Temptation - Brenda Jackson [13]
She shook her head. “What are you, a regular James Bond?”
“No. Bond is a secret agent. I’m a private investigator. There’s a big difference.” He glanced at his watch. “If you’re ready, we can leave. My truck is this way.”
“What about the fax that was coming through?”
“I have a fax in the truck as well. It will come in on both.”
“Oh.”
She followed him through a spacious dining room and kitchen that was stylishly decorated. The living room was also fashionably furnished. Definitely more so than hers. “You have a nice home.”
“Thanks, and if you’re talking about the furniture and decorating, I can’t take credit. It was a model home and I bought it as is. I saw it. I liked it. I got it.”
He saw it, he liked it and he got it. She wondered if that was how he operated with everything in his life.
“Where do you want me to put these boxes?” Zeke asked, carrying two under his arms. One contained a baby car seat and the other a baby bath. He hadn’t wanted to tell her, but he thought instead of purchasing just the basics that she’d gotten carried away. The kid would only be with her for two weeks at the most, not two years.
“You can set them down anywhere. I’m going to stay up late tonight putting stuff up.”
After placing the boxes in a corner of the room, he glanced around. The place was small, but it suited her. Her furniture was nice and her two-story home was neat as a pin. He could imagine how it was going to look with baby stuff cluttering it up.
“I’m going to call the hospital again to check on Sunnie.”
He bit down on his lips, forcing back a reminder that she had called the hospital less than an hour ago. And before that, while they had been shopping in Target for all the items on her list, she had called several times then as well. It was a good thing she knew the nurses taking care of the baby, otherwise they would probably consider her a nuisance.
While she was on the phone, he went back outside to get more boxes out of the truck. Although she didn’t live in a gated community, it was in a nice section of town, and he felt good about that. And he noticed she had an alarm system, but he would check the locks on her doors anyway. Until he discovered the identity of the person who’d tried to extort money from Brad, he wasn’t taking any chances. What if the blackmailer tried to kidnap the baby back?
He had made several trips back and forth into the house before Sheila had finally gotten off the phone. He glanced over at her. “Is anything wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. Sunnie awakened for a short while, but she’s gone back to sleep now.”
Hell, he should hope so. He glanced at his watch. It was after nine o’clock. He should know since they’d closed the store. He figured that kid should be asleep by now. Didn’t she have a bedtime?
“Okay, all the boxes are in, what do you need me to do now?”
Sheila glanced over at him, tempted to tell him what he could do was leave. He was unnerving her. He’d done so while they’d been shopping for the baby items. There was something about a good-looking man that could get to a woman each and every time, and she’d gotten her share with him today. Several times while walking down the aisles of the store, they had brushed against each other, and although both had tried downplaying the connection, she’d felt it and knew he’d felt it as well. And he smelled good. Most of the men at the hospital smelled sanitized. She was reminded of a real man’s scent while around him. And then there was that kiss she was trying hard to forget. However, she was finding it difficult to do so each and every time she looked at his lips. His mouth had certainly done a number on her.
She thought every woman should spend the day shopping with a man for baby items at least once in her lifetime. Sheila couldn’t help remembering the number of times they’d needed assistance from a store clerk. Finally, they’d been assigned their own personal clerk, probably to get them out the store sooner.