AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can you stop that?”
I pulled back and planted my palms on the floor behind me. “Stop what?”
“It’s one thing to make fun of each other, but pretending like you find me attractive and flirting just to mess with me is cruel.” She dropped her chin, and for the first time since I could remember, Marigold looked vulnerable. Her eyes were covered in a glassy sheen, and her lips were turned down in a pained frown.
I shot forward and dipped my head so I could catch her eyes. “Goldie.”
When she didn’t meet my gaze, I rested my fingers under her jaw and forced her to look at me. I wanted every bit of her attention for this.
“Marigold, let me be very clear. You are, without a doubt, the hottest woman I have ever seen. You made me a father. There is nothing sexier than that. I flirt with you because it’s impossible for me not to when every word out of your pretty mouth drives me insane.”
I refused to censor myself or skirt around the truth. I wasn’t spewing flowery words to make her feel better, either. I let every one of my thoughts out because it was exactly what she deserved. If this woman, all doe eyes and soft hair, scattered freckles and the cutest dang birthmark above her lip, didn’t see how beautiful she was, I couldn’t let that casually slide.
The soft blush she’d been sporting turned a deep crimson, and she pulled back, breaking contact, and scanned the room, looking everywhere but at me. She swallowed, opened her mouth—probably to argue—and shut it again. Good. I had no interest in arguing about how attractive I found her. If there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that my body had always reacted to her in the most visceral way. When we were teenagers. As newlyweds. When she was round with my babies. When there was nothing between us but silence. When she served me with divorce papers. It never stopped.
With a deep breath, I leaned back again, giving her space. “If you’d like me to level the playing field, I could go put on those gray sweatpants you like.”
I’d answered the door wearing them once, and I swore she didn’t once look above my waistline during the entire interaction. It was a major boost to my ego, and my heart hadn’t beat the same since.
The color of her freckled cheeks deepened, if it was possible. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that right?” My stomach fluttered with excitement. This banter never got old. “I’d be glad to get the evidence out and show it to you.” I pointed down the hall to my bedroom.
The idea of flustering her more was tempting. It meant she couldn’t overthink our interaction. Plus, every emotion flitting through her, no matter how small, showed on her face as clear as day, making it easy to decipher her thoughts.
“No.” Her response was instantaneous. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No need.”
I grinned at her, then pulled my focus back onto the sketchbook in her lap. “All right. Get on with it, then. Show me whatcha got.”
Marigold cleared her throat and repositioned herself, twisting her legs to the side and angling closer to show me her drawings.
Next to the hippo, she’d added a tiny monkey swinging from a branch, and off to the side were more animals and obstacles.
“I’m thinking a safari theme. Animals in fun outfits. We could have a zebra in a jumpsuit, stuff like that.”
The boys would love it. I could already envision their faces lighting up like we were at LEGOLAND. Watching Marigold and me working together like this would be so good for them. Blessedly, they were still young enough to think everything I did was cool. It wouldn’t last long. That preteen moodiness was right around the corner.
I nodded and shot her a grin. “Yeah, yeah. I love it. What do you think about a bonus hole by the giraffe? If they get it through, then they get an extra prize?”
Marigold’s lips turned up before she could clamp down on them and school her expression. With her teeth digging into the plump pink flesh, she locked eyes with me and nodded softly. For once, neither of us pulled away from the connection. If anything, I sank deeper, letting myself be consumed by the green irises I used to stare into for hours. The eyes that had witnessed every vulnerable part of me.
For the first time in a long time, I saw a hint of potential swimming in the emerald pools. A glimpse of what I used to see. What she used to show me. Her sweet, loving nature. The gentleness she hid from me. For a moment, my Goldie surfaced. And there, clear as day, was the woman I’d once been willing to give up everything for. Not the one I had grown apart from over the last several years.
What did she see when she looked into my eyes? Did she see the man who’d gone to any extreme to make her smile? Who’d wanted, more than anything, to give her the world?
I’d likely never know. She blinked once, and the openness dissipated. With another blink, she broke eye contact. Licking her lips, she dropped her focus to my jaw area.
“Yeah, that sounds really good, actually.” She nodded with a twist of a grin. It was a small one, but it was sincere.
It was a small win, but I would take it.
I bumped her side with my elbow and tipped my chin. “Look at us, getting along for once.”
Her lips kicked up on one side, but then she narrowed her eyes and looked up at me. “Don’t get used to it. Wednesday is about to be your least favorite day of the week.”
Doubtful. Not if she kept showing up looking like this and giving me tiny smiles and flushed cheeks like the Marigold I used to know.
“Nah. That’s not possible.” I didn’t look away from her. She’d lowered her focus again, but I waited patiently, eager for the chance to stare into her eyes again. Get another peek into her soul. Another hit of heady nostalgia. For years and years, she’d ensured we were never alone. To be here with her, actually looking her in the eye, was equal parts relief and pain. The challenge in her eyes, the small smirk that was forming, the sass I was prepared to have thrown at me. All of it felt like a bolt to the chest, bringing me to life again.
