Her lips parted, and heat pooled low in her belly. She wanted him to do that. Kiss her. Right now. She swallowed hard.

“Okay.”

He straightened. “Okay what?”

“Okay, come over and kiss me.” She stood, and he did, too—so quickly his stool skidded backward across the floor. “But humor me and lock the door first.”

She tried to stay focused on what she wanted to say, but the sight of Mike slowly walking toward her made that difficult. She had to blink away for a moment to gather her thoughts. “Just to clarify, you’re not a dirty secret. But we do have to be a secret for now. If that’s a dealbreaker...” She stepped back as he stopped right in front of her, determined to finish her point. What was her point?

“It’s not a dealbreaker, Zoey,” he said softly. “I get it. But...”

That little burst of heat she’d felt cooled immediately as soon as he said but.

“My daughter will always come first. If you aren’t ready for that, we should stop right now.”

“I get that, Zoey. It’s just...we might have something really great happening here, but not if we suffocate it under a rock.”

She shrugged. “I’m a mom first.”

“I know!” He took a breath, his voice softening. “I swear I get it. It’s one of the things I admire most about you. And I love Hazel—she’s terrific. This is not a dealbreaker. I’m just saying give me a chance to wrap my head around it.”

She nodded in agreement. “This is so new. We should at least wait to see if we want to continue...”

His smile turned devilish, his hand sliding under the hem of her T-shirt. Mike’s other hand cupped her chin gently and tipped her head up until she had no choice but to look at him. Their bodies were pressed together now and, even though they were fully dressed, she felt his erection twitch against her stomach.

His voice was rough and low. “Oh, I definitely want to continue.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers, making her moan with need. The hand on her back was splayed out now, pulling her even closer. God, she wanted this man so much. But there wasn’t a bed in sight.

“Where?” she asked against his mouth. The word parted her lips just enough for him to push his way inside as he kissed her. The kiss was hard and frantic...for both of them. She reached up to grip his hair with her fingers.

“There has to be somewhere...” He ground out the words. “Wait...isn’t your dad’s old worktable back in—”

“Dad’s office? Yes!”