Lena’s gaze flashed to his, and he let his lips stretch into a sexy grin. She bit her lip and looked down, a slight blush staining her cheeks. Good. She’d caught that little innuendo. The fact that he could affect her like that with only a few words sent a rush of adrenaline through him. What was she doing to him? The weird hyper-focus he had on her should scare the shit out of him. But it didn’t. Instead, it made him even more determined to get as close to her as possible.
She looked up to find him still staring at her. Caught red-handed, he had no shame. He kept right on staring. Her cheeks flamed hotter, but she didn’t look away. A smile to match his graced her amazing, full lips. Elliot’s breath hitched in his throat, and her smile stretched wider.
“Well. Let’s see what we can come up with then,” she said.
Elliot held out his hand. She hesitated for a second and then slipped her hand into his. It felt so small wrapped in his. Tiny, soft. But strong. Just like Lena.
He shook his head, a little startled at the thoughts running rampant in his mind. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for her. Shouldn’t that thought send him screaming for the hills?
Somewhere during her conversation with Elliot, Lena realized she was having a good time. A really good time. Apparently, there was a lot more to Elliot than a gorgeous face and a body to drool for. In fact, despite the whole man-child act, he was surprisingly intelligent. Just thinking that made Lena cringe.
She once had a school buddy who had been totally shocked when report cards came out and Lena had straight As, because, according to the friend, Lena came off as a total airhead. That had stung. She liked to laugh and amuse people, but that didn’t mean she was a ditz. No more than Elliot liking to have a good time and not knowing anything about kids made him some immature party boy.
She stamped down the urge to apologize to him. The guilt at her snap judgment sat like an uncomfortable knot in her stomach. She redoubled her efforts to help him with his ideas.
They’d wandered back to the lounge chairs, and she sat on the edge of one before crossing her legs and facing him.
“So, you said you wanted to expand your parents’ charity, keep doing something with children, but more focused?”
His face lit up. “Yes. I know we could do so much more than we are doing now. Which is where I was hoping you’d come in.”
“Me, with all my great business ideas, huh?”
“Stop with the tone,” he chided, narrowing his eyes at her.
She smiled. Kind of hard not to when a guy who should be gracing the cover of some Sexiest Men magazine was staring down at her like a disapproving school marm.
“Sorry. I’ll try to keep all tone to a minimum.”
“See that you do,” he said with a little mock glower that had her stomach doing happy cartwheels. “Now, back to what I was saying. Yes, you with all your great ideas. Look, they might not have panned out, but you definitely have a knack for thinking outside the box. For seeing something that I wouldn’t even notice and turning it into this great possible ‘something.’ That’s what I need. A little spark of what you’ve got going on up here.”
He reached up and touched her temple, letting his finger linger to make his point. When he dropped his hand, his finger trailed down her skin for a second, but it was enough to make goose bumps erupt on that side of her body.
She realized she was sitting frozen, staring into his amber eyes. She tore her gaze away and looked down at her hands. “Well, I don’t know. Do you want me to start throwing ideas out there?”
“Yes,” he said, leaning back onto the chaise with his hands behind his head. “Throw away.”
Lena laughed. “Okay. Well, do you have a particular group of kids you want to help?”
“I know there are a lot of kids that need helping, but I’d like to do something that isn’t being done yet. I think I’d actually like to do something with foster kids. Maybe sponsor a summer camp. Or give them some sort of gift basket or care package when they move to a new home.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Really?”
The surprise on his face was beyond adorable. Lena fought to keep her mind on the topic at hand. “Really. I mean, not a gift basket.”
“No,” Elliot continued. “But something similar. Foster kids usually don’t have much, if anything, as they move from home to home. Some kids only have a trash bag to haul whatever belongings they might have with them. And many of them first coming into the system have nothing at all.”
“That’s terrible.”
Elliot nodded. “So what can we do to fix that?”
Lena’s heart skipped a beat or two at the word “we.” She pressed on, the familiar excitement rushing through her with the onset of a new idea. “What if we took your care package idea but expanded it?” She sat forward, her hands starting to fly as she spoke. “You could coordinate with whoever is in charge of placing the children in homes, and when someone new enters the system, you can do something special for them.”
Elliot sat up, his intent gaze totally focused on her. “I love that idea. We can give them something of their own. They’d have their own things to take into a new home. That would not only give them their own stuff but would help out the foster parents as well, so they wouldn’t need to provide so much.”
“Yes! What if we got something like those large plastic bins? We could decorate them pretty, put the child’s name on it, and fill it with everything they’ll need.”
Elliot nodded. “Exactly. Like sheets, clothing, books, toys. Even toiletry items, brushes, toothpaste. So that when they go to their first foster home, and if they have to move to others, they’ve got their very own things to take with them, in a case that’s theirs alone.”
“That would be perfect!”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her into a quick hug. “It is. It’s simple, but something those kids really need and would love. And it wouldn’t cost much for each child, so we’d be able to stretch the money further. We could even get the community involved. People could sponsor a child. Volunteer to create the case and fill it with items. This is so good. Really.”
“It is!”
Elliot stood up and pulled her to her feet, yanking her in for another hug. This time it lasted a little longer. He let her go a little slower. Her excitement for their idea died away, replaced by a very different kind of thrill running through her. One she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
She looked up, met his gaze while his arms were still draped loosely around her. It would be so easy to lean in a bit, press the rest of her body to his, rise up onto her toes, and close the distance between their mouths.
Elliot leaned down a little, as if his thoughts mirrored her own. She knew she shouldn’t. But… One little kiss wouldn’t hurt…
She moved enough for her lips to brush his. He jerked a little in surprise but recovered quickly, tightening his hold on her to keep her against him. His mouth moved over hers with increased intensity.
Oh my God.
Lena trembled and pressed herself closer, every nerve in her body blazing in a flood of heat that left her head swimming.
Her watch alarm went off, and she jumped with a little squeak, her heart pounding in her chest. She slapped at the thing until she connected with the button that shut it off. Elliot laughed, but he didn’t let her go. He held her lightly enough that she could pull away if she wanted, giving her the choice.
She almost hated to make it, but she knew it was the smart thing to do. She drew away from him, but smiled to take the sting out of any rejection he might feel.
“I need to go pick up Tyler.”
“Ah. Well. May I escort you back?”
She looked back into those shining, eager eyes. How he managed to both make her want to laugh like a total goofball and shove him up against the wall with her tongue down his throat, all at the same time, was beyond her. Just talented, she supposed. And she knew she should say no. Business talk was all well and good, but more than that could be bad.