“Lily can’t find her book,” she explained. “She thinks she left it here the other night when I worked late.”
“I remember.” He winked at the little girl. “When you filled in for the receptionist.”
Lily nodded. “I’ll go look for it.”
“Try the break room, sweetie. If Jessica found it on her desk, she would probably have put it there, then forgotten to say something to me.”
“Okay. Be right back.” She disappeared through the doorway.
Mallory expected Caleb to politely say Nice to see you and walk out the door. When he didn’t, she felt the awkward silence. Last night she’d told him a lot about herself, which wasn’t like her at all. He’d been understanding. Supportive even. Just when things had been most comfortable, he’d abruptly suggested they go back inside. Probably she’d shared more than she should have. TMI—too much information. Once burned made her hesitant to say anything now.
Except...she’d been working here for six months and had never seen him in the office until three days ago. Coincidence? Probably.
“So what brings you here today?” she finally asked.
“Ranch business.” He nudged his black straw Stetson a little higher on his forehead. “Anderson has a new cattle sale contract. He wanted Dad to look it over before he signs and was too busy to bring it into town. I volunteered to save Dad a trip out to the ranch.”
“I see.” What she saw was that he’d arrived in his father’s office after five, when she was supposed to be gone for the day. There was only one way to interpret that—he was avoiding her.
They looked at each other and she felt the need to say something more but everything that popped into her head sounded stupid. I had a nice time last night at dinner. It was great talking to you. Why did you go out of your way to get me away from Travis, then take off like I was on fire?
Fortunately Lily came back and all of those stupid statements stayed in Mallory’s head. Looking closer, she noticed the little girl was empty-handed.
“I don’t see your book.”
“It’s not here.” She looked up at the tall man beside her. “But at least I got to see Caleb.”
Apparently the wanting-to-see-Caleb condition was turning into a family epidemic.
“You got that wrong, little bit.” He gently tapped her cute button nose. “I got to see you.”
He got points for making Lily smile as if she felt really special. If the moonstruck expression on her face was anything to go by, the little girl was half in love with him. That was okay because Mallory would protect her.
“Okay, ladybug, it’s almost time for dinner. We have to get home.”
“Aunt Mallory, I have a great idea.”
Uh-oh. That could mean anything from Can we get a puppy? to wanting takeout from her favorite place in New York.
“What?” she asked patiently.
“Caleb should come to our house for dinner. You always say we have to return the favor. It’s the nice thing to do, since his mom and dad asked us over last night.”
There was no way to explain the invitations weren’t reciprocal, but surely he could use a diplomatic way out. “It’s really sweet of you to think of that, Lily, but Caleb probably has plans.”
“Do you?” Lily glanced up at him.
The easygoing charm in his eyes disappeared when he looked at Mallory. “No.”
Well, darn. He didn’t take the bait, so she needed to give him another hint. “We’re just having hamburgers. I’d have planned something better for a guest.”
“Do you like hamburgers?” the little girl asked him.
“I can’t tell a lie. It’s one of my favorites.”
Double damn. That left her between a rock and a hard place. It was up to him now. “Would you like to come over for dinner?”
“Please say yes,” Lily begged.
He looked at her. “If it’s okay with your aunt, I’d like that a lot.”
What could she say? “It’s fine with me.”
Mallory was surprised he’d agreed, but had no illusions it had anything to do with her. He probably felt sorry for Lily and that was okay. It wasn’t smart, but she liked him, even more for not disappointing a little girl who’d already experienced more disappointment than any child should ever have to.
* * *
Caleb followed Mallory’s compact car until she turned onto Broomtail Road and pulled into the driveway on the corner, where he parked his truck at the curb in front of the house. It was dark green with white trim and must have been newly painted and renovated because this part of town had been flooded and badly damaged after the storm last summer.
He got out of the truck and walked up the cement path that bisected the grass all the way to the porch and front door. Mallory had unlocked it and Lily must have gone inside.
“So, this is your place.”
“Be it ever so humble... Please come in. Wait—” She stepped in front of him and he bumped into her, automatically taking her arms to steady her.
Also automatic was the instinct to pull her closer, lower his mouth to hers and kiss her until they were both breathless. With an effort, he pushed the thought away. “What?”
“Remember we weren’t planning on company. It’s usually neater than this, so don’t judge.”
“Heaven forbid.” He held up his hands in surrender to her terms. “Trust me, no one ever uses the words Caleb Dalton’s house and neat in the same sentence. You’ll get no judgment from me.”
But he could certainly judge how good she smelled and the softness of her skin, not to mention all the sexy curves that her navy crepe slacks revealed. And the silky blouse tucked into the waistband outlined her breasts in a very interesting way. The devil of it was that he was normally attracted to willowy women and she wasn’t one of them. And that was becoming a problem, because since meeting Mallory Franklin, there’d been nothing normal about his behavior.
Case in point: he was here.
Lily’s voice carried down the hall and got to them just before she did. “I found my book. It was under the bed.”
“I’m so glad.” Mallory set her purse and keys on a table by the door. “Caleb, would you excuse me? I’d like to change before cooking.”
“Sure.” He could use some distance from all the sensual vibes she didn’t even know she was giving off.
“Lily, you entertain Caleb. Offer him something to drink.”
“Okay. I’ll show him around.”
“That’s a great idea.” She disappeared down the hallway to the right, then there was the sound of a door closing.
“So, this is the living room.” Lily pointed to the room across the entryway. “That’s the dining room.”
Caleb sort of figured that, what with the cherrywood table, six matching chairs and a china cabinet. When Lily grabbed his hand to tug him along, there was no choice but to go.
Straight ahead was the family room with sofa and love seat covered in a sturdy green material. A flat-screen TV was mounted on the wall. The adjacent kitchen had white cabinets, black granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
“This is the kitchen and family room.”
“I’d never have guessed,” he teased.
“You have to see