Lissa Manley - Family to the Rescue

“Nice to meet you, Dylan,” Seth replied.

Just then, Kim came down the hall. She was wrapped in a long, fuzzy pink robe over pajamas and had on fluffy white slippers. Her hair flowed in a dark river of waves over her shoulders, and her amber-colored eyes dominated her heart-shaped face.

His breathing snagged. He’d realized yesterday she was pretty, but here, like this, looking bright and relaxed, and not like a drowned cat, she was downright stunning. Pink was definitely her color, although he guessed she’d look good in ugly mud brown, too.

“Hey, now, Dyl,” she said, her voice warm with a mother’s love. “I told you not to bother Mr. Graham.”

She moved closer and Seth could smell her scent, which reminded him of a clean ocean breeze, light and fresh. He finally managed to find his voice. “He didn’t wake me up. He was as quiet as a little mouse.”

Kim rubbed Dylan’s narrow shoulders. “Good. He’s been dying to meet you, so I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t just barge in and wake you up.”

“How did you like my bed?” Dylan asked. “Comfortable, huh?”

In the haze of his pounding head and exhaustion last night, Seth hadn’t realized he’d been put in Dylan’s bed. It made sense now, but his mind hadn’t been firing on all cylinders.

“Very comfy,” he agreed. “Thank you for letting me borrow it.” A thought occurred to him. “Where did you sleep?”

“With my mom.”

“Don’t worry,” Kim said. “He loves sleeping in my bed, which I suspect has something to do with the fact that he can watch TV in there.”

Seth chuckled. “Not surprising at all. I always wanted a TV in my room, too.”

“Auntie Rose made waffles—with chocolate chips,” Dylan said, his voice full of excitement. “Because we have a guest.”

Seth sniffed the air. He widened his grin. “I can smell them, buddy. Why don’t you lead the way?” Actually, he was really hungry. Food would do him good right now. He needed fuel to get moving.

Dylan scampered off. Seth moved to follow, but Kim stopped him with a gentle touch to his arm that felt much warmer than he expected.

“How’s the head?” she asked, gesturing to his bandage. “I checked on you a couple times in the night, and you seemed to be sleeping well.”

Oh. So she’d actually been there, bathed in moonlight, touching his head. It hadn’t been a dream.

He made himself focus on her thoughtfulness. “Thank you for that,” he said softly. “But it wasn’t necessary.”

“Yes, it was. I had to make sure you were okay.” She gazed at him quizzically. “Are you okay?”

“I feel more human this morning than I did last night.”

“Great. Are you hungry?”

He stared into her eyes, losing himself for a moment in their topaz depths. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Kim blushed. “I asked if you were hungry. There are waffles in the kitchen,” she gestured for him to follow her. “Aunt Rose loves to have people to cook for.”

Fantastic. As a bachelor, no one had been cooking or caring for him lately.

He took her lead and walked down the hall, trying not to breathe in her appealing scent. He’d had enough of being light-headed. “Sounds good,” he said. “Then I can get moving and get to work.”

Kim stopped cold and Seth bumped into her, accidentally pressing his nose against her soft, fragrant, obviously freshly washed hair. He jumped back. Oops. Way too close for comfort.

She turned quickly around to face him. “What did you say?”

He paused. “That breakfast sounded good?”

“No the other part.”

“About going to work?”

“Yeah, that,” she replied, peering intently at him, two cute little creases forming between her delicate eyebrows.

He shrugged. “What about it?”

She crossed her arms. “No way are you going to work today.”

Okay. So she was the bossy type. He didn’t usually like that, but on her, bossy looked good. Go figure. “Why not?”

“You suffered a concussion and had stitches put in your head yesterday. You shouldn’t be working.” She pressed her features into a stern expression. “You need to rest. The doctor said so.”

Him kicking back and resting were as likely as making it to the big league with a wife and two kids. “Well, I have a business to run, and I’m the only one who can run it.”

“Isn’t there anyone else you can call?”

“Nope. My mom, who usually helps at the store, is out of town. And my dad…can’t help out right now.” More like wouldn’t help out, but there was no need to get into the dirty details. “It’s me, or no one.”

She chewed on her lip. After a few seconds of thinking, she said, “Why don’t you let me go in for you?”

“No. Absolutely not. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Why not? I need a job, and you need someone to help out.” She smiled, her dimples peeking out. “It’s the perfect solution.”

He forced himself not to stare at her fascinating dimples. No, it wasn’t the perfect solution. It was a terrible idea. She’d already done enough; they were even. Period.

Before he got words out, she added, “Besides, the doctor said you weren’t supposed to be alone for twenty-four hours.”

“It’s a busy place,” he replied levelly. “I’ll be surrounded by people all day long. I’m guessing I won’t be alone at all.”

She shook her head. “You never know. Why don’t you let me come with you? I could help out, and keep an eye on you at the same time.”

“No,” he said. “You’ve done enough.” More than he’d wanted, actually. It was time to disengage.

She paused, gazing at him from underneath her long eyelashes. “Actually…you’d be doing me a favor, too.”

He narrowed his eyes. Uh-oh. She needed a favor. “How so?” he asked cautiously.

“Well, I’ve been saving to take classes, and only need a bit more for one term of college, so I really need a job. You need someone to help out while your mom’s gone. If you let me work for you, we’ll both benefit, right?”

He let out a breath and looked at the floor, stalling. Oh, man. She needed a job. And he needed someone to help out if he was realistic about his limitations at the moment. The Sports Shack was a two-person operation, no doubt about it. He needed an employee.

Kim was right. Her offer made sense. And, really, how could he say no without seeming like an ungrateful, heartless idiot?

He rubbed his jaw, wishing he had more time to think all this through. He didn’t usually make important decisions on the fly. Unfortunately, the store had to open on schedule—if he remembered correctly, he had a delivery coming this morning. He didn’t have a lot of time to be cautious.

“All right,” he said, hoping he didn’t regret his decision. “You can come help out…for now.” He’d leave it at that.

“Great,” she said, beaming. “Perfect.”

He mumbled his agreement. Her working for him was mutually beneficial; he’d be providing Kim with something she desperately needed, and vice versa. The solution sounded ideal….

So why in the world was he so conflicted about working with her?

He looked at her, trailing his gaze over her face. She was smiling broadly at him, her gorgeous golden eyes sparkling, her clear, fresh-scrubbed skin glowing. She looked happy. And full of life. And so beautiful he could barely breathe.

The truth belatedly smashed into him. The reason he hadn’t wanted to agree to Kim’s deal was as difficult to ignore as a grand slam when the score was tied.

He wanted to casually date the appealing Kim, not be her boss. He gave a mental groan. Yeah. It was going to be a long couple of days.