“Oh my God.” Frannie shivered. “That was … intense.”

“Yeah.”

“And I can’t believe we did that in your window,” she whispered, bending forward so far her cheek was resting on the edge of the sink. “Someone could have seen.”

“No one saw,” I assured her.

“What about Mrs. Gardner?”

I laughed. “She’d probably be thrilled. She’s always threatening to set me up with a nice young lady that works at her beauty salon.”

“She is?”

“Yeah. She tells me all the time how she was the one who got Stella and Woods together. She’s pretty smug about it.” I carefully tried to disengage myself from her without making a mess, but didn’t have much luck. “Sorry. Let me get you a towel.”

“It’s okay,” she said, scooping up her pants and hurrying for the bathroom. “I just need a minute.”

While she was in the bathroom, I pulled my jeans back on and turned off the kitchen light. Standing there in the silent dark, I got a little nervous that I’d been too rough and demanding with Frannie. Hopefully she wasn’t traumatized. I wasn’t even sure what had possessed me to say that stuff to her in the first place—I’d never really gotten off on sexual power play. But she brought it out in me. Maybe it was the age difference or something.

Or maybe I was just an asshole. Shit.

The bathroom door opened and she tiptoed into the darkened kitchen. “Hi.”

She looked so innocent and sweet, I felt even worse. “Hi. You okay?”

“Of course.”

“Was I too mean?”

“Mean?” She laughed. “No. Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Because you said to stop and I didn’t. I don’t want to be that guy.”

She shook her head. “You’re not that guy, believe me.”

“Good.” I pulled her into my arms, loath to see her go.

“Actually, I like that you got bossy with me. It was hot.” She paused. “Although you owe quite a bit of money to that swear jar over there.”

I twisted her around in my arms, binding her arms tight against her body so she couldn’t escape, and whispered in her ear. “Hush, little girl. If you want to be with me, you’ll have to put up with my dirty mouth.”

She giggled. “You know I like it.”

I groaned. “God, I wish you could stay over. There are so many things I want to do to you.”

“Next time,” she said. “So don’t forget what they are.”

“Not a fucking chance,” I whispered in her ear.

I warmed up her car while she put her boots and coat on, then I walked her down the icy drive, holding her hand in mine.

“You’re not even wearing a coat,” she said, shivering as we carefully made our way toward the street. “You’ll freeze out here.”

“I’m fine,” I told her, watching our breath hit the frigid air in warm white puffs. “But I am sick of this cold.”

“Me too. The snow’s pretty and all, but enough is enough. I wish I could take a vacation.”

“Me too,” I grumbled as we reached the car. “Somewhere hot and sunny.”

“Yes! A beach with miles of white sand. Clear blue water. Tropical drinks with little umbrellas in them.”

“Uh, no way am I drinking anything that comes with a fucking umbrella in it. But the beach sounds nice.” I pulled open the driver’s side door for her.

“Doesn’t it?” She gave me a quick peck on the lips. “Let’s do it. Let’s escape.”

I laughed. “Sure. Somewhere between piano on Tuesdays, ballet on Thursdays, and the mother-daughter fashion show I’ve agreed to be in.”

She burst out laughing. “What? I haven’t heard about that.”

“Millie.” I shook my head. “She asked her mother and her mother said no, so I felt bad and offered to do it.”

“When is it?”

“The weekend after the wedding, I think.”

“That’s so sweet of you.” She hesitated. “If you really don’t want to, I don’t mind doing it with her.”

I grimaced. “You have no idea how tempted I am to say yes. But I promised her. I want her to know she’s got one parent she can depend on. That not everyone she loves will abandon her.”

She rose up on tiptoe and kissed me again, one hand on my cheek. “You’re a good man, Declan MacAllister.”

“I try.”

“I’m off tomorrow. Need anything? Want me to stay with Winnie while you go get the other two? That way you don’t have to drag her out in this cold.”

I shook my head. “You’ve done so much for me already this week. You deserve one day off, at least.”

She got behind the wheel and smiled up at me. “My number is by the phone. You let me know.”

“Thanks. ’Night.”

“’Night.” She pulled the door shut, buckled her seatbelt, and pulled away, blowing me a kiss over her shoulder.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I stood there in the frozen dark for a moment and watched her go, imagining the two of us alone in some tropical paradise. Lying on the sand. Kissing in the ocean. Walking along the beach in the moonlight. Endless nights in each other’s arms, our bodies hot and tangled up in cool sheets. Not a care in the world.

Too bad it could never fucking happen.

Frannie

Mack called before I was even out of bed the next morning, and the number on the screen was his cell. “You found your phone,” I said, my voice low and gravelly.

“It was in my car, beneath the driver’s seat.”

“Good. How’s Winnie?”

“She’s okay, pretty fucking crabby, but I don’t blame her.” He sighed. “I hate to ask you this, but she does not want to get in the car, and I have to pick up Millie and Felicity by noon.”

“Say no more.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll take a quick shower and head over.”

“You’re the best. Back door’s open.”

When I arrived at Mack’s my hair was still damp. He met me in the kitchen and ruffled it. “Did you miss me this morning?”

“Yes. I had to brush my own hair, and it was not nearly as nice.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry for the rush. She’s in the living room watching cartoons. In about an hour, she can have another dose of Motrin. It’s right there on the counter, already measured out.”

“Okay.”

“If she’s hungry, she can have some lunch, but she had a tough time eating anything for breakfast.” He grabbed his coat from the back hall and slipped it on. “I should be back before two. Call if you need anything.”

“Okay. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.” I reassured him with a smile. “I’ll fix her some soup or something.”

“Thanks.” He gave me a grateful look and headed out.

I spent the rest of the morning sitting on the couch with Winnie, trying to keep her mind off her poor stitched-up mouth. We watched Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and I told her I knew someone who had grown up near the castle.