"No." I frowned. "I'm fine."

"The hell you are," Max grumbled, brushing sand off his hands.

"If you don't call her, I will," Gavin added. "You said so yourself: Chloe needs a female around the house, and since you can't seem to pick someone from that old-maid nanny service, the two of us will hire her."

I stared down at the frosty grass, thinking of a million excuses for why I couldn't call her.

What if Amy wouldn't have liked her?

What if she screws up?

What if she leaves and it breaks Chloe's heart?

What if she leaves and breaks mine?

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Nope. Wouldn't go there. Not again. Maybe never again. "I don't know if I can."

"She's perfect." Gavin's words were soft, but I heard them all the same. And as I watched him walk back to the park bench to grab his coffee, I realized what was really going on. My best friend-the one who'd sworn off dating because it'd mean inevitable change-had a thing for Addison.

Too stunned to call him out on his shit, I barely registered his phone ringing in my palm. But the second I looked down and saw her name flash across his screen again, I knew how damn right he was.

The reason I hadn't picked a nanny for Chloe yet was because I'd already made up my mind. And she was perfect in every way. I just needed to remember who exactly she was perfect for.

"You going to get that?" I looked at Max, finding a smile on his face.

Before I could nod, I slipped my finger over the answer button and brought the phone to my ear, watching as Chloe tossed a handful of sand behind her and into Max's face.

Screw my pride-my dick and heart too. This was one sacrifice I should never have been afraid of. Not when it was for Chloe, the girl I'd do anything for.

Addison I was sitting on my couch, surrounded by two piles of unfolded laundry, when I decided to give Gavin a call. I'd been trying to contact him off and on all morning. He told me he had a job lined up for me if I wanted it, only this time he swore it had nothing to do with Collin. But I'd been unable to get hold of him.

Ever since the night he'd called me when Chloe was sick, Gavin and I had become pretty decent friends. He'd call me at random, asking me about things having to do with Chloe when Collin wasn't around and he needed advice. And since I wasn't necessarily okay with him watching her alone, especially knowing how he'd been that night, I offered my help in any way he needed it.

He answered on the third ring. "Hey, Gav. You busy?"

"Not Gav."

My face warmed at the sound of Collin's voice.

"You there?" he asked.

"Um, yes. I need to speak with Gavin, please." Keep breathing, keep calm. You've got this.

"But I need to talk to you first."

I clenched my teeth. "May I talk to him, please?"

"Nope."

I threw my head back against the couch and groaned. "Why not?" If he was going to be short with his answers, I would be short with my questions.

"Need to talk to you about something first. Told you that."

Could've sworn I heard the words Needs to eat your pussy is more like it in the background, but my mind was scrambling like the eggs I'd cooked for breakfast.

"Shut up, asshole," Collin barked.

I spun a loose string around my finger. "What did you just say to me?"

Total dej vu.

The wind slapped against his speaker. "Are you driving?" I unraveled the string from my finger and bounced my knee. "Because in the State of Illinois, it's illegal to drive and talk on a cell phone unless it's hands free."

"Damn it, no. She's putting that shit in her mouth." He grumbled something else, and the sound of baby giggles tugged on my already floppy heartstrings.

I couldn't help but smile as I thought about Chloe. I'd only been around her twice, but I kind of missed the little thing.

"Not driving. Just playin' at the park."

Playing at the park. Why did the image make me grin? Collin pushing Chloe in her swing, her little baby legs bouncing up and down as he did.

"Why are you calling Gavin anyway?"

"None of your business." My smile fell. "Can you just put him on?"

"I told you I needed to talk first."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Then talk."

"Gonna take you out tonight."

Shock pulled me into an upright position, and I stood so fast that a pile of clean towels fell to the floor. "Um, take me out?" I scrambled to pick them up.

"Gonna apologize. Again. Buy you food, return your sweater too. If you have plans, then cancel them."

"Uh, no. Don't think so." At the simple thought of seeing him again, my stomach dipped in both excitement and unease. "You're not going to pull that in-charge bullshit on me. And besides, what makes you think I want to see you anyway?"

"You don't wanna see me, sweetheart?"

I slapped my hand over my eyes. Sweetheart? Seriously? "No. I don't want to see you, pumpkin. Not when you got me fired from my job the other night with your ultimate-fight-club thing." I blew out a quick breath. "Besides, I just...can't."

"I need a better reason."

"Are you serious right now?" What was with this guy and his incessant need to be an asshole?

"Dead serious." He laughed. "I'll be by your apartment at six to pick you up. Dress casual. Gonna take you to dinner, and then we're gonna talk. You're going to get a free meal and an apology. Can't get much better than that, am I right?"

How did he even know where I lived? "I-I-"

"You're excited about seeing me, aren't you?" His voice went low and scratchier. I shivered and dropped onto the couch with a harrumph. Speechless and mesmerized, I couldn't help but sigh at the guy's holy-shit phone-sex voice. "Bet you've been thinking about me too."

I bet he'd make millions as one of those 900-number operators.

The line went silent, but I swear I could hear his lips part. Swear I could hear him smiling on the other end too. I wanted to see his smile again, especially those dimples. Both of them.

Because I was a glutton for punishment, I finally relented. "Fine. Six. Don't be late." And then I ended the call like a kid. But not before covering my mouth to hide my smile.

Chapter 16.

Collin I'd always been drawn to the way a woman smells, the different fragrances they put on for different moments in their lives. But the thing about Addie was that she didn't smell like she'd doused herself in expensive perfume or slathered on a load of fruity lotion. What she smelled like, sitting in my truck, was something I couldn't describe, other than delicious perfection.

"Nice truck."

Even though I knew this wasn't a date, I still felt like I had when I'd gone out with women in the past. Only this time, it was worse because it'd been so long since I'd been alone with a chick who wasn't my mom or sister.

"How old is it?" She rubbed her fingers over my dashboard, caressing it.

"Six months." I shifted in my seat.

She pulled her hands into her lap and knotted them together. Like always, she looked gorgeous, especially when the moonlight hit her face just the right way through the windshield. The windows were both down, and the temps outside were cold, but she didn't complain, didn't even shiver as her long hair blew across her face.

"And it rides really good too. Smooth, unlike most trucks I've ridden in." She fidgeted some more, staring out the window. Didn't like her so nervous. Hated the tension stirring between us too.

"You scared of me?"

She whipped her head around, looking at me. "What? No."

"All you've done is wiggle since you got in this truck. Wanna tell me why?"

Her lips parted, and my heart thundered in my ears. I needed to keep my shit together and get us to dinner in one piece. Looking at her lips wouldn't help with the cause.

"I'm not scared of you, Collin."

"Anyone ever told you you're a bad liar?"

She bit down on her lip, hiding that pretty grin. "Anyone ever told you you're an asshole?"

I laughed. "Plenty of times by plenty of people, sweetheart. Not only in English but in Arabic and Pashtun even."

"Can't imagine why." Her body seemed to ease up the more I talked. Maybe that was the key-she needed me to lead the conversation. I was good with that. If I wanted to get back into her good graces, I'd have to play nice.

"Tell me about yourself."

Her knee bounced in place. "Not much to tell."

"Don't be modest with me." I got off the interstate and drove straight through town. "Behind those pretty eyes, there's a story to be told."

She laughed then-the full-on belly type. I liked the sound so damn much. Liked even more that I was the one who caused it.

"Not sure what your game is, Number Six, but flattery and feigned interest won't get you where you think you're going to go."

"And just exactly where do I wanna go?" I pulled into the parking lot of the old drive-through restaurant. It wasn't the classiest of places, but the milkshakes were awesome and I loved the burgers.

"Don't make me spell it out for you."

I laughed this time, liking her smile like I liked her laugh. It was genuine and real, something I hadn't seen much of. "Fine. I won't push, but you've got to be honest with me about shit."

"Why?" The question was softer this time, and my throat closed off at the emotion in her words.

"Because I need you. And I was a damn idiot for letting things get as far as they did between us."

By the time I pulled up behind the line of cars waiting to order, she'd shut down on me again. Her lip was between her teeth, and her knees were pulled up to her chest. I wanted fun, easygoing Addie back, not the nervous one. With this girl, it was like I took one step forward and about fifty steps back. It wasn't like the moments I'd spent with Amy, or any other woman I'd ever been around for that matter. And that scared the hell out of me. Different wasn't predictable.

A Garth Brooks song played over the speakers. I reached over to turn it down, but she grabbed my arm, eyes bright. "Good song."

I pulled my hand away, studying her profile. God damn, she was beautiful.

"Didn't think you'd like real country. Most of the women I've known prefer all that Taylor Swift shit." I shuddered, fearing the day Chloe would want to listen to it too. If I had my way, she'd grow up with a steady diet of Garth and Aerosmith, a little bit country and a lotta rock and roll.

"Taylor technically started out country." Addie leaned her head to the side, her eyes teasing. "And just so you know, I'm secretly a country girl at heart."

"That so?"

"Yep. Growing up, I spent a lot of time listening to my dad's old record player in our attic. The guy was big into Hank Williams and all things country music-Elvis Presley too." She stared out the windshield.

"Nice. A little Presley never hurt anybody."

She shrugged. "I didn't mind it. George Jones and even a little bit of Willie every now and then didn't bother me."

"That right?" I grinned wider.

"Yep." She stared down at her hands, her voice almost longing.

You can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like, but with this girl, she was more of an eclectic mix of all things, a puzzle even-one I was dying to piece together. But this wasn't the time, nor was it the place to do it. And when I'd said I wanted to get to know her, I didn't think she'd actually buy into it. There again, I liked hearing about her, even something as simple as her music choices.

I leaned back against the headrest and exhaled. "Haven't been here since I was a kid. Mom loved bringing us here on Friday nights for root beer floats."

"I grew up in Matoona." She looked out the passenger-side window.