As the days blurred into weeks, Pria realized how much trouble she was in. She liked him. She really liked him. She liked his smile, his body, his sense of humor, the way he made time for her, and his creative ideas for date nights. She even liked his gentlemanly behavior, even though it drove her crazy in equal measure.
She'd never dated a man this long who had been so strict with himself, and Pria was learning that there was such a thing as being too gentlemanly. Yes, he'd relaxed enough with her that he now would allow himself to hold her hand and kiss her cheek in greeting, but that was it. His level of attraction to her was still a mystery. If it weren't for his daily phone calls, text messages, and routine date nights, she might have written him off by now. It was the sizzle of attraction she felt whenever he was near that kept her from doing so. Pria was in lust for the first time in her life, and the intoxication of it kept her hoping for more.
When her phone rang and his name flashed across the screen of her cell phone, Pria broke into a grin. "Hello?"
"Hey, beautiful. How are you?"
God, she loved his voice. She could listen to him babble on for hours and never get bored. "Better now that I hear your voice. You?"
"I'm fine. Was just thinking about you. Enzo had to cancel today's job, so I have the day off. Want to do something?"
Pria smiled. "Sure, but I'm volunteering today. Dinner?"
"Mm," he said. "I don't want to wait. Can I go with you?"
"Really?" There was no way to keep the excitement from her voice.
"Yeah. I don't like spending my days off without you. What time are they expecting you?"
"In an hour."
"Pick you up in fifteen."
The adoption event was packed and animals were getting adopted left and right. Housed on the Central Park lawn, dogs were everywhere, some on leashes, others in crates. People milled around, petting this animal or that.
Pria watched Drew as he interacted with her fellow volunteers and smothered a snicker of amusement as the women flirted openly with him. He took it in stride, smiling politely and speaking congenially, but kept his hand firmly on Pria's hip, silently declaring where his interest lay.
As the day wore on and Pria was drawn into the work they were doing, Drew did what he could to help where he was needed. Even though Drew didn't wear one of the volunteer T-shirts the rest wore, women dubiously interested in adopting an animal seemed keen on approaching him, asking him questions about whatever animal caught their attention. Pria rolled her mental eye several times until an older woman in her eighties reached up to feel his bicep suggestively. She snarfed on her water then.
Drew smiled warmly at the woman and murmured something that made the lady blush and flutter her hands. He excused himself, and as he walked away, he scowled at Pria. "You couldn't save me?"
She blinked up at him innocently. "Far be it from me to be a cockblock. It looked like you were having a good time."
He wrapped an arm around her neck and drew her into a playful headlock so he could kiss the top of her head. "One of these days, woman..."
"Yeah, yeah." She swatted him away.
A fearful cry had Drew looking around and then rushing to a little girl of about three. Her face was tear stained and her frightened expression was pitiful. Pria followed Drew, reaching him just as he knelt in front of the little girl. "Hey, peanut. Are you lost?"
The little girl nodded through a wail and popped a thumb into her mouth.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Who are you here with?"
"M-my ... my ...daddy."
"Well, that's cool. Daddies are awesome," Drew said. "Do you know your daddy's name?"
The little girl moved the thumb between her teeth and cheek to speak. "His name is Daddy."
Drew smiled patiently. "Okay. That's good. That's really good. Pria, hand me your radio."
Pria handed him the walkie talkie all the lead volunteers wore during events like this. One hand on the radio, the other clasping the child's hand, he spoke, "Hey Crystal, we have a lost child. Black female, brown hair, brown eyes, with twists in her hair. Any word on parents looking for a child matching that description?"
"Not yet. I'll send security over. What's your location?"
When they couldn't get the girl to calm down. Drew picked her up in his arms and rocked her. The child clasped onto his shirt, sniffling as she calmed. Her worried eyes looked around the crowd. She kept her thumb in her mouth as she spoke quietly. "My daddy is big like you, but he's black. You're not black."
"No, sweetheart. I'm not."
Pria crossed her arms over her chest
"But you're brown," the little girl said.
Drew chuckled, eyes warming. "Yes, I am."
"I like brown, but pink is better. I like pink."
"Pink is a good color for a princess. I bet you're a princess, huh?"
Pria narrowed her eyes.
The little girl pulled her thumb out of her mouth. "My daddy says I'm a queen."
Drew's lips twitched, and his eyes lit with humor. "Well, if your daddy says it, then it must be true."
Security made their appearance and the child refused to be separated from Drew, clinging to him when the guard tried to take her into his arms. They headed over to the tent set up as a command post and Drew settled into a chair with the girl as Pria did what she could to facilitate the search for the girl's missing father. Nearly half an hour later, an ambulance showed up and police officers made their way to the tent.
The female officer knelt in front of Drew and checked the girl over briefly, then said, "We think we found her father. He's in the ambulance now. Seems like he's epileptic and had an episode. Before we take her, I'd like to show her a picture."
Drew nodded.
"Hey, pretty girl." The officer pulled out her phone and held it up. "Do you know this man?"
The child nodded. "That's daddy."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Drew and Pria followed the police officer to the ambulance. The man was conscious but pale, yet the relief on his face when he saw his daughter was palpable. He held his arms out and the child wiggled free of Drew and went straight into her father's arms.
As the ambulance drove away and everything returned to normal, Pria glared at Drew.
"What?" he asked.
"You're good with kids too?"
He hesitated. "That surprises you?"
Pria stared at him, then turned to stomp away.
"What the hell did I do?" he called after her.
For the rest of the afternoon, Pria found reasons to keep her distance from Drew. She needed time to settle her thoughts. It was one thing to acknowledge that he was a good man. It was something else entirely to start thinking he was Mr. Right.
Sal was a player. Sal and Drew were similar people. The thought soured her mood. The two men certainly got along well. They were becoming friends, and friends were often an indicator of who a person was. Did that make Drew a player too?
While Pria walked an adopter through the paperwork, showing the man where to sign, she thought of the way Drew had held the little girl. His calm demeanor, the way he'd rubbed a soothing hand along her tiny back, and the sweet conversation he'd used to calm the child. It was effortless. Experienced.
Bouncing her leg in agitation, it dawned on Pria that Drew focused all his attention on her, and because of that, she didn't know very much about him. "This is the last one. Sign here and Juice Box is all yours."
As the man walked away with his dog, Pria turned to the event coordinator. "Are you good to close up?"
"Sure, we have plenty of volunteers today. Thanks for setting up."
Pria smiled politely and said a few goodbyes. She found Drew over by the kennels talking to one of the volunteers. "I'm a bit tired. Do you think we can go?"
Drew studied her before taking her hand in his. He waited until he helped her into the truck to ask, "What's wrong?"
"Just hot and sticky. I want to go home."
"Fine. But I'm taking you to my place. Gum?"
Pria opened the glove compartment and handed him a stick.
As they drove, he glanced over at her a few times before finally asking, "Seriously, what gives? Something's bothering you." He laced his fingers through hers. "What is it?"
Pria scrunched her face before asking, "Do you have kids?"
He glanced at her, then back to the road. "What?"
"Do you have kids?"
"What makes you ask that?"
"The way you were with that little girl. It threw me off. You knew exactly how to approach her, how to talk to her and comfort her." She turned troubled eyes on him. "It kind of hit me. I don't know much about you."
He squeezed her hand. "As much time as we spend together, you really feel like you don't know me?"
"Well, do I?"
"I mean ... there's not much to know."
Pria turned her head to look out the window, remaining quiet for the rest of the drive.
Walking into Drew's apartment from the outside was akin to walking into a refrigerator, since he kept the AC at sixty-eight degrees. She kicked off her shoes and padded comfortably into his space. "I feel gross."
Drew made a face that agreed with her. "Me too. You can take a shower. I'll get you a T-shirt and towel."
Pria showered first, then settled into what had become her spot on the couch as she waited for him to finish. Drew had taken to keeping a blanket there for her since she was always cold. The T-shirt he'd given her fell to mid-thigh and he'd been kind enough to throw her clothes in the laundry.
Pria glanced at the coffee table. The TV remote, a book, and some magazines were set in the precise way Drew wanted them. Her annoyance with him made her hand reach out of its own accord and rearrange the objects.
Pria bit her lip and snatched her hand back when he came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips. Completely comfortable in his own skin, he didn't bother to put on any clothes. He plopped down on the couch next to her, the towel gaping dangerously. "What are we watching?"
"Nothing. We're going to talk."
Drew let his head fall against the backrest. Eyes rolling, he groaned. "Great."
His typical male reaction was adorable and even made Pria feel a little better. So he's not perfect after all.
But his body was. Dear God.
The stubble-roughened column of his throat curved along his Adam's apple, leading to broad, thick shoulders and a well-defined chest. Thick cords of muscle banded around his ribs and rippled his abs. His parted thighs were muscular and veiny, and his calves spoke of a man who didn't neglect his cardio.
She licked her lips and forced her eyes back to his face only to blush when she realized he was watching her with a smug smile.
Her eyes narrowed.
His grin widened.
"Bischero," she accused.
Laughing, he took one of her small feet into his hands and began kneading it. "Let the interrogation begin."
They talked for hours, which only made Pria more aware of how much she hadn't known about him. Like the fact he was actually ten years older than her and not the five she'd originally guessed.
His mother was also a first-generation Italian, and though he had been born and raised on Long Island, she'd long since moved upstate to retire early. He'd been on the wrestling team in high school, gone to college and joined a fraternity, and he'd never been married.
The last gave Pria pause as she remembered her earlier thoughts about Drew's similarity to Sal. Was Drew a serial bachelor?
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing. Let's put a movie on."
He opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to change his mind and let it go. Reaching for the remote, his hand paused as he took in the disarray she'd caused. He sent a narrow-eyed glance in her direction as he put everything back in order. When he was done, he settled her feet into his lap and flipped through his movie list. Grabbing the blanket, she pulled it around herself to settle in. Thinking to just close her eyes for a moment while he chose a movie, she was fast asleep before the opening scene.
***
Drew was too frustrated to pay attention to the movie. Pria didn't deserve the hand she was being dealt. There had to be a faster way to draw out Sal. Their night at the club had been uneventful other than Drew annoying Vic enough to amuse Sal. Though he had gotten several more invitations to hang out with the men, he still wasn't fully embedded in Sal's circle.
All he needed was a single opportunity to show Sal what he was made of. If he hung around with Pria enough, he knew the day would come. Sal was a Molotov cocktail with the rag lit, and it was only a matter of time before the bottle exploded. In the meantime, Pria was developing feelings for him. That was the last thing he wanted. Maybe he was laying it on too thick with her. He should back off a little. But if he did, how would Sal react?
No, he needed Pria a little longer. Needed the entry she provided. All he needed was one stupid move on Sal's part, and Drew would have the man in his pocket.
And Pria? He looked over at her sleeping form. She'd get over him quickly enough. With her looks and brains, she could snag a man up in a heartbeat. She might be young, but there was steel in her spine and spice in her spirit. There was plenty going on in her life to keep her busy, and as goal oriented as she was, he'd be a memory to her in no time. Pria wouldn't dwell on a guy for long. She'd find someone else.
He worked his jaw at that, not liking the way his chest constricted at the thought of Pria with another man.
He scowled when a loud explosion from the movie nearly woke her. Drew turned off the TV and stood. Picking her up was easy since she barely weighed a pound. When she snuggled against him, he reminded himself not to be stupid.
He lowered her to the bed and pulled the covers up over her. Grabbing a pair of boxers, he put them on, then laid down next to her and pulled her up against him. Her warm body molded to his perfectly, comfortable and comforting. He snorted to himself. Comforting? Seriously?
Drew forced his thoughts away from the feel of her ass pressed up against his groin and the natural reaction his body experienced. There were worse ways to end a night than to have a beautiful woman pressed up against him, and maybe he should have left her on the couch, but he liked her enough to want her to be comfortable. That's all. And holding her? Well, she got cold easily and he was fine with sharing his body heat. He didn't want her to get sick because of him.
She sighed, pressing closer into his heat. "G'night, Drew."
"Good night, Pria."
I think Drew is in trouble. What do you think his plans are?
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