Page 33 of Offsides

Wrapping the towel around her still wet self, Theo frantically looked around the bathroom for a weapon. Or at least something to protect herself with. Everything she could find seemed too soft or like it wouldn’t do enough damage to an intruder. How scary could she possibly be wielding a hair dryer? Especially if this person had a gun.

A gun.

Oh shit, what if they were armed? What could they possibly want from her? And how did they get in? Panic spread throughout her body, telling herself there was no way it was a robbery. Her building was locked. Okay, so there wasn’t a doorman, but still. One had to have the key fob to gain entry, through multiple points, in order to even make it to the elevators. There was no way that some thug had managed to break in through all that, just to rummage through her kitchen. On a weekday. It had to be Mrs. Kettleson, the older lady next door, needing sugar for her tea or something. Yes, that was it. Mrs. Kettleson just needed sugar.

Just hopefully not at gunpoint.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Theo opened the bathroom door, peering out into her bedroom. Nothing. It was just as quiet as she would have expected it to be if she were alone. Were they gone?

“Make…make…make me want to!” a low, familiar voice warbled from her kitchen.

Cowboy.

A rush of relief flooded over Theo. It was just Cowboy.

But what was he doing in her kitchen. At this hour. Singing…Glitter?

“What the fuck are you doing?” Theo exclaimed, rounding the corner from her bedroom.

Cowboy was standing in front of her oven, his hips swaying back and forth in time with the eighties pop hit he’d been singing. He looked incredible in dark jeans that hugged his perfect ass and thighs just so and a polo that from behind made it look like it had been stitched right onto his body. Theo let herself drink the sight in for a moment, enjoying it more than she should. Especially since he’d just broken into her home.

“Mornin’ darlin’,” he said, spinning around and giving her a wink.

“Yes, it is morning. Early morning. What are you doing here?”

“I brought you breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

Cowboy nodded, effortlessly moving around the counter that separated them, walking toward her. She grasped onto the top of her towel, making sure it was secure around her body. She didn’t want him to see her like this. He might have had his hands on her last night, but actually seeing her naked was different. It was next level. And she wasn’t getting next level with this man.

“Yes, breakfast,” he repeated, reaching out for her. Theo took a step back, not wanting him to get any ideas. He took the hint, stopping where he was. Just not before letting his eyes scan up and down her nearly bare form, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a sly smile. “But it got cold since I was, er, detained during my delivery process, so I was trying to heat it up before surprising you.”

Oh, he’d surprised her all right. More than surprised her.

Her heart was still racing from the scare, although part of her was wondering if that was the only reason it was racing. Or if it was racing because the only thing she wanted to do right now was swoon at the fact that he’d brought her breakfast.

No, stop. NO SWOONING. Not allowed…

“How’d you get in?” she asked, trying to distract herself. She couldn’t focus on the yumminess in front of her. The man or the food he’d brought.

“Er, well, that’s part of how I was detained,” he answered, laughing slightly. “I called your neighbor, thinking if I told them I was here to surprise my girl, that they’d let me in and that would be that. And well, the neighbor I chose did indeed buzz me in. I just didn’t bet on her deciding to head me off in the lobby and play interrogator. And then call her cop son.”

Mrs. Kettleson.

Theo snickered, unable to hold it in. Mrs. Kettleson had lived next door for as long as Theo had been in this building and was the kind of neighbor any single gal would dream of. She’d watched over Theo as if she had been her own daughter, helping her whenever there had been a need. Of course, she’d also let it be known that her son, who was indeed a local police officer, was also single. Theo had never thought the older lady would take on the role of guard dog, however.

“You met Mrs. Kettleson?”

“I did indeed. She held me hostage and asked me questions—lots of very invasive questions. Like, the intake at Gitmo invasive,” he informed her, his eyebrows raised but a smile still on his face. “She then proceeded to call her son and have him run a background check to make sure I was who I said I was.”

Theo burst into laughter. Only Mrs. Kettleson.

“When he finally confirmed that I was indeed a law-abiding citizen, and assured her I was probably there for the reasons I claimed, she wanted to know why she’d never heard of me if I was indeed your new beau.”

A shiver ran up Theo’s spine. Her new beau. She liked the sound of that. Way too much.

Cowboy took a step toward her, then another, slowly closing the gap. Theo’s heart skipped with each step, even more unsure of what she was feeling. She wanted to throw her arms around him, thank him for breakfast, and steal some of those kisses she’d gotten so drunk off last night. But her rational side said no. To push him away.