A Diamond For The Single Mum

“Well, she terrifies me. In a good way,” he quickly added. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

“You won’t.”

“Sure,” he said, knowing he wouldn’t ever hurt her because he wouldn’t ever touch her.

He got his coffee and went back to his room, where he dressed in his typical work clothes of jeans and a halfway decent shirt. When he returned to the kitchen for his keys and wallet, Harper and the baby were gone.

Wincing, he walked back the hall and knocked on her door.

“Yes?”

“Just wanted to let you know I’m on my way to work.”

“Okay.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. The melodious sound of her voice drifted through him like a blast of sweet summer air. She sounded so happy and content that pride surged through him, tightening his chest. This time two days ago, she’d been facing homelessness and he’d fixed that for her.

He started up the hall and picked up his keys and wallet. What the hell was wrong with him? Helping her should feel good, but he wasn’t doing this for her. He was doing it for Clark. To pay back Clark for taking him in when he needed help.

The very fact that he kept forgetting that meant it was time to get things moving along before his emotions got any more involved.

CHAPTER THREE (#u8840a0b8-97d6-50db-8956-bccf3f6802d0)

THAT EVENING, SETH returned a little later than he had the night before, looking like a sex god in a T-shirt that showed off his chest and shoulders and a pair of sunglasses he’d probably bought in Europe.

Harper’s breathing shivered. Her muscles froze. For the next ten seconds, she was sure her heart stopped beating.

“We’re going to do your résumé tonight.”

“That’s great.” She thought of Clark, realizing how happy he’d be once she was settled, and all the feelings she’d had about Seth lessened. “But I made dinner.” A thought occurred. “You haven’t eaten, have you?”

“No. But the résumé probably should come first.”

“Or maybe we can talk about it while we eat?” That way they wouldn’t have to discuss other things. Not that she hadn’t appreciated the conversation the night before. She had. It was more that it had warmed her a little too much.

“Okay.”

He set the table as she brought Crystal’s baby seat over and strapped it to a chair. She’d already put the pot roast and potatoes and carrots into a huge serving dish and he carried it to the table.

“Smells good.” His voice sounded funny, like he had caught the scent of the food and shivered around it.

“Thanks. I learned to cook after Clark and I got married. Mrs. Petrillo watched Crystal while I checked out the little grocery store a few blocks down.”

They both sat. Each of them dished up a plateful of food.

Seth took a bite and squeezed his eyes shut in ecstasy. “This is fantastic.”

It had been so long since anyone had complimented her that even a simple expression of pleasure went through her like warm honey. Luckily, they had work to do.

She bounced from her chair. “I’ll go get my laptop.”

She raced into her bedroom and found her computer. She turned it on, pulled up her résumé and headed to the dining area again.

When she got there, Seth was standing in front of Crystal’s seat.

He glanced up at Harper. “I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew you were probably okay with her sitting there. But I’m new to all this and when you were gone so long, I figured I’d better be safe rather than sorry.”

Crystal grinned and he laughed. “She’s really cute.”

The sight of him by her little girl warmed her heart, but more than that, he was getting accustomed to her baby. Maybe growing to like her baby—

He wasn’t supposed to like Crystal. Or her. She was here temporarily. They’d probably never see each other again after her short stay here. She needed to remember that.

“She’s fine as long as the she’s strapped in.” She slid the laptop on the table. “Here’s my résumé.”

Seth returned to his seat. He angled the screen toward him and started reading.

After only a minute, he glanced over at her. “What kind of a job are you trying for?”

“I’d like to be somebody’s assistant.”

“Okay. Good. I think your qualifications should line up. But you do realize there’ll be some other things like typing involved? Maybe writing reports.”

“That would be fantastic. I like to work. I think I’d like a job that would challenge me.”

He finished reading what she had in her résumé as he ate his roast and potatoes. After they’d cleaned the kitchen and dining area, she put the baby to bed.

When she returned to the living area, he pointed to the laptop, still on the dining room table. “Okay. We need to punch it up a bit, but we’ll figure it out together. If I’m going to recommend you, I want to know what’s in your résumé.”

Her spirits brightened. “You’re going to recommend me?”

“I saw how you worked when you lived beside me and Clark. I know you were dedicated to your clients. I know you put in long hours.” He shrugged. “I’m the perfect person to recommend you.”

She sat at the table in front of the laptop. He stood behind her.

Leaning in, he said, “Our first problem is that you haven’t worked in five years. We have to downplay that.”

The woodsy scent of his cologne floated to her. Her shoulder tingled because he had his hand on the back of her chair and every time she moved, she brushed it. Her mind tried to go blank, to enjoy the sensations, but she wouldn’t let it. They had a job to do.

She turned to make a suggestion about how to get around the gap between her work experience and the current date, but when she turned, the way he leaned in put them face-to-face. So close, they could have rubbed noses.

Close enough to kiss.

Her chest froze. Where the hell had that thought come from? She did not want to kiss him. This feeling tumbling through her had to be wrong. Seth was her husband’s best friend.

She started to turn away, but his eyes held hers. When she’d met him, she’d thought he had the eyes of a bad boy. Dark. Forbidding. But she once again saw the spark of wisdom or experience that she’d seen when he’d opened his condo door to her a few days before.

It was as if something had happened in the past five years. Something that had changed him. She knew what his dad had been like. She knew his mom had been oblivious—