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“Smart, beautiful, and manipulative. You should come work for me.”
“Not manipulative,” she corrected him, though she totally was. “I just want Hector to be happy. And I think you giving him closure will help with that.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I'm asking. Now, do you want some steak with your drink?”
CHAPTER 23
HECTOR
Hector opened his front door and almost tripped over Zoe’s suitcase. Then he remembered today was Zoe’s sleepover. He hadn’t been able to make it to dinner tonight, but was just in time to see his girls getting ready.
Zoe looked excited when she saw him. She was adorable in her jeans and pink sweater, holding her superhero backpack.
Mary greeted him with a chaste kiss. She was nothing but proper around Zoe, considering even a little tongue risqué.
She grabbed her keys. “Let’s go, cupcake.”
“Can Hector bring me?”
“You don’t want me to take you? Are we already at the embarrassing mom stage?” Mary mock-whispered.
Zoe rolled her eyes. “No, silly. But I told Kim and Jodi about Hector. That he’s as big and strong as Wolverine. They didn’t believe me.”
She wanted to show him off. No one had ever wanted to do that before. It was… humbling. “Sure. I’ll take you.”
“Yay! They didn’t believe me when I said Mary looked like a doll before either,” she huffed. “Except Jodi’s father, Mr. Storm. He said Mary is beautiful.”
Hector’s eyes narrowed. “Did he now?”
“Don’t give me that look,” Mary said, while she put her keys back in the bowl. “Storm lost his wife a year ago and is still mourning her.”
“Guess that’s what I get for marrying a hot piece of—”
“Little ears!” Mary hissed.
“I forgot Spidey!” Zoe ran back up the stairs.
He pulled Mary to his side and whispered, “A hot piece of ass like you. You know what I’m gonna do to that ass tonight?”
“That’s going to have to wait because tonight is girls’ night.”
“Are you going to wear your fuck-me pumps?” Just thinking about the first time he’d seen her in those spiked heels got him hard. Of course, back then, he couldn’t touch her. How things had changed.
“I am.”
“Jesus, fuck.”
“That’s another dollar, Mr. Diaz. Keep it up, and you’re going to make me rich.”
“You can have all I have, baby. And tonight, when you get back, I’m going to give you all I have while you’re wearing those pumps.”
Her clattering smile elevated his spirit. He found himself… happy, dammit, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On one hand, it felt great. Coming home to his girls every night was worth more than any pile of money. On the other hand, for the first time in his life, he had something to lose. If anything happened to them, it would cripple him.
He took Zoe’s suitcase and opened the door. A delivery guy with a large box looked up at him from his porch.
“Zoe Diaz?” he asked.