Test Drive (16 page)

“Why not? Since Johnny obviously has nothing better to do.” She felt jealous of his free time.
There. I admit it. I want to have nothing to do too.
But homework was a mainstay in her life, for the next three terms at least.
Just think, one more year.

“Nope, not a thing,” he said. “Not even some studying for…what is that? Abnormal psychology?”

“That’s an older book I was looking through. I have lecture and clinicals now.”

“Aunt Lara’s going to be a nurse,” Kay said with pride. “She’s smart.”

Johnny stared at her with such intensity she felt the burn of his attention all the way to her bones. “So I hear.” Then he gave her that naughty grin that did bad things to her libido. “I can’t wait to see her in her uniform.”

The girls turned to him, and she gave him a subtle finger.

He chuckled and answered the girls’ questions about what he thought nurses and doctors did, most of which he’d obviously gleaned from
Grey’s Anatomy
.

The pizza was due to arrive twenty minutes later, and throughout their wait, Lara watched Johnny charm her nieces with little effort. He knew enough about mythology to entertain and ask the right questions of Kay, and his love of all things pink had already endeared him to Amelia. The girl sat in his lap, for goodness sake.

Yet through it all, he continued to glance from her to the girls. Seeking a resemblance, maybe? It was weird, and it made her feel funny. More maternal.

Hell no. No biological ticking time bomb. Just. No.

A knock at the door distracted her from her fixation on the devilish Johnny Devlin, and she moved to answer it. But Johnny nudged Amelia to the floor and vaulted to his feet to meet her at the door. “I’ll get it.”

“But—”

“Kay’s reading. Cover for me.” He nudged her back to Kay.

“Fine. But I’m paying.” She tried to hand him a credit card, which he refused.

“Don’t worry. We’ll settle up after.”

Mollified if not pleased at his taking charge—because damn it, she
liked
being taken care of by someone else—she sat and listened to Kay read through to the end of her chapter.

By the time Kay had finished, Johnny had the pizza on plates, and cups of water and juice at the table. Amelia rushed over to help him set the napkins. Kay joined them, and the three sat and waited for Lara.

She sat with the small group, watching him and waiting for his next move. Charming the girls? Nicely done. Arranging for dinner? Smooth. But setting the table and being polite, then getting her nieces to follow his lead? Priceless.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, knowing the girls might never have this with a man they could call Dad. “Thank you, Johnny.” She gave the girls a look.

They both thanked him and dug into the pizza.

He’d ordered extra cheese pizza from her favorite place. She ate a slice and had to force herself not to inhale the rest of the pie. When Amelia needed another napkin, Lara left the table to fetch it. On her way back, she leaned close to whisper in his ear, “Don’t think this is getting you bonus points, buddy. I’m on to you.” Not really, but she felt at a disadvantage for some reason.

When she sat and saw his wide smile, she knew she’d been right about…something.

“You know, girls, your aunt is pretty smart. But she’s too slow when it comes to pizza.” He stole a slice when she would have put it on her plate.

“You’ll pay for that.” She tried to appear stern but couldn’t stop smiling.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Be careful, Johnny,” Kay said. “Aunt Lara always gets even. Mom said she’s a real pain. Even grown-up.”

“Your mother is such a flatterer.” Lara wanted to shove a boot up Kristin’s butt. At least the woman was working, but Kristin could have done a better job than taking for granted that her family would always watch her kids. Lara loved them, no question, but she didn’t have free time out the ass. Hell, no one in her family did. Her dad’s one concession to slowing down in his later years was to play poker once a month with “the guys.” Whoop-dee-friggin’-doo.

Johnny wolfed down his slice and eyed another piece.

“Go ahead.” She nodded to it. “They’ll eat maybe one more piece between them. And I can only eat one more. You’re a growing boy. You need it.”

“You don’t have to twist my arm.” He grabbed the pizza and ate while they all watched.

“Wow. He eats more than Grandpa.”

“Cause he’s big.” Amelia nodded. “Ron was big.”

Johnny snorted. “Ron’s a dick.”

“
Johnny
,” Lara sputtered.

“Well, he is.”

Amelia and Kay giggled.

“Sorry.” Johnny’s cheeks flushed. “He’s not a nice guy.”

“No,” Kay agreed, still grinning. “We don’t like him at all. He used to leave his dirty socks around, and they were really gross.”

“And he’s bossy.” Amelia’s smile grew wider. “He’s a dick.”

Lara pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

“He’s a dickity dick dick,” Amelia said with relish.

Kay kept giggling.

Johnny coughed to mask his laughter, but she heard it anyway. “Sorry about that.”

“A great big—”

“
Amelia
,” Lara cut in before the girl could repeat herself. “You’re close to getting a mouthful of soap, missy. You know that’s a bad word.” To Johnny, she explained, “She’s said it before.”

“Amelia’s a potty mouth,” Kay shared.

Lara huffed. “She gets it honestly—from her mother.”

“Right. So, let’s change the subject.” Johnny put his half-eaten pizza crust down. “What about Aunt Lara?” Johnny asked. “Does she date any mean, bossy guys?”

“Really?” She snorted. “Extorting information from my nieces?”

“Mom says Aunt Lara’s like a nun,” Kay offered, free of charge. “She never goes out.”

“I do too. I just don’t tell your mother everything.”

“Yeah? Who was your last date, not including me?” Johnny asked.

“You went on a date with pretty Johnny?” Kay asked, wide-eyed. “Wow.”

Johnny nodded. “I like the nickname. Pretty Johnny. It’s catchy. Now answer the question, Aunt Lara.” His unrepentant smile had her soon giving up the glare.

“I’m too busy to date. It’s taking me way too long to get my nursing degree. Between working at Ray’s, helping the family, and school, I’m—”

“Excuses. Everyone’s got ’em.” He pinned her with a green-eyed stare. “When was your last date besides me?”

“Fine. I don’t know. Maybe…hmm. I think I went out with a friend of Sue’s. Andy, maybe? We dated back in March. Or was it February? No, not Valentine’s Day.” She tried to remember. Sadly, it was far longer than V-Day since she’d had sex—not counting Johnny and his magic fingers.

She tingled just thinking about what they’d done and refused to meet his gaze. She took a bite of pizza and chewed slowly, getting her mind out of the gutter. When she met his gaze again, she saw confusion. “What?”

“I don’t get you. You’re gorgeous,” he said bluntly. “Smart and hard working. How are you not hooked up with some guy by now?” He paused, studying her. “Nope. I don’t see crazy eyes either.”

“Thanks, so much,” she said drily. “Like I said, I’m busy. And I’m selective. You really should count yourself lucky I lowered myself to go out with you.”

He laughed. “Oh yeah. Totally lucky. I had fun the other night.” His eyes darkened, and she knew he had to be remembering their time on the couch. Oh hell. He glanced over at it, and his smile grew wider.

“So, kids, how about we make Johnny play with us after dinner?”

“Yes!” Kay jumped from her seat, fetched a board game, and returned with it.

“No.” Amelia pushed her pizza around. “I wanted to play Chutes and Ladders.”

“That’s for babies.” Kay frowned.

“Why can’t we play more than one game?” Johnny asked. “I like Chutes and Ladders, myself. But Kay’s game looks like fun too.”

The girls brightened up and chattered about anything Johnny wanted to talk about. Cars, lizards, Barbie. Lara watched it all, amazed at his skills, not to mention breadth of knowledge. He was like the pied piper of women, both young and old.

“I don’t know how you do it,” she said after the girls had excused themselves and put their plates away. The little hooligans sat on the living room floor, setting up the games.

“Do what?”

“You can charm anything with two X chromosomes. I’ve seen you at Ray’s, and now I’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

“I’m a talented guy.” He stood and carried his plate to the sink.

She followed and dumped hers, then gasped when he turned quickly, right in her space.

“Oh, sorry.” He didn’t look sorry. He looked clever and wicked and smug. “I told you I grew up with a lot of women. My dad dated a lot.”

“He sounds like my sister.”

“Well, unless your sister likes guys who take their clothes off for a living, she’s not like Jack Devlin.”

“Oh. Right.”

“I told you my dad has a type. He’s had a lot of girlfriends throughout the years. None that stuck, unfortunately. But I’ve grown up around women. Single women, women with kids, around their kids. Trust me. I know a ton about girls.”

“Not according to Foley,” she taunted.

“Please. He’s still afraid of Sue.” Johnny snorted. “And he’s not nearly as bright or sexy as I am.” He stared into her eyes. “You’re not hot for him, are you?”

She blinked. “For Foley?”

“The no-neck with all the tats. Yeah.”

What a question. “He’s good-looking. A girl would have to be blind not to notice that. And he’s a nice guy.”

“He’s really not.”

“He’s got an amazing body.” She started to like this annoy-Johnny game.

“So do I.”

“I wasn’t aware you were competing.” She leaned closer, saw his gaze go straight to her mouth, and felt her heart race. She placed her hands on his chest, and he drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s not my type.”

“Yeah?”

“I like my men big, strong, and able to take a punch. Ones who know what unicorns are.”

His frown turned into a sexy smile. “I like pink too. I’m in touch with my feminine side. Really.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “In fact, I want to be in touch with
your
feminine side.”

She laughed.

“If I beat you at Chutes and Ladders, will I win a kiss?”

“I suppose.” She dropped her hands from his broad chest before she forgot herself and started groping him with her nieces just on the other side of the kitchen counter. “But I’m pretty good at games. Just ask the girls.”

“I will.”

And he did.

“She really likes when you pet her hair,” Amelia told him.

“She hates dark chocolate, like me,” Kay said. “We like milk chocolate best. The kind with stuff inside. Caramels, coconut, white cream. But especially strawberry.”

“Aunt Lara loves strawberries,” Amelia finished, though it came out like
stwawberries.

The minutiae continued, until Lara lost at Sorry, Connect Four, and Chutes and Ladders. A tough night to lose, especially because Johnny kept a tally.

“That’s three you owe me.” He winked at her, glanced at her mouth, and started whistling.

“On that note, come on, girls. Time for bed.”

“Aw, Aunt Lara.” Amelia moped.

“But we have a guest,” Kay tried.

“I am a guest,” Johnny agreed. Then he stood and lifted the girls in both arms, making them squeal. “A guest who likes to tell bedtime stories.”

Lara could have kissed him for that alone. She made them brush their teeth and go to the bathroom before hopping into her bed. Johnny ambled into the room, no doubt tired of waiting. It didn’t escape her notice he took a good long look at her room. Invading her privacy under the guise of telling stories. Clever guy.

“Would you mind if I cleaned up the kitchen?”

“No problem. I offered a story.” He nodded. “Trust me. I’ll keep it clean.”

“You’d better.” She took her time doing the small amount of dishes and taking the pizza box down the hallway to the recycle chute. She returned in time to see him stroke their hair and smile down at something Kay was saying. A tender moment she wished she might have missed. How the hell could she pretend not to like him when he did things like that?

Especially because when Amelia reached out for Lara, he spun around with a flush on his cheeks. Johnny then ducked away with a muttered, “All yours.”

She kissed the girls and tucked them into bed, then wandered into the living room, prepared to see the night through. All her assumptions and plans when it came to Johnny Devlin had turned sideways, and her ideas about her priorities in life felt murky.

And it was all his fault.

She had an idea of where she planned to end things this evening. And they weren’t even close to getting there.

Not yet.

Chapter 10

Johnny waited on the couch, weirded out by how much fun he’d had playing games with an eight- and four-year-old. Not to mention their hot aunt.
Fuck.
Lara was killing him. She looked so damn pretty, and so natural with her nieces. She’d been teasing and fun, full of laughter but not so giddy she’d let the girls push her over.

Unlike the women from his own childhood, Lara had a vested interest in the girls, and it showed. She was their aunt, yes, but she genuinely loved them. And they loved her.

So much so, Kay had decided to play matchmaker in lieu of a story.

Aunt Lara liked roses and violets. Purple was her favorite color. She didn’t like cheese unless it topped a pizza or sandwich, and she liked boys who were nice to her parents. She fought with her sister, and sometimes she said bad words when she didn’t think the girls were listening. She worked super hard to become a nurse, and she’d never had anyone’s help but her own.

How Kay seemed to know so much was no accident. The girl considered herself a spy-in-the-making and eavesdropped on all kinds of conversations. He planned to get her alone again at some point in the future for more intel. As it was, she’d given him the info for free, but he’d donated a dollar for her thorough information anyway.