Lucas was about to pull the door closed behind them when Maddie poked her head around the frame. “Will you stay and help us take care of the puppies?”
Paige’s eyes darted to Lucas, and when he looked at her, an almost shy smile crept over his face. “You are their sensei.”
“Well, it’s settled then.” Paige surprised herself by agreeing without so much as a moment’s hesitation, but by the time she was halfway down the stairs, she had already started to wonder if she’d made the right decision. Last night she and Lucas had shared a moment. Granted, it was a moment that amounted to nothing but a whole lot of frustration, but it was still a moment. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about it, let alone revisit the idea—something she wasn’t even a little bit ashamed to admit was extremely high on her personal to-do list.
But what if he wasn’t that into her once the moment had passed? Then again, it sort of seemed like they’d had another moment in the bedroom. And he did have a supercute smile on his face when he seconded Maddie’s request that she stay. He was seconding it, wasn’t he? What else could he have meant when he said she was the puppies’ sensei? Gah! Why did romance have to be so confusing? If only she had a few minutes to sit down with a memo pad so she could properly dissect the last twenty-four hours. Right, she thought, because that’s exactly what any normal woman would do after a man almost kissed her—make a flipping Venn diagram about how into her he may or may not be.
“You must be Paige,” a woman said as Paige made her way into the kitchen. “I’m Sophie, Luc’s sister.” The smile on her face led Paige to wonder if she knew about the previous night’s near-kiss situation because her enthusiasm seemed a bit over the top to be just about having a paying customer. Then again, Paige was paying double.
“Nice to meet you, Sophie. Lucas has told me so much about you.”
Sophie’s brows shot up. “Don’t believe any of it. Well, unless it’s about how fabulous I am, because that is one hundred percent true.” She laughed. “But if he tells you the story about the time we ran away, just know that he was the one who packed Mr. Pickles, not me.”
Lucas cut his sister a look that was impossible to miss even from across the kitchen. “More like how you’re the world’s most unscrupulous landlord.”
“Yeah, about that, I’m sorry. Don’t know what possessed me. All in the name of family, I guess.” Sophie winced. “Hope you won’t hold it against Luc. He honestly had nothing to do with it.”
Paige’s gaze shifted to the stove, where Lucas was pouring pancake batter onto a hot griddle. Maddie was perched on the island across from him, swinging her feet as she called out the shapes she wanted him to make with the batter. “All will be forgiven if you make me one of those snowman pancakes,” she said.
He looked at her and smiled. “Deal,” he said. “But we’ll have to skip shaking on it.” He winked, then raised the spatula he held in one hand and the mixing bowl that was in the other. “My hands are a bit full.”
Sophie looked back and forth between her brother and Paige. Yeah, she knew. Or at least she suspected.
“I thought you shook hands when you said hello,” Maddie said.
“And sometimes when you close a deal,” Paige replied.
Sophie’s attention was focused on Lucas, which meant there was no way she’d missed the toe-curling glance he shot Paige between batches. “Sorry I had to bring Maddie back early,” she said. “But the fire alarm at the store has been going off again. The plumber could only meet with me this morning, and if the dang thing malfunctions and the store floods…” She winced. “Let’s just say Blazing Books would be toast. I can come back to get her in about an hour.”
“No worries.” Paige said. “Can’t have Maddie missing out on time with the puppies. Plus, now that the rain has stopped, I need a tour guide. Think you could show me all the coolest places on the beach, Maddie?” For the life of her, she had no idea what made her ask. Normally she wanted to be as far away from children as possible. But something about this little girl’s total openness and sincerity made Paige want to be close to her. As long as her toad wasn’t in her lap.
“Sure,” Maddie said as she decorated her snowman with chocolate chips.
“I mean as long as that’s okay with your dad?” Paige looked over her shoulder. Lucas had stopped making pancakes and was watching her. Judging from the look on his face, he was most definitely on board with the idea. And this time, no Venn diagram was needed.
Chapter 13
Lucas did everything he could to avoid being alone with his sister, but she cornered him in the kitchen when Paige and Maddie went to the door to greet the vet. Sophie Croft might be his annoying little sister, but she was also smart as a whip. There was no way she’d missed the looks he and Paige had exchanged. There was also no way she was going to let it slide.
“What was that?” she demanded the minute they were alone.
Lucas looked down the empty hall. “What?” It was a lame response, but if he was lucky, it might buy him enough time. All he needed was for Paige to come back to the kitchen…
“Don’t play dumb with me, Lucas Cornelius Croft.”
“You know that’s not my middle name.”
“Today it is.”
He eased toward the door, but she stuck her foot on the counter of the island to form a barricade with her leg. She was flexible, he’d give her that. “Those gymnastics lessons really paid off, I see.”
“Yeah, I figured someday it would get me to the Olympics, but detaining my stubborn brother will have to suffice.”
He chuckled. “Do you really think I can’t get past you?” She talked a big game, but he had about sixty pounds on her. If he wanted to, he could open the freezer door and put her on ice. Literally.
“Lucas,” Paige called from the living room.
“Sorry, Soph. I’d love to stay and chat, but you have a plumber to meet and I have a vet in my living room.”
“Fine, but for the record, I’m totally on board with whatever this is.” She narrowed her eyes. “Just don’t do anything to mess it up.”
Now that was a promise he couldn’t make. No matter how hard he tried, messing things up with Paige Parker seemed to be second nature for him. They’d already had two do-overs, and if that wasn’t bad enough, when everything was finally going right, he’d somehow managed to blow that too.
Stay. That’s all he would have had to say, and last night would have had a completely different ending. But no, he just stood there like some kind of idiot. Guess you’ll be leaving in the morning. Was it pride, fear, maybe a little of both? Whatever the reason, he’d put everything on her, and when she hesitated—probably shocked that one minute he was about to kiss her and the next he was assuming she’s about to leave—he sulked off like a toddler. Scratch that, toddlers at least tell you why they’re sulking. He just stormed off to bed.