He didn’t like that she didn’t find him responsible enough to watch her son. Though, he honestly couldn’t blame her. Remembering the scene she’d walked in on when she’d woken up made him want to squirm like he used to when he’d been Tyler’s age and had gotten into stuff he shouldn’t. Shit, he’d had the kid neck deep in junk food with a video game controller in one hand and a soda in the other. He should have known better. His only saving grace was that he’d at least chosen a semi-appropriate game and hadn’t let the kid play something full of violent blood and gore. See? He wasn’t totally clueless.
“No worries, little man,” Elliot said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We’ll find something fun to do that Mommy will say yes to.”
He winked at her over the top of Tyler’s head. Her eyes narrowed in the classic mom glare, but those full, kissable lips of hers were smiling.
Now all he had to do was prove to her that he could be a responsible caretaker. Piece of cake.
Lena lounged back on the couch in her hotel room, surfing through the channels while Tyler snoozed in the bed nearby. The Goo Goo Doll’s “Iris” rang from her phone, and Lena grabbed it from her pocket.
“Iris? Where are you? What’s going on?”
Her friend groaned. “Still stuck in the damn airport.”
“You’re kidding? That’s insane!”
“Tell me about it. First, the flight was delayed. Then when we finally got onto the damn plane, we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Three hours in that little tin can. I was about ready to chew my way out before they finally pulled back into the gate and let us off. Now we’re just sitting here.”
“Do they know when you’ll get to leave?”
“They said nine tomorrow morning is the earliest flight I can get out. The snow is coming down so hard you can’t even see out the window.”
“Oh my God, that sucks.”
“You have no idea. You should see this place. There are bodies littered everywhere. The airlines have cots and stuff set up in case people want to sleep.”
“You’re kidding? What happened to getting you a hotel room?”
“Apparently they can’t afford to set up dozens of flights’ worth of passengers in cheap motels. So it looks like I’m stuck here unless I want to go get my own hotel. I’ll probably try, but I’m not sure how much transportation is running right now.”
“Wonderful,” Lena groaned.
“Hey, what are you grumbling for? I’m the one stuck in this frozen pit. You’re the lucky shit who’s lying on a beach in the tropics.”
Lena snorted and Iris laughed. “Okay, so maybe not.”
“Well, I did actually take Tyler to the pool today.”
“You did not! Good for you.”
“Yeah, don’t be all proud of me yet. I had a total panic attack when I couldn’t get him out of the pool and I fainted.”
“Oh my God.” Iris laughed. “I’m not laughing,” she said, laughing harder. “But oh my God.”
“Yeah. It was fantastic. Fell right into the arms of my brother’s new brother-in-law.”
“Oooh. Well that sounds interesting, at least. Is he gorgeous, or did Cher get all the looks in the family?”
Lena’s stomach did a queer little flip-flop. “Oh, the family is definitely blessed, that’s for sure. Looks-wise at least.”
“Hmm, what does that mean?”
Lena sighed. “Nothing. Elliot is perfectly charming. He was great with Tyler. Obviously knows nothing at all about kids. But they had fun playing together.”
Iris laughed. “Ah. Total man-child, eh?”
“Completely.”
“Well, no law saying you can’t have fun with the guy while you’re out there.”
“Iris!”
“What? Someone’s gotta have fun. It sure as hell won’t be me.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry you’re stuck there.”
“Me, too. So much for helping you out. Hopefully, I can get out of here tomorrow so I can actually keep Tyler out of your hair.”
“I feel so bad,” Lena said, rubbing her forehead. “They have these amazing pools and mini-water parks. He wants to play in them so bad. I just can’t…Elliot offered but…”
“Well, hell woman! If Mr. Stud Man is offering, why not take him up on it?”
“First of all, I’m not sure I trust Tyler with him. Elliot is sweet and all, but he is completely clueless about kids. He’d be letting him swim in the deep end and go down the scary water tubes. And I’m sure sunscreen would never even occur to him.”
“Oh my God, he sounds like a monster. Someone call the cops.”
“Oh, shut up,” Lena said, though she couldn’t keep the grin from spreading over her face. Yeah, she knew she was a little overprotective. But even if she wasn’t, Elliot was hardly someone who was even remotely qualified to be a babysitter.
“Besides, you know how Tyler gets. He’s already talking about Elliot constantly, and he only spent an hour with him. He gets attached to men so easily.”
“Yeah, I know. Well, with any luck this damn snow will let up and I can be on my way. I am so ready for a little tropical relaxation.”
“I bet. I hope you get out of there soon.”
“Yeah, me, too—wait a minute. Well, hello there…”
“What?”
“Things might be looking up,” Iris said, her voice sounding like she had her mouth pressed to the phone, trying to be quiet.
“Why’s that?”
“There was this totally hot cowboy on the plane sitting behind me. We tried to talk, but it was hard not being in the same row.”
“Okay…”
“He just sat down across from me. And he looks even better up close than he did crammed into those little airplane seats. I can see a whole lot more of him now. Hat, boots, and incredibly tight jeans that are leaving very little to my imagination, if you know what I mean.”
“I can guess.”
“I think I’m going to go make friends.”
Lena laughed. She wished she could be as outgoing and adventurous as Iris. “Don’t have too much fun.”
“Hell, I might be stuck in this airport for the rest of the night. A girl’s gotta keep herself entertained somehow. If you were smart, you’d find yourself a little entertainment, too.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Seriously, babe. Not every relationship has to go somewhere. You can have some fun. You’re in a tropical paradise. Take Tyler to the hotel day care and go have yourself a good time. You’ll feel a 1,000 percent better.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that. Call me later.”
“I will,” Lena said.
Iris was saying hi to her cowboy before she’d even ended the call.
Lena put the phone onto the table, her mind turning over what Iris had said. The memory of Elliot’s rock solid body rising out of the pool, water streaming over the lines of his muscles, made her belly tighten and heat up in places she usually tried very hard to ignore. It had been a very, very long time since she’d “had a good time” as Iris had put it, with any man.
She’d tried dating a few times, but she hadn’t found anyone worth spending what little free time she had. And with Tyler’s tendency to latch on to any friendly male face, Lena was incredibly careful who she introduced him to. There had only been one boyfriend, actually, that Lena had thought might make the cut. And when it hadn’t worked out, Tyler had been more crushed than she had. There was no way she’d let that happen again.
Sure, she could probably have a harmless hookup. But… Well, she’d never done that before and didn’t even know how to go about it. Having a good time wasn’t as easy as Iris made it seem. Especially when the man in question was going to be her brother’s brother-in-law. Which meant they’d probably see each other now and then. Which meant awkward. Which meant absolutely no hookup. Which really kind of sucked. Elliot, with his laughing eyes, absolutely gorgeous body, and fun, carefree attitude, would have been perfect.