“Yeah. So let me help.” The sincerity in those dark blue eyes reached inside her chest and played with long-buried needs and desires.
“Okay,” she found herself saying. She shook her head, confusion swamping her even as she went with it. “Yeah. Sure. Um.” She gestured toward the house. “Come say hi?”
Maverick smiled. And holy wow. It had been a long time since Alexa had seen him smile that way. It stole her breath. Because Maverick Rylan smiling was stunningly gorgeous. The smile brought out deep dimples on both sides of his mouth, and combined with the stubble covering his jaw and those blue, blue eyes—
“We going in?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked.
So busted. “Of course,” she said, hugging herself and looking down at the blacktop of the driveway as she led him toward the house. “When we get inside, let me give Mom a heads-up that you’re here in case she wants to put herself together a bit. Or something.”
“Sure,” Maverick said from beside her. Out of nowhere, Alexa was swimming in the most overwhelming sensation of déjà vu. How many times had Maverick come to visit her mother with Alexa? How many times had he helped drop off groceries or take out trash or sat and chatted with her mom while Alexa took care of something that otherwise would’ve caused her a lot of stress? Him being there was suddenly so familiar and so foreign—because it had been a long time since she’d felt like she had any companionship in dealing with her mom. Going all the way back to Tyler’s death.
A weird little knot of tension settled into Alexa’s gut.
She opened the front door and stepped inside, Maverick right behind her. She held out a hand to him and moved to the living room doorway. “I have a surprise for you,” she said to her mother. “Someone came to say hello.”
“Who?” Her mom ran her hands over her hair. “I look a mess, Alexa.”
“It’s just me, Mrs. H,” Maverick said.
“Oh!” Alexa hadn’t seen her mother’s face light up like that in a long time. “Oh, Maverick Rylan, you come in here and see me right now.”
Grinning, Maverick slid past where Alexa stood in the doorway. Though it was soft and quick, the slight brush of his body against hers flashed heat through Alexa’s body. Just that little touch. Just that promise of something more. And that knot in her belly got a lot bigger and a lot more uncomfortable. Because barely touching Maverick made her hot with want, but just last night she’d had to pep talk herself into keeping her promise to make her rushed morning up to Grant.
“Hi, Mrs. H,” Maverick said, crossing the room to her.
“Oh, Maverick. What a sight for sore eyes you are,” she said, standing up. She held her arms out to him, and Maverick didn’t hesitate for a second. He not only hugged her, but he lifted her off her feet, making her mother laugh like a girl. “Put me down before you break me,” she said, not meaning a word of it.
“It’s good to see you.” Maverick carefully put her back down. “How have you been?”
“Same old. You know.” Mom sat again. “You here to help Alexa straighten me out, then?” she asked with a sniff.
Maverick laughed. “I’m here to help Alexa with whatever she needs help with,” he said, looking over his shoulder at her. His expression revealed that he meant that in all kinds of ways Alexa didn’t want to think about. Shouldn’t think about. Since she was engaged to another man and all. And had given Maverick up long ago.
Regret crept across her skin in a shiver, but Alexa refused to give it a second thought. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind helping me in the kitchen, then?”
“You’re the boss,” he said.
“Ha. Says the man who doesn’t listen to me.” Alexa threaded her way through the room, glad that needing to be careful of her steps meant that she had a good reason not to make eye contact with Maverick.
“You be nice to him, Alexa,” her mother said.
“Yeah, be nice to me,” Mav whispered. The sexy bastard.
In the kitchen, Alexa pointed her finger at him and raised an eyebrow. A silent command to be good.
“What?” he asked, his mouth sliding into a cocky half grin. She wanted to kiss it off of him.
“What are you going to do in the kitchen?” her mother asked from the other room.
Alexa shook away the troubling impulse. What was wrong with her? “Just dealing with the trash and recycling, Mom. Don’t worry,” Alexa called. Even though Maverick had been in their trailer many times and knew just how bad their mother’s hoarding could be, Alexa found herself really glad that she’d taken care of the dishes earlier. The room didn’t smell nearly as offensive now. And luckily she hadn’t found any buried critters—so far, at least. She looked at Maverick and spoke in a near whisper, “Sure you don’t mind doing this?”