“When was the last time you went on a date?” Hayes asks in full-on intervention mode, his brows knitted in concern.
“I don’t fucking know,” I say with a sigh. I dated a few women after Beth, but the news of her pregnancy killed any chance of pursuing a second date. And God knows I haven’t slept with anyone since.
“You good, man?” Hayes asks.
“Yeah. No. I’m fine,” I say with a little laugh. But the sound that comes out of me is more of a strained cough than the good-natured chuckle it’s meant to be. “It’s been almost a year.”
“Since . . .”
I lean in, keeping my voice low. I’m man enough not to be ashamed of it, but I definitely don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve had sex.”
Hayes’s eyes widen as the words hang limply in the air between us.
I’m about to come up with some lame-ass excuse about being a working dad when the door creaks and my attention swings in that direction. Caleb leans against the door frame, and behind him, Jessa stands like a statue with Marley in her stroller, squirming happily at the sight of me.
“What impeccable timing,” Hayes says under his breath.
I’m off the hook, at least for now, about answering his questions. But based on his reaction, I can tell Hayes isn’t going to let this go.
“Hi,” Jessa says softly, her expression guarded.
I have no doubt that she overheard everything I just said. Fuck.
“Jessa, good to see you.” Hayes jumps in, recovering quickly and finessing the situation like the pro he is. “Let’s go, Caleb. We’ve got shit to do.”
As he and Caleb leave us in the back room, I take a little comfort in the sight of him smacking Caleb upside the head on their way out.
I’d completely forgotten that Jessa said she was going to come by sometime this week. Being the genuinely kind human she is, she expressed interest. Then I, being the genuinely insane human that I am, told her to drop by Frisky Business with Marley whenever she wanted to.
Not like seeing Jessa around the very toys I’ve imagined demoing with her would fuck with my head at all. Not one bit.
I’m such a dumbass.
“Hey,” I say, flashing her a grin that will hopefully erase all memory of what she just heard from the record.
She smiles back, the blush on her cheeks only growing pinker. So much for that.
“You guys having a good day?” I reach down to unlatch Marley from her stroller and ruffle her hair.
“We sure are.” Jessa nods. “Had breakfast, then a nap. I figured we’d take a little outing before lunch.”
“Sounds like it’s been a great day so far.” This kind of conversation I can do. Let’s keep it to small talk, and I’m golden.
“What’s that?” she asks, nodding toward the conspicuous toy still resting innocently on the desk.
And suddenly we’ve veered from business to personal very, very quickly. I set it down out of sight.
“Just a toy we’re thinking about adding to our regular inventory,” I say with a shrug, lifting Marley out of the stroller and into my arms. When I press a big fat kiss to her big fat cheek, I think I hear Jessa sigh. “You okay?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she says a little loudly. Catching herself, she smiles. “It’s just cute seeing you two together.”
“Yeah?” I chuckle, trying to keep Marley’s hands from venturing inside my mouth. “This is cute, huh?”
“Uh-huh.” Jessa nods, meeting my eyes as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
When our gaze locks for a second longer than what is deemed casual, she ducks her head and busies herself, looking down the aisles of the stockroom. So I take the opportunity to check her out.
Today, her hair is down, brushing the skin of her collarbones and shoulders, which would be bare if not for the thin straps of her dress. It’s a soft, summery fabric with white and yellow flowers, and stops just above her knees. On her feet are the sneakers I’ve come to look forward to seeing on the front hall mat. A sexy but sensible outfit, like she wanted to impress me but knew she was still on the job. My dick strains against my zipper at the thought.
When she bends over a cardboard box to read the label, I catch the sight of black panties before I can force myself to look away. Hot damn.
“This place is a wreck right now. Want the grand tour?” I ask, gesturing to the door. The shop is bigger and has better air flow, and I’m counting on it to clear my head.
“Sure,” she chirps, spinning around.
When she passes me, I can smell the floral scent of body lotion on her skin. Suddenly, I’m accosted with images of Jessa naked, fresh out of the shower and bending down to rub scented lotion over one long leg and then the other.
Since when have I turned into a teenager who can’t stop thinking with his dick?
After handing Marley off to the guys for quality uncle time, Jessa and I spend almost an hour walking around the shop, making pleasant conversation. She has a lot of questions about the business itself, which I much prefer over the usual “What does this one do?” The less I have to explain the mechanics of sex toys to the nanny I want in my bed, the less likely I am to imagine using them with her. Well, at least not while she’s right next to me.
A little while later, Jessa and Marley set off for home, and I finish the rest of the afternoon in a distracted state. Thankfully, Hayes doesn’t ask any more questions about my love life, but I can tell they’re on the tip of his tongue.
By the time I make it home late that afternoon, Marley’s napping again, and Jessa is standing at the sink, wrapping up a couple of chores.
“She’s sleeping again?” I ask, stepping into the kitchen.
Turning, Jessa gives me a warm smile. “Yup. I think our outing today tired her out.”
“Really?”
Jessa nods. “But I think she liked seeing you during the middle of the day.”
“Yeah, I’m glad you guys stopped by.”
Neither of us says anything else for a long moment.
I normally enjoy a comfortable silence, but with today’s events, I have to clear the air. But before I can say anything, the very words I’m thinking about come tumbling from Jessa’s mouth.
“I just want to say that I’m really sorry about earlier,” she says carefully, her voice concerned.
I glance over to find her turned toward me, examining my expression. Jessa looks so legitimately worried that I can’t help the smile that breaks out across my face. “Sorry about what? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Caleb led me to the back room, and when he opened the door—”
“Seriously, Jess. You have nothing to worry about. Caleb, on the other hand, got a minor beating from Hayes.”
“Are you serious? I must have missed that.” Jessa laughs, snorting a little.
She’s so fucking cute.
I lean against the counter, relaxing a bit. “Yeah, so don’t worry. It’s all good.”
See? That wasn’t so hard. But when Jessa speaks again, my heart drops.
“I guess I just . . .”
Fuck, I guess we’re not done with this conversation.