He stepped inside her entryway, still looking at her in a way that made her toes curl. “Baby, damn, look at you. You’re beautiful. I’m not going to be able to think about anything but fucking you tonight.” Running his finger down her cleavage, he said, “In fact, maybe we should . . .”

Grabbing his wandering hand in her own, she smirked back at him. “Oh no, Mr. Powers, you promised me dinner.” Feeling her cheeks color, she added, “Then afterward, I hope you will . . . because I want you too.”

With a growl, he drew her into his arms and locked his mouth on hers. When he pulled back, she had been thoroughly kissed and was completely rattled. She didn’t give a damn about dinner at that point and was ready to admit it, when Mac, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking, steered her toward the door with an evil smile.

“Come on, then, let’s go get you that dinner that you wanted so much. Remember?”

“Um . . . yeah.” Giving him a hopeful look, she said, “We could just order a pizza, though.”

He tweaked her nose, laughter rumbling from his broad chest. “I like the way you think, but there is no way I’m letting that dress go to waste. If we stay home, it’ll just end up on the floor in less than five minutes. And even though that sounds like heaven, I want to look at you across the table tonight and imagine what I’m going to do to you later. There is nothing like anticipation.”

Daringly, Ava ran her hand over his ass, cupping him firmly before releasing him. “So, this is like a few hours of foreplay, right? I can’t wait. Let’s go!”

She grinned as she heard Mac mutter, “Fuck,” under his breath before taking her hand and walking her out to his SUV.

*   *   *

Ava wasn’t sure what had come over her, but she was determined to make Mac regret his decision to skip pizza and go somewhere public. He thought anticipation made things better. Well, she intended to give him more than he could possibly handle. She’d never been the daring type, but something about the dress, the shoes, and the man was a heady mix. Tonight, she felt powerful and sexy and she wanted to spread her wings and fly.

When they were seated in a quiet corner of the upscale restaurant, Ava waited until their server had left the table before scooting her chair closer to Mac’s. She had no intention of sitting so far away from him for the next hour. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t comment on her movement. Mac ordered a bottle of wine, and they both decided on seafood as their main course. He was just lifting his wineglass when she made her first move. She put her hand firmly on his hard thigh, only inches from his crotch. His wineglass tilted alarmingly before she quickly reached out to steady it. Leaning over, she whispered, “You better be careful. You wouldn’t want to stain the tablecloth.”

When she started rubbing wide circles on his leg, he quickly set his glass back down. Looking adorably rattled, he asked, “Er—baby, what’re you doing?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

His hand dropped to cover hers, squeezing it lightly. “I mean, what’s going on with this hand?”

Giving him a wicked smile, she said, “Ohhh, nothing much. You look so good tonight that I need to be touching some part of you so that I’ll know that you’re real.”

She looked at him in fascination as he appeared to blush. Mac was a gorgeous, hot hunk of man, and she’d always assumed that he was well aware of that fact. Emma was right about one thing: the men at Danvers, Mac included, did have the cocky-walk thing going on. Was it possible that after all the years of her refusing to take their relationship past a friendship, he was insecure about her feelings toward him? Could he actually doubt that she thought he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen? Had she ever told him that? God, she couldn’t remember now. She knew he’d caught her ogling his body on more than one occasion, but she should make sure that he knew, shouldn’t she?

Clearing his throat, he said, “I think that should be my line, shouldn’t it?”

Taking a deep breath, she locked her eyes with his as she began, “Mac, aside from my brothers, you’re the most incredible man I’ve ever known. I know it’s not cool to say, but you’re beautiful to me. Handsome just isn’t a good enough word to describe you. When you walk into a room, my heart skips a beat and then speeds up to double time. Even when I was scared of my own shadow, I wanted you. You were gorgeous as a teenager, and it’s only gotten better. I could sit and stare at you for hours and never grow tired of it. I’ve never desired anyone but you . . . always you.”

She watched the emotions flicker in Mac’s expressive eyes as she talked—seeing first surprise, then happiness, followed by desire. “Avie—I,” he began just as their server returned with their plates. Ava wanted to turn around and roll her eyes at him for intruding on their intimate moment, but maybe it was for the best. Did she really want to have a heart-to-heart with Mac in the middle of a restaurant? They had all night for that. Right now they could return to their fun, easy flirting and enjoy their meal. This was her first real date, and she didn’t want to miss a single moment of it.

Mac had ordered the lobster for himself and suggested she try the shrimp. She speared a juicy morsel on her fork and leaned over to offer it to him. With eyes smoldering, he opened his lips and allowed her to feed him. He closed his teeth on her fork, pulling it playfully before releasing it. When he offered her a bite of his lobster, she made a show of taking the morsel and then flicking her tongue against his fork before releasing it. His eyes were riveted on her mouth as she swallowed the bite. “I’m going to visit with Ella and the baby tomorrow night. Would you like to go with me?” she asked as he finally returned his attention back to his plate.

Nodding in agreement, he said, “Yeah, I’d like that. Declan says that they haven’t slept in days. Maybe you and I could manage to hold the fort down while they take a nap. Do you know anything about babies?”

Alarmed, Ava shook her head frantically. “The only thing I know is that you’re supposed to give them back immediately if they start crying or smelling funny.”

Mac chuckled. “Yeah, that’s been my experience too. Aren’t they supposed to mostly sleep at first, though?”

“I have no idea,” Ava admitted. “Maybe we should Google it.”

Taking a sip of his wine, Mac said, “Here’s what we’ll do. If the baby is asleep, and I mean really out of it, we offer to give them an hour to sleep. If she’s awake or sleeping, but restless, then we keep our mouths shut. I feel bad about it, but they’d probably rather lose some sleep than have us mess the kid up.”