The House Mate (Roommates, #3)

Max

I stared down at the cookbook and groaned.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered.

Not only had I forgotten to add the butter, but I’d put in five tablespoons of flour instead of teaspoons. I picked up the bowl and upended it over the trashcan. Thirty minutes of mixing and measuring and whisking, all down the drain.

“Sum a bitch,” Dylan muttered as she struggled to get hold of a rogue Cheerio on her tray.

I let out a groan and bent low until we were eye to eye. “Please, do Daddy a favor and don’t tell Addison where you picked that up from, okay, pumpkin?”

Her eyes lit up and she laughed. “Assin?”

My heart beat double-time and I tickled her chin. “Did you say Addison? Say it again. Addison.”

“Assin,” she chortled back gleefully.

Okay, so maybe my raspberry soufflé was in the shitter, but the baby had just said Addison’s name for the first time. If my own emotional reaction to hearing it was any indication, Addison was going to be stoked.

I opened the oven door and peered in at the browning pot roast. It looked exactly like the picture in the book, and smelled like a home run. I just had to hope that I was enough for dessert.

The doorbell rang and I swiped a hand over the dishtowel I’d tucked into the waist of my jeans.

“Be right back,” I murmured to the baby, heading for the door. I swung it open to find my mom standing there, her face full of anticipation.

“Where’s my baby girl?” she said, pushing past me and swiveling her head around as she searched for Dylan.

“Hello to you, my wonderful mother,” I said with a smirk, bending low to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Boy, it didn’t take long for me to go from prodigal son to persona non grata, did it?”

She slapped my chest gently and rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly. You’ll always hold a place in my heart, dear. She just holds the rest,” she said with a wink. “Now, where’s that little angel?”

I gestured to the kitchen and Mom scurried away. I joked about it, but the truth was, I couldn’t be more thrilled about how quickly my parents had opened their hearts to Dylan. As parents, they’d been loving but reserved, attentive but strict. As grandparents? That tiny baby girl had them wrapped around her finger.

They’d only seen her a few times since she’d moved in with me because my father had gotten a stomach flu they hadn’t wanted to transmit, but they Facetimed with us three times a week, and couldn’t wait to get their hands on her again now that he was better. When I’d called to ask if they wanted to have an overnight visit, they were ecstatic.

It was going to be weird to be without Dylan. I’d become so accustomed to her being here, to hearing her sighs in the middle of the night and kissing her downy head in the morning. But tonight, after the rough couple days we’d had, I wanted to focus completely on Addison and whatever this was growing between us. She deserved my undivided attention because it was finally starting to hit me that this could actually be the real thing between us.

By the time I got back into the kitchen, my mother had already gotten Dylan out of her high chair and was shouldering her diaper bag.

“Don’t forget. She doesn’t like cold water, so give it to her room temp,” I said, bending to ruffle my daughter’s soft curls. “And she hates peas. If you try to give them to her, she’ll spit them out and refuse to eat anything else. Also, no grapes unless you slice them l-”

“Lengthwise,” my mother cut in dryly, shaking her head in mock disgust. “I swear, it’s like you think you hatched from an egg fully grown. I got you through your toddler years just fine, so spare the lessons, kid.” She hoisted the baby higher on her hip and bustled over toward me. “Now, give your mother a kiss good-bye so I can get out of your hair and you can try to seduce this nanny of yours.”

I froze and stared at her in stunned disbelief. “How . . . what do you mean?”

“You said you needed a sitter for a date. I’ve seen and talked to your nanny during a couple of our Facetime visits, and you’d be stupid not to give it a whirl,” she said with a shrug. “Judging by your face, I’d say I’ve confirmed my suspicions. Don’t mess it up; she seems like a good egg.”

With that, Mom wheeled around and made for the door again, disappearing as quickly as she’d come.

Don’t mess it up, indeed. No pressure there.

The oven timer went off, saving me from having to think about that dire warning for too long, and I bent to take the roast out, releasing the scent of roasting meat and onions into the air.

“Oh my God, that smells like heaven,” Addison said, stepping into the kitchen and tossing her keys onto the island.

I grinned and set the pan on the stove before turning to face her. “Thanks. I didn’t even hear you come in.”

I’d sent her off to get a spa treatment that afternoon, hoping it would scrub away the memory of pasta-hair and shit-water from the night before. Her glowing skin spoke volumes, but her eyes were glassy with tears. She swiped them away and forced a smile.

“I came in just as your mom was leaving. Boy, she is a real bundle of energy. She looks like a kid at Christmas.”

“Yeah, she’s excited,” I agreed, my stomach sinking as I stepped closer and took her hand. “But don’t try to distract me. What’s going on? You’re crying, Addison.”

She let out a snort that turned into a broken sob, and my heart cracked in two. Not at all what I had planned for tonight. I just wanted to make her smile.

“Talk to me. Are you hurt?” I asked, pulling her into the circle of my arms.

“N-no. Oh God, it’s so dumb. When your mom said hello to me, Dylan said my name. She called me Assin.” She laughed again and then hiccupped. “You must think I’m a frigging idiot right now.”

“On the contrary, I think you’re so fucking amazing, you take my breath away.” I pulled back and stared into her eyes. “And the fact that you love my daughter so much means everything to me.”

“She’s the best kid in the world,” Addison said. “You didn’t have to ask your parents to take her tonight, you know.”

“I do know. But I wanted to.” I lowered my mouth to hers, swearing to myself it would just be the one kiss for now. I’d planned to romance Addison, to feed and pamper her all night. But the second our mouths touched, it set off an avalanche of need, and I gripped her closer.

She opened her mouth and touched her tongue to mine, groaning as I pulled her closer.

So sweet . . . her skin was so soft. It smelled like honey and cinnamon, and I drew back and managed to grin down at her.

“You smell delicious. If that was a trap to try to get me to go down on you, it was a wasted effort. It’s pretty much all I think about anyway.”

Her cheeks went pink with pleasure and her gaze shot to my mouth. “You have a great mouth, Max,” she admitted softly.

Her words sent a hot rush of blood to my cock and I dived back at her with a growl, this time going for her neck. I trailed my tongue over the silky skin and closed my teeth gently over her flesh as I let my hand roam up her rib cage to cover her breast.

Her nipple instantly hardened, and I rubbed it between my fingers. Her back bowed, pressing her closer against me, smashing her pussy tight against my needy cock.

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How could I have missed this so much when we’d only done it once before?