Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
He had a slight smirk on his face, and I realized that I hadn’t been very subtle about checking him out. Oops. “Hey, Maggie. Thanks for coming.”
“H-hi.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the weakness of my voice. I needed to pull myself together.
My ears picked up a funny sound coming from within his place. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it sounded like a low rumble.
“You look nice,” Rock said, making me feel like I was on a date. But if this were a date, I was fairly sure he’d be picking me up from my place, not the other way around. He seemed like he’d be an old-fashioned guy in that regard.
“Thanks.”
He stepped back. “Come on in.”
I stepped forward, noting the huge leather sofa before locating the source of the rumbling noise. To the right, a young boy was kneeling on the floor, his forearms on a coffee table. There had to be about twenty different dinosaur figures spread out in front of him. He was holding one in each hand. They appeared to be fighting.
“Tommy.” I had never heard that kind of gentleness in Rocco’s voice. Most of the time, it was deep and raspy. “This is Maggie.”
Tommy looked up curiously as he set down his dinosaurs.
“Hi, Tommy,” I said. He looked to be about six or seven.
Rocco crouched down next to the child. “Maggie’s our guest tonight. What do you say to her?”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” He ended his polite greeting with a shy grin. Two of his front teeth were missing, making his smile more adorable than words could say.
“Nice to meet you too, Tommy.” The boy looked unbelievably tiny next to the huge man, but still, the dark eyes were the same. The tan skin. The Italian heritage.
Tommy was Rocco’s son.
Rock spoke to his son as I reeled from that information. It had never entered my mind that Rocco might be a dad.
“Maggie’s going to stay with you. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Tommy nodded, but that was news to me. I was here to babysit?
“Will you be back before I go to sleep?” Tommy asked.
Regret crossed the big man’s face. “No. But I’m sure Maggie knows how to tuck kids in.”
Did I? I’d done some babysitting in my teens. I’d done whatever I could to earn money, but it had been a while.
“We’ll be fine,” I said to both of them, though I couldn’t quite remember the part where I’d agreed to babysit. But I owed Rocco, and Tommy was adorable. He seemed well-behaved, too. Of course, maybe any kid would be well-behaved with a giant man right next to him.
But no, that wasn’t it. There was genuine affection between these two. That much had become clear in just the few minutes I’d been here.
Rocco straightened up, and once again, I was struck by how big he was. Would I ever get over that reaction? “Be a good boy for me, champ. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He jerked his head toward the entryway to the kitchen, and I followed him in there.
“I’ll be as quick as I can,” he said in a low voice.
I nodded, knowing better than to ask what he would be doing.
Rocco studied my face, as if trying to read my unspoken thoughts. “Thanks for doing this. The girl I use canceled at the last minute because she had a date.” He scoffed. “A date! She’s only sixteen.”
A laugh bubbled up in my throat. If I’d had any doubts that he was a parent, that line would’ve removed them. He’d sounded like a disapproving father.
I glanced back at the living room to make sure Tommy hadn’t appeared in the doorway. “And his mother—?” I didn’t want to be nosy, but that was something I needed to know. What if she showed up and saw some strange woman watching her son?
“His mother decided a long time ago that she had no interest in being a mother.” Rocco’s tone was gruff but not bitter. It sounded like something he’d resigned himself to a long time ago. “A lady next door watches him after school along with her grandson. It’s not easy, but I make it work. But tonight, I needed help.”
I smiled at him. “Just like I did when those two guys pulled their guns on me at the bar.”
Rock’s expression darkened. “That was a freebie—you don’t have to help me tonight because of that. In fact, I can pay—”
“I know that,” I said quickly. “And tonight is a freebie, too.”
“Thank you.” A corner of his mouth tilted up. “It wasn’t exactly a hard thing, bashing those idiots’ heads together.”
I bit back a grin. “If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve almost thought you were having fun.”
“We play to our strengths.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “I still can’t believe you didn’t run into the kitchen or duck behind the bar.”