Read Online Had to Be You: Bad Boys of Red Hook by Robin Kaye - Free Book Online Page A

father and his brothers, but he had no problem leaving them. He guessed it would be different if he loved a woman, but since that had never happened, he had to be immune.
    He ran his head under the faucet—the only way to deal with his bed head—brushed his teeth, and dragged on a Henley before grabbing his jacket.
    Nicki stood by the door holding D.O.G.’s leash in one hand and a travel mug of coffee in the other. “Thanks for taking us out.”
    “No problem.” He took a swig of coffee, tapped his back pocket to make sure his wallet was still there, and grabbed the keys. “Let’s go.”
    Nicki handed him the leash. “You first, but be careful, he gots to go bad, so he’ll pull you down the steps.”
    “Thanks for the warning.” And it was a good thing she’d told him because if she hadn’t, he was sure he’d be on his ass. He hightailed it outside and waited for Nicki while D.O.G. took a leak on the nearest tree.
    She shook her head. “Told you he had to pee bad.”
    “You sure did.” The rain had stopped and the skies had cleared and it was unseasonably warm. He took off his jacket and asked Nicki, “Why don’t you show me this dog park and the bagel shop? We can let your boy here play and bring back breakfast.”
    “Okay.” Nicki grabbed his hand.
    He’d never held a little girl’s hand before and he wasn’t sure why he was now, but he didn’t think it would be cool to ask. He didn’t want Nicki to think he didn’t like her.
    “I’m not allowed to cross the street without holding a grown-up’s hand.”
    Great, he’d better start doing a better job of hiding his discomfort around the kid.
    “The park is this way.” Nicki skipped across the street and let him go as soon as she hit the sidewalk. “Bree’s pretty weird about things like crossing the street and she has spies everywhere. It’s just not worth taking a chance on getting caught.”
    He figured she was more than old enough to cross the street alone, but then what did he know? All he wanted to do was get the dog walked, buy breakfast, and get home.
    Slater watched Nicki and D.O.G. play and wondered if he’d blinked and missed winter. It felt like spring. Nicki had dropped her coat on a bench so Slater picked it up and watched her and D.O.G. race around the park.
    He took a deep breath—fresh air filled his lungs, and heightened the sense of expectation. His blood buzzed through his body. It was a perfect day. If the weather report was accurate, the mercury would hit seventy and he wasn’t going to miss his last chance for a comfortable ride.
    “Come on, Nicki. Time to go. Patrice is going to pick you up to go to see the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum today.”
    Nicki ran all out toward him. He held out a hand and caught her.
    “It’s a museum.” She strung the word out like a piece of taffy until it broke. “Do I have to go?”
    “The Intrepid is awesome—it’s an Essex class aircraft carrier. You’ll get to check out the whole ship. Plus there’s the space shuttle, and they even have a Russian space capsule. It’s a really cool museum.”
    “If you think it’s so great, how come you’re not going?”
    Smart-ass kid. “I wasn’t invited.”
    Nicki took his hand. “That’s okay. You don’t need an invitation. You can come with us.”
    She tugged him toward the gate and he wondered how the hell he’d get out of it. Then he realized he didn’t want to—it would be fun to check out the
Intrepid
, to be on board a ship again, even if it was only a museum. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t go with them and then take off early if he was bored. And Patrice might be happy to have a little help. He didn’t think he could handle watching a three- and five-year-old, but he’d been helping out with Nicki this morning and he hadn’t lost her yet. “How about I take you to Patrice’s house? We can take my bike if it’s okay with Pop, and then we can ask Patrice if she wouldn’t mind me going along.”
    Nicki shot