was too curvy, too soft and...she smelled too good to be male.
His whole body would go taut watching her as she relaxed back in that hammock and stretched out the length of her sexy body. Damn if he didn’t get aroused every time.
Sometimes she read until the sun went down. Sometimes she just swayed, music feeding into her ears through a set of headphones. She sometimes dozed and she sometimes whistled, but not once had she fallen into a sound sleep again.
He almost wished she would, so he’d have a legitimate excuse to seek her out, to touch her.
She no longer intruded. In fact, she seemed to have lost interest in him. Always she’d be cordial, give a wave or a friendly hello, and then she’d move on. She treated him the same as she did the other neighbors, and he didn’t like it.
He’d never known himself to be such a fickle bastard before. But he missed her. He barely knew her and already he’d grown accustomed to her.
As had Dani.
Even now his daughter sat on the kitchen door stoop, wistfully staring at Wynn’s house, waiting for her to appear. Dani missed her. She wasn’t at all appeased by the short friendly chats or casual waves, and that wasn’t something Zack had counted on.
It tore his heart out.
“Dani,” he called, “come on in and eat your sandwich.”
Two seconds later Dani peered in the door. “I’m gonna eat it out here.”
Normally Zack would have been fine with that, but he didn’t want his daughter turning melancholy. “Dani...”
“Wynn’ll need a sandwich, too.”
Zack went still and a strange emotion, one he refused to study too closely, swirled through him. “Is she out there?”
“She’s with a bunch of big men.”
Before his brain and feet could make a connection, Zack found himself at the door looking out. Sure enough, there was Wynn, surrounded by bodybuilders—three of them. All massive, all handsome.
All fawning over her.
He scowled, thinking to duck back inside before she or her cursed boyfriends spotted him.
His traitorous daughter did him in once again.
Dani took two bounding steps down the stoop to the lawn and waved her arms like a windmill. “Hey, Wynn!”
Wynn looked up and her seven-watt smile shone brightly. She patted one of the guys on the chest, swatted at another’s immense back and started in Dani’s direction. Zack couldn’t deny the pounding of his heart. It had been a week since he’d really talked to her, really been close to her. Deny it all he liked, he’d missed her. Maybe even more than his daughter had.
Dani shocked him by rushing to Wynn for a hug.
Wynn didn’t shock him a bit when she bent down and scooped Dani high, tossing her in the air and then hugging her close. “What have you been up to, munchkin?”
“You can eat peanut butter and jelly with me!”
Wynn glanced at Zack, saw the paper plate with the neatly sliced sandwich that he held in his hand, and said, “I love peanut butter and jelly. You don’t mind sharing?”
“Nope.”
When Wynn sat Dani down, she took her hand and stood staring at Zack. He cleared his throat. “How’ve you been, Wynn?”
“Busy. My folks are moving in tomorrow. I had to get everything put away and organized so they’d have a place to store their stuff. This moving on top of my moving is exhausting.”
She snagged the sandwich, handed half to Dani and took a big bite of the other half. “Mmmm. Delicious.”
Zack ignored that to ask, “Who are your guests?”
She gave a negligent shrug. “Guys from the gym. They wanted to see my new house and visit. They’re also going to help me set up my patio furniture. I bought a picnic table with an umbrella and a glider and chairs and tables. I’ve got some plants, too. I can’t wait to see it all together. The delivery truck should be here soon.”
“It takes three giants to set up lawn furniture?”
Her eyes sparkled at the acrimony in his tone. Hell, he’d sounded almost...jealous.
Enunciating each word carefully she said, “They wanted to see my new house, too.” Then she added, “You do have a problem listening to me, don’t you? Or rather, you only hear certain selective parts.”
Dani said, “I’ll help, too.”
“I dunno.”