The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [275]
“I’m an artist,” he proclaimed, and both kids quickly agreed.
Curiosity swamped her, and when she finally got her hungry gaze off Jordan and onto the griddle she saw that he was making the most odd-shaped pancakes she’d ever seen. They were…well, they looked like faces. And fish. And…
“Mommy!”
Adam rushed to her, nearly knocking her off her feet as he barreled into her legs. Jordan looked up with a frown. Lisa ran to her and took her hand.
It was traditional for them to share kisses and hugs first thing in the morning, and this morning was no different.
It wasn’t traditional, however, for a very large, very sexy man to be looking on. A man with noticeable chest hair showing through the open collar of his shirt. A man with very warm, appreciative eyes.
Maybe the kids hadn’t let him in. Maybe—she gulped—he’d spent the night! She couldn’t seem to remember anything after he’d started working on her feet. Nothing except how incredibly good it had felt.
Heat rushed into her face and Jordan smiled as if he knew exactly why she blushed. Georgia ignored him, holding both children close, relishing the feel of their small arms tight around her neck, their sweet, familiar smells. She could never truly regret the mistakes in her life, because it was those mistakes that had given her Lisa and Adam.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to make those mistakes again. Having a male stranger invade her life so easily not only showed her irresponsibility, but her stupidity. She couldn’t let it happen. She wouldn’t let it happen.
She’d barely straightened when both kids began extolling Jordan’s virtues, how funny he was, his culinary expertise, his artistic talent. He’d already promised to show them new kittens at his office, and to take them along the next time he had to treat a horse or cow.
Like a damn new puppy, they wanted to keep him. Forever.
Georgia ground her teeth together and concentrated on getting her sluggish brain in gear. Adam demanded her attention with the typical enthusiasm of a four-year-old boy.
It was an effort, but Georgia hefted his sturdy little body into her arms. He clasped her face and said, “We been cookin’!”
“So I see.” Her words ended on a jaw-splitting yawn and since her hands were full holding up her tank of a son, she couldn’t quite cover her mouth.
Jordan ushered Lisa away from the stove with a gentle touch. “Not too close, hon. I want to get your mother some coffee before she topples over, and you never know when a pancake might explode. So don’t go near the griddle without me, okay?”
Lisa held her sides as she laughed, but she did as he asked, settling into her chair at the table.
Without her permission, Jordan relieved her of Adam’s weight, holding her son as if he had the right, as if he’d known how unsteady she still felt, and to her further annoyance, Adam clung to him.
Cooking, coffee, foot massage, and now coddling her kids; the man knew his way into a woman’s heart.
Jordan handed her the coffee cup as a replacement for Adam. “Here. You look like you could use this.”
Fragrant steam rose from the cup, making the coffee impossible to resist. She took one long hot sip and felt her head begin to clear. “Nothing on earth,” she said with relish, “tastes better than that first sip of coffee in the morning.”
His eyes took on a warm glow. “Oh, I don’t know about that.” He looked at her mouth, and heat shot down her spine, doing more than the coffee had to revive her.
Jordan smiled at her as he deftly seated Adam at the table and put a square pancake on his plate. “Why don’t you sit down, Georgia, and I’ll tell you what the hospital had to say this morning.”
Her brain threatened to burst. Georgia glanced at the clock and saw it was only eight. “You’ve called them already?”
“Yes. I thought you’d probably want to know something as soon as you woke.”
He was right, of course. Not only did he excite her, he read her mind.
“They said your mother rested peacefully through the night and that she’s doing much better this morning. The doctor will be in to see her