One Look (The Sullivan Family, #1)

by Lena Hendrix

Who needs the quarterback when you can have the hot head coach instead?

“I call you Pickle because sometimes you’re sweet and sometimes you’re sour.”

As she swept past me, our eyes locked. My breath seized. My heart hammered. What the hell? Time moved in slow motion as her mossy hazel eyes swept down, her wet lashes nearly touching the apples of her cheeks. The wind was knocked straight out of me. My head spun. My blood was thick, and all she’d done was walk past me.

His masculine, protective vibe was sexy—there was no denying that—but I’d been given a job, and I doubted banging the brooding grump just to see if he’d crack a smile was part of the performance. But seriously, who doesn’t love a grumpy DILF?

I want to trace that line of sweat with my tongue. I want to feel him get hard in my hands. I want my mouth on him. Goddamn, he’s huge. What would it feel like to be stretched open by a cock like that? Maybe he’d let me find out. I bet he could stalk over here and rail me against these rocks and I’d never be the same. He could tear me apart and I’d fucking love it.

When you’re bare-ass naked and you hear a shriek that sounds like it came from the depths of hell, I dare you to not piss yourself.

After only a few minutes, it became apparent that the Bluebird Book Club was a facade for the women of Outtatowner to come together in secret to gossip, solve problems, and maybe even just be themselves. I immediately fell in love.

Lark’s bubbling laugh had heat coiling beneath my ribs. I liked it. A lot.

Goddamn, something in me wanted Lark Butler to be mine.

“You’re about to get a face full of something. There is no graceful way to maneuver this so . . . boobs or butt?” This time he was grinning right at me. “Well, I am kind of an ass man.”

From the second she walked into the Grudge, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She wore cutoff jean shorts that showed off her smooth, toned legs and casual high-top sneakers, but that wasn’t what drew me in. It was my shirt. She wore my flannel, cropped short and tied in a knot.

My laughter came free and easy. It was uncomfortable in my chest and sounded a little rusty, but it also had a strangely freeing feeling right behind it. “You look far less grumpy when you laugh.” She took one step forward. “The little crinkly lines around your eyes come out, and I find that very handsome.”

“A thousand. All I need is for you to handle my calendar, hang out with Penny if I can’t find someone to be with her, and check in with the guys to make sure they’re not going off the rails. Can you do that?” One thousand dollars a week? For that kind of cash I’d throw in laundry, cooking, and a blow job.

Lark shrugged. “She can hang with me today. I don’t mind.” I immediately shook my head. “You’re not a nanny.” Oh god. Now all I could think about was fucking the nanny. Awesome.

It felt easy. Comfortable. Coming home after a long day to Penny’s smiling face, a warm meal, and Lark in my home? It felt too easy.

“You don’t have to stay . . . if you don’t want to.” I looked out over the water and watched as kids and families played in the waves of Lake Michigan. “Kicking me out already?” “No, I . . . I just don’t want you to think that you’re required to be here. You’re off the clock.” “Ah,” I said, easing back on my elbows. “Don’t worry.” I looked over the top of my sunglasses and winked at him—then had to swallow my smile when I noticed how his jaw worked in response to my playfulness. “I won’t charge you.”

Jesus, he smells good—like sun and sand and spicy man cologne.

Wyatt flashed a rare grin, and I nearly melted in a gooey puddle right there.

My entire body ached. I still wasn’t used to how good she always smelled. Suddenly the thought of being alone in the car with her on the drive to Tootie’s house, even though it was short, was unbearable.

Since the moment I hired her, she had ingrained herself more and more into our everyday lives. It felt effortless. I started looking forward to her smiles, the tiny adjustments to my calendar, notes she’d leave on the counter about Penny’s day. I craved even the smallest moments where our shoulders would brush or I was close enough to see the golden light dance in her hazel eyes. I had never wanted anyone as bone deep as I wanted Lark. And it was a real problem.

Tingles prickled at the base of my spine. I had just walked into my neighbor’s—no, my boss’s house—and interrupted him while he was jerking off to my name. It was the kinkiest, wildest thing that had ever happened to me.

“You got to watch me while I came. Now I get to taste you while you do.”

“Oh god Wyatt. This dick—” He was setting a delicious, brutal pace, fucking me hard, just as he promised. “Maybe next time I’ll even let you gag on it.”

If fucking your boss and neighbor was always like that but also meant lighting your entire life on fire? Then hand me the matches.

The thought of taking care of Lark, not just making her come but truly taking care of her, made my heart skip a beat. After how hard we just went, she deserved a little pampering. Tenderness.

I jogged toward my family. My family.

Wyatt Seeing you on the field was the best part of my day. My insides went gooey.

In that moment, the full force of Lark’s breathtaking smile was just for me. I wanted to bottle it up, save it, and tuck it away so no one else could have it.

He worked so hard to make me feel wanted and cared for. A surge of protectiveness swelled in me. His grumpiness. The wariness and mistrust of new people. The more I got to know him, the more it made perfect sense.

Oh, and on the off chance you are Words of Affirmation—you make our lives better. I care about you. Would have been nice to say that to your face before you ran out the door in a panic. My heart clunked and I couldn’t breathe. Wyatt had listened to my ramblings about love languages? Holy shit. I care about you too. Next time I’ll try not to run. Wyatt It’s okay if you do. I’ll chase you down.

Because I’m in love with you and your daughter and I don’t know that I have the guts to leave.

“Is this one of those, If you love them let them go, if they don’t come back it wasn’t meant to be kind of things?” I frowned. That was not the heartwarming encouragement I had been hoping for. “Hell no—that’s horseshit. You let her go so that girl can see what she’s missing. Then you do everything you can to convince her to bring her pretty little ass back home.”

“But this is everything you’ve wanted. What you’ve hoped for.” She smiled. “I thought it was. I’ve been searching for a long time, and I realized that moving all the time? Even acting? Being someone else? It was a way for me to hide.” Lark’s voice wobbled. “But I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to be seen.” Her eyes closed as fat tears tumbled down her cheeks. I brought her close and kissed the tears away. “I see you. Baby, I see you.”

“What do you think?” I asked. “Have I earned a nickname?” Wyatt’s grin widened as he stepped closer. “I’m sure eventually something will stick, but I don’t care what it is as long as I can call you mine.

Coming home to Michigan was the best decision I had ever made. Everything in my world had clicked into place the moment I’d locked eyes with Lark Butler. She’d tipped my whole world, somehow set it right side up, and all it had taken was one look.