His dark brown hair framed his face, and the way the sun caught the highlights of his hair made his amber eyes sparkle with delight. The man had a soft scar in the middle of his forehead that somehow only accented the perfect ridge of his nose, and the longer I slid my eyes across the features of his face, the more I felt the space between my thighs warm.
The man was drop-dead gorgeous.
And I wore a fucking sports bra beneath my t-shirt.
“I’m Molly,” I blurted out.
The man extended his hand as his smile grew so big it almost closed his eyes. “Cole. It’s nice to meet you.”
I slid my hand against his and it shot electricity up my arm. It shocked me so badly, in fact, that I quickly dropped his hand and rolled my shoulder as it stiffened from our contact.
What the heck was that about?
“Again, I can’t thank you enough for saving Max,” I said breathlessly. I had no idea why I was out of breath, but here we were anyway. “I shouldn’t have lost control of him in the first place. All I did was—”
Cole waved his hand in the air. “It’s water under the bridge. Like I said, kids complicate almost everything.”
I giggled, and I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t stop giggling at this man. “Yeah, that’s very true.”
I was painfully aware of how much he stared at me and I honestly didn’t want it to stop. I wouldn’t have minded a little more attention from him, but I also knew that every minute I stood there losing myself in his honey-colored eyes was yet another minute the kids were unsupervised.
And if I didn’t keep my eye on them, someone would surely get hurt.
So, I thumbed over my shoulder. “Well, I should get back to work.”
He furrowed his brow. “What does that mean when you’re in a dog park with kids?”
I smiled. “I’m a nannie. The kids that I’m here with are kids I watch for a family that lives on the other side of town.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “They don’t have dog parks on the other side of town?”
“What? You saying you regret meeting me or something?”
He chuckled. “Not in the slightest. Just wondering what brings a nannie out here with the kids she watches and her dog—”
“Max isn’t my dog, either. I don’t have a dog. Though, I wish I did. My place is just a bit too cramped for a pet. At least, the kind of pet I want.”
“Really, now? What kind of dog do you eventually want?”
I grinned. “A grand mastiff.”
His eyes bulged. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
“Those are small horses, not dogs.”
I shrugged. “Hey, when a woman lives alone, the woman can’t have too much protection, you know?”
“Miss Molly!” Sandy exclaimed.
“Miss Mollyyyyyy!” Cody yelled out.
I sighed. “Yes, kiddos!?”
Sandy’s voice rose above Cody’s. “Cody hit me with mulch in my eye and now I can’t see!”
“Did not! I was throwing it up in the air and you looked up!
“I didn’t do that shit!”
I whipped around. “What did you just say!?”
Cole barked with laughter behind me and the sound clenched my gut. My nipples puckered against my unpadded sports bra and I felt mortified. I couldn’t turn around. If I did, he’d surely see, and I might never get a chance with the hot dog owner with the worn leather jacket.
“Ooooo, you’re in troooooouble!” Sandy chanted.
Cody shoved her. “Shut up. I’m in trouble ‘cause you can’t keep your big mouth—”
I interrupted them as I continued yelling. “Car! Now!”
The kids groaned. “Aw, man! See what you did!?”
“Now,” I said hotly.
I turned back around as Cole chuckled. “Seems like you really got your hands full with those two.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it.”
He shrugged. “Well, if you’d rather just have the kids take a timeout before they go back to playing, I don’t have any issues watching Max. I’m here with Opie anyway, so it wouldn’t be an issue.”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t burden you with something like that.”
“It wouldn’t be a burden at all. Plus, if you make the kids think they’re going home for the next couple of minutes, they’ll punish themselves more than you ever could.”
A small smile slithered across my face. “I used to do that all the time as a kid. If I knew I was getting punished, sometimes the things I could conjure in my head were worse than what actually happened.”
He chuckled. “And that’s why it works. Just let them sit for a couple of minutes, leave Max with me, and I can watch him while you deal with the kids before they go back to playing. Deal?”
I wasn’t sure why the hell I was even considering allowing some stranger to watch over Max. I wasn’t even sure why the hell I was listening to him when it came to dealing with two kids I’d watched for the past four consecutive years.
But when I looked down and saw Max and Opie playing with each other, I caved.
“You’re saving my ass, you know,” I said as I handed him Max’s leash.
He took it from me and winked. “Always willing to do what it takes to save the ass.”
I shook my head as I slipped by him. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you, though. So, no funny business.”
“Good. Then, I won’t be the only creep staring across a playground.”
I threw my head back with laughter as I made my way to the SUV and I slowly eased the door open. Cody and Sandy sat in their seats, glaring at one another and wiping away their tears. I hated it when they were sad like this. It killed me inside. But I put on a stern face as I leaned against the doorframe of the SUV and crossed my arms over my chest.
“What have we learned?” I asked.
Cody grumbled. “Don’t throw mulch anywhere, period.”
I turned my head. “Sandy?”
She rolled her eyes. “No cursing.”
I nodded. “Right. So, what are we going to do about it?”
Cody leaned back against his seat. “I’m not going to ever touch mulch with my hands again. Ever.”
I shook my head. “Dramatic, but I’ll take it. Sandy?”
She cleared her throat. “No more using bad words.”
I smiled softly. “Exactly.”
Cody looked over at me. “Why are you smiling?”
I drew in a deep breath of air. “Because I’m trying to figure out if you two deserve a second chance.”
Sandy clasped her hands together. “Please, please, please, please, please can we stay, Miss Molly? I just made a new friend!”
My eyebrows rose. “A new friend you were showing off to?”
Her face sank. “Maybe.”
I licked my lips. “Sandy, if someone wants to be your friend, it’s because they like you already. At that point, you don’t need to do anything other than be yourself. Impressing people, especially when you do it out of character, doesn’t do anyone any favors. And if someone doesn’t want to be your friend unless you do stuff like that? Then, they aren’t a real friend anyway and you have no business wasting your time on them. Got it?”
She nodded confidently. “Yeah. That sounds right.”
I giggled softly. “Cody?”
He groaned. “I wasn’t showing off for anyone.”
“No, you were just antagonizing your sister because you’re bored. So, what do we do about it?”
His eyes widened as I called him out. “How do you always know this stuff?”
I grinned. “Because I was your age once, and I’ve done all of this stuff before. So, what are we going to do about your boredom?”
He sighed. “Go find something else to do, or make a friend, or come play with Max.”
I leaned into the car. “Exactly. Now, unbuckle yourselves and get back to playing. Just know that I’ll be watching as well as listening.”
The kids scurried out of the car without another word and blazed a trail back toward the playground. I peeked over at Cole and found him staring at me, which shot a jolt of electricity up my spine. I gave him a thumbs up and I watched his smile grow as he waved his hand at me. Then, he threw a ball around that both Max and his dog, Opie, chased after.
And for some reason, that made me feel more confident in my decision to let him watch the family dog.
I walked over to the children’s park and took a seat by a bench. It was sort of halfway between the playground and the dog park, so I could sort of keep an eye on all things at once. And the longer I sat there, the more I found my stare gravitating over to Cole while the children played somewhere in my peripheral vision.
Why is he so captivating?
I snuck glances and moments of staring to try and figure out why this stranger affected me as much as he did. But I simply couldn’t put my finger on it. I sat there for almost two hours listening to the children wear themselves out while Max and Opie ran around together. However, no amount of time staring at him provided me with an answer that satiated me.
Sure, he was hot.
Sure, he was kind.
Sure, he was good with dogs.
Sure, he had a nice smile.
But that didn’t explain why my body felt as if it wanted to magnetize itself to his side and never leave.
You’re losing it, Molly. Time to go.
I stood to my feet. “Okay, kids! Time for lunch!”
I got no qualms or arguments from them as they stumbled away from the playground. They were both covered in sweat and looked like they were on their way to taking a very long nap, which boded well in terms of quietness for my afternoon. I ushered for them to go climb into the SUV as I made my way into the dog park, hoping to steal a few more seconds from the handsome man that had watched Max for two damn hours.
And after watching the kids close the SUV doors, locking themselves in, I turned my attention toward Cole.
“I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me today,” I said as I sat by him.
He whistled for the dogs to come and they both rushed up to us. Max leapt into my lap while Opie nuzzled against Cole’s leg, and the scene unfolding made me smile. Cole bent down and buried his face in Opie’s head while his dog tried to lick him, and my heart soared at the innocence of it all.
He was so kind, good, and gentle with his dog. With Max, too.
It gave me a glimpse into the kind of person he really was, and I felt myself growing fond of him. In my life, it was hard to come across good men. Kind men. Faithful men. Especially with the kind of father I had growing up.
And I found myself hoping we might run into one another again here at this dog park all the way across town.
