By the time Zachary had finished all of his meat and noodles, his face and fingers were covered with cheese sauce. He even had bits of ground beef and macaroni in his hair.
“I think someone needs a bath,” Lauryn said, when she took his empty plate away.
“Zach!” Kylie declared.
“Well, Zachary’s going to get his first,” her mother agreed.
“Why don’t Kylie and I tidy up the kitchen while you clean up the little guy?” Ryder suggested.
“You don’t have to do that,” she protested.
“I don’t mind,” he told her, because it seemed only fair that he should do something to show his appreciation for the delicious meal. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny there was a part of him that was itching to make his escape from this unfamiliar yet somehow temptingly cozy situation.
The whole dinner scene had been a little too domestic for him—and a lot outside his comfort zone. Being around the sexy single mom and her adorable kids was creating some unfamiliar and unwelcome feelings.
Attraction was a simple emotion, and he had no trouble recognizing and acknowledging his attraction to Lauryn. It was the other stuff that was getting all tangled up inside of him. Because aside from the fact that she turned him on, there were a lot of reasons that he simply liked her. She was smart and warm and kind, and it was readily obvious that she doted on her kids.
And that was the crux of the problem right there—she had children. Children were a complication and Ryder didn’t want complications in his life. At least he never had before.
But since his sister had gotten married and had had her baby and he’d seen how those new bonds had enriched her life, he’d begun to wonder if there wasn’t something to be said for familial connections.
He’d always admired Avery’s intelligence and drive and ambition. But since she’d fallen in love with Justin Garrett, he saw something in her that he hadn’t before: joy. It was almost as if there had been a piece missing from her life, but she’d never known it until she met him.
Ryder wasn’t looking for anyone to complete him. He was perfectly content with his life. Yet, spending time with Lauryn and Kylie and Zachary tonight, he found himself wondering if maybe he wasn’t ready for something more.
Uncomfortable with those feelings, he pushed them aside to be considered at a later date—or preferably not at all.
“I think you should stop arguing with me,” he said to Lauryn now, “and get Zachary in the bath before he falls asleep in his high chair.”
She shifted her attention to the baby, whose chin was against his chest, his eyelids visibly drooping. “That’s a good plan,” she agreed, unhooking the tray and then lifting him out of his seat.
As soon as she picked him up, Zachary rubbed his face against her shoulder, leaving a smear of cheese sauce on her shirt. Lauryn either didn’t notice or didn’t care, and for some reason he found that incredibly appealing.
Most of the women he’d dated over the past few years had been preoccupied with their clothes and hair and makeup, and he found it tiresome to date a woman who rushed off to reapply her lipstick after a meal or was constantly fluffing her hair or adjusting her hemlines. Of course, he’d never dated someone with kids, and he suspected it was natural for a woman’s priorities to change when she became a mother—his own being an obvious exception.
Kids were loud and messy and demanding, and he already knew that was true of both Kylie and Zachary. They were also innocent and trusting and adorable. And while he’d been immediately charmed by the little girl who was full of energy and curiosity, and undoubtedly intrigued by the little boy who seemed to see everything but say nothing, he decided that it would be smart to take a step back. Maybe even two.
Because Lauryn and Kylie and Zachary were a family, and he was a contented bachelor with no desire to change that status.
Wasn’t he?
* * *
At eleven o’clock on Saturday, Lauryn met both of her sisters at the Morning Glory Café for brunch. After Lauryn had married Rob, she’d discovered that she didn’t get to see Jordyn and Tristyn nearly as often as she used to, and that was how the monthly “Sisters’ Saturday” tradition began.
“I had an interesting visitor Wednesday morning,” Lauryn said, sprinkling pepper on the home fries that accompanied her scrambled eggs and sausage.
“Who?” Jordyn asked, drowning her pancakes in syrup.
“Can’t you guess?”
Tristyn stabbed a piece of melon with her fork. “Is it someone that we know?”
“It turns out that there is a loose familial connection.”
“Now you’ve piqued my curiosity,” Jordyn admitted.
“Ryder Wallace.”
Tristyn’s fork slipped from her fingers. “Ryder to the Rescue?”
Lauryn nodded. “Apparently the home renovation expert is Justin’s new wife’s brother.”
“I knew that,” Tristyn admitted, picking up her utensil again.
“But why was he at your house?” Jordyn asked, her tone equal parts curious and cautious as she cut into a pancake.
“That’s what I wondered—and then he told me that my application was selected as one of the grand prize winners in WNCC’s Room Rescue contest.”
“Oh, my God!” Tristyn practically squealed with delight. “That is so awesome.”
“And surprising, considering that I never submitted an application,” Lauryn pointed out. “In fact, I’d never even heard of the contest. So imagine my surprise when he showed me the application with my name and signature on it.”
Her sisters exchanged a look.
“Actually, that’s kind of a funny story,” Jordyn began.
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Lauryn told her.
“Obviously you know it was us,” Tristyn said, stirring her yogurt and granola. “And we’re not going to apologize, because somebody had to do something.”
“So why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because we never expected that our—your—application would actually be chosen,” Jordyn admitted.
“But it was,” she pointed out. “And I felt like a complete idiot when Ryder Wallace showed up at my door and I had absolutely no idea why he was there.”
“I can see how that might have been a little awkward,” Jordyn conceded.
“It was more than a little awkward.”
“Is he as hot in person as he is on TV?” Tristyn asked curiously.
She’d followed Ryder’s advice and decided to watch a few episodes of his show. As a result, she could answer her sister’s question sincerely. “Much hotter.”
“Damn, I wish I’d been there.”
Lauryn couldn’t deny that there was an indescribable something about the man that any woman would find appealing. He was strong and sexy and incredibly charismatic, and after only a few hours in his company, she was halfway toward a serious infatuation. Of course, after being married to a man who didn’t know how to hang a picture on the wall, it probably wasn’t surprising that she’d be intrigued by a take-charge guy who owned his tools and knew how to use them. “You can be there Monday.”
“What’s Monday?” Jordyn asked, smiling her thanks to the waitress who refilled her mug with coffee.
“The whole crew is coming to the house on Monday and Ryder wants the two