Liam closed the door then turned to follow.
“Don’t forget to lock it,” Nicky said. “Daddy’s orders.”
“How long were you standing there?” Liam questioned.
“Long enough to know you have it bad for that man,” Nicky said.
“You already knew that!”
“Yes, but now I know that the attraction isn’t one-sided,” Nicky said.
“You don’t think…” Liam trailed off, not knowing what he wanted to ask.
“That your neighbor is a total Daddy?” Nicky finished.
Liam nodded.
“He is a total Daddy,” Nicky said. “Now you just have to decide if he’s the Daddy you’ve been waiting for.”
“I…”
“Should at least try his cookies first,” Nicky joked. “What if they’re terrible? No one wants a Daddy that makes bad cookies.”
Liam did. He could not care less if his Daddy made good cookies or not.
Nicky shoved a cookie in Liam’s mouth.
Liam chewed.
Of course, the cookie was amazing and the best that Liam had ever had. Nicky might have a point. It would be a damn shame if his Daddy made yucky cookies. Thankfully, Jude seemed to be just as talented at baking as he did anything else.
Liam reached for another cookie, but Nicky pulled the plate away.
“Not until you eat dinner,” Nicky said. “Your Daddy seems like a stickler for rules.”
“He’s not my Daddy,” Liam argued. They were his cookies. He could have another if he wanted.
“Not yet,” Nicky said with a smirk.
Chapter Seven
Liam
It had been two days since Liam had last seen his neighbor. Liam stood at his sliding glass door, debating. If he stayed inside, he wouldn’t have to possibly run into Jude. He could keep living in limbo, which was not a bad place to be.
Until Liam talked to Jude, he could pretend that Jude didn’t know Liam’s secret.
No matter what Nicky had tried to convince Liam of over the weekend, Liam still wasn’t certain that Jude’s intentions were Daddy-like. Nicky had pushed Liam to make a move. Liam could only think of everything that could go wrong.
This was Liam’s new house. He’d bought it. Liam couldn’t run away and hide if Jude turned him down. Worse, what if he and Jude tried and failed? Then they would be living next to each other for, like, forever and it would be nearly impossible to avoid each other.
And Liam was having the same argument he’d had with himself when he’d wanted to go out and drink his morning coffee. It had become tradition for Liam to enjoy his first cup while watching the waves roll in and checking out his neighbor. Nicky had even joined him for the two mornings of the weekend he’d been there.
They’d called out a greeting and Jude had nodded back but he hadn’t stopped to talk.
Now Nicky had gone back to work and Liam was in his big house all alone.
He hadn’t managed to make it outside that morning. Liam had debated and debated until Jude had finished his swim and gone inside his own house. Liam had ended up taking his coffee to his office to check his emails.
