Erin Kern - Along Came Trouble

Just the sound of the foreign language coming from her had blood rushing below his belt. Certain male parts, parts he hadn’t used in quite a while, came to life. He cleared his throat so his voice would come out normal. “What’s that mean?” To him, it sounded like some forbidden words of seduction.

One corner of her pillowy mouth crept up. She leaned closer to him and dropped her voice to a whisper. “You have grease on your shirt.”

Brody barked with laughter. Seductive and sassy. What a dangerous combination. “Unfortunately, that’s one of the hazards of working in a restaurant,” he said after his laughter subsided. “Are your parents back in Brazil now?”

Her smile faltered and then lowered just a fraction. “No, but my father’s whole family is now in Rio de Janeiro. How did Anthony end up doing?”

Okay, she didn’t want to talk about her parents. Brody could take a subtle hint. “Like a champ. I don’t know why that man isn’t cooking at the Four Seasons. Or owning his own restaurant. A guy with that kind of talent shouldn’t be behind a bar.”

“I agree. Do you think he can handle a photo shoot?

Brody considered the situation and remembered the way Anthony had been in the kitchen. Several orders for his soup had come through, and he’d flown through them like the talented freak he was. The hope that had coursed through Brody’s body almost had him offering Anthony a job on the spot. But that’s what he’d done with Travis, and it had come back to bite him in the ass.

“I think Anthony has confidence issues. He’s unsure about himself, and that makes me nervous.”

“But he’s got natural talent. Confidence will come with time.”

Brody rubbed a hand over his jaw. Damn, he needed a shave. “Yeah, but how much time?”

Elisa took a step toward him. “I know you’re hesitant because of what happened with Travis. But I think with enough work and training, Anthony could be your guy. I see something in him.”

So did Brody, but he was already on thin ice with his father.

“I think you should go ahead with the shoot anyway,” Elisa went on. “And you already know he can plate a dish like nobody’s business. Maybe just have him work with Vic during lunch when things aren’t so busy. The sous-chefs can teach him how the kitchen runs.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” he mused. His gaze ran over her face. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Her mouth turned up in a small smile. “I kill flowers. I’m terrible gardener.”

The comment prompted a chuckle from him. “Where’s Tyler?”

She cleared her throat and ran her tongue along her lower lip. “He’s in my darkroom.”

Both his brows lifted in amazement. “You have an actual darkroom in this house?”

She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. “It’s down the hall. I made some rearrangements to my laundry room.”

Sexy and resourceful. “No kidding?”

“It’s the biggest room without a window.”

He slid his hands in his pockets. “And you trust an eleven-year-old in there by himself?”

Elisa glanced down the hallway, then back at him. “Yeah, I do. He’s a quick learner.”

The compliment warmed him from the inside out. “Yes, he is. What’s he doing in there?”

“Right now he’s cleaning. Earlier we were developing the pictures he took.”

Brody’s mouth turned up in another smile. His son, the boy who slept with his baseball glove, spent the afternoon taking pictures?

Elisa ran a hand through her hair. “To be completely honest, I don’t know much about boys and even less about things they like. He seemed kind of bored and I couldn’t really think of anything else to entertain him.”

The uncertainty radiating off her was so endearing, Brody wanted to envelop her in a hug. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. The need to feel those womanly curves pressing against him almost had him reaching for her.

She’d willingly given up her afternoons to look after someone else’s child, and a child she didn’t know that well, to boot. Instead of letting Tyler sit around a house that had nothing to offer him, Elisa engaged him. She showed his son the only thing she knew, even if those things didn’t particularly interest Tyler. Brody appreciated her effort and affection toward his son.

“I’m sure he had a good time.” He tried to put her doubt to rest. “And just so you know, he’s really into baseball.”

“I know,” she said with a grin. “He mentioned…” She paused and her smile faltered. “He said something about going to the baseball fields.”

Playing catch at the baseball fields had been a special tradition Brody and Tyler started years ago. On his days off, the two of them would ride their bikes and toss the ball back and forth. Since the divorce their routine had shifted. Unfortunately, on some of Brody’s days off, Tyler had been with his mother or at school. In those cases, Brody would sometimes go into work anyway. Providing a good life for his son was the most important thing to him. Before he knew it, several years had passed since they’d gone to the fields. Brody didn’t like to talk about the divorce or how the situation had affected Tyler. The subject was a sore spot for Brody, knowing he’d been unable to keep his family glued together. He’d felt as though he’d let his only child down, and he’d walked away from his divorce feeling like he’d lost a piece of himself. That particular chapter of his life had closed and was one he didn’t often share. Hearing Elisa mention the past times he and his son had shared made Brody wonder. Had Kelly or Tyler said other things to Elisa? Things about the divorce Brody wasn’t proud of?

He cleared his throat. “What else did Tyler mention?” he asked, trying not to sound anxious.

Elisa tilted her head and some silken hair slid over her shoulder. “Not much. Just that the two of you used to go there.” Her bottomless brown eyes studied him for one intense moment. “He really enjoyed the time out today. I think he’d probably like to go back.”

Brody nodded. “I’m glad. Maybe the two of you can go back tomorrow.”

Her lips twitched in a hint of a smile. “Actually I think he would have more fun if you took him.”

Tyler had outgrown the playground years ago. The last time Brody mentioned that place Tyler’s response was “Dad, the park is lame.”

“Tyler isn’t really into the playground,” he said to Elisa.

She took a step closer to him. “I wasn’t talking about the playground. When he mentioned the baseball fields, there was something wistful about him, almost sad. Like he really wanted to go back but…”

Her words twisted in his gut and made him feel almost nauseous. “But I’m too busy to take him.”

Elisa placed a hand on his arm. Her soft skin burned him up from the inside out. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. I just thought—”

“It’s okay.” He tried not to show the effect her words had on him. Guilt. Worst father in the world. Yeah, he was definitely feeling those right now. He cleared his throat again. “I know how much my work takes me away.”

Elisa took a step closer to him. Her womanly cinnamon scent tickled his nose and clouded his brain. “I’m sure he’s—”

A door down the hallway opened before Elisa could finish her sentence. Tyler’s striped polo hung loose over his grass-stained blue jeans. His brand-new black and white Nikes scuffed down the white-carpeted hallway. Over the past year Tyler had shot up over two inches in height. His hair, once as white blond as his mother’s, had darkened to a deep honey. His boy was growing into his own. Sometime when Brody hadn’t looked, Tyler had started to resemble a young man. The last thing he wanted was for Tyler to suffer because of the long hours Brody worked. He had to admit, he’d really begun to miss some of the things they’d usually done together.