Read Online King’s Million-Dollar Secret by Maureen Child - Free Book Online

agreed. “Come on, Nicole, I’ll help you get this straightened up.”
    â€œYou don’t have to do that,” the blond said. “We’ll be fine. Really.”
    â€œSure you will, I can see that,” Rafe told her with a shrug, not wanting to wound her pride. “But while you two get the water out of here, I’m going to run up to the hardware store. I’ll get a new joint in there and have you up and running again.” Katie beamed at him.
    And he felt as if someone had just pinned a medal to his chest.
    Their gazes locked, and the rest of the world fell away for one long, sizzling moment. Every heartbeat felt measured. Every breath a struggle.
    Rafe was caught by the emotion on her face. The pride in him. The gratitude and the admiration. He had never known another moment like it. It was amazing, he thought, to have someone look at him as if he’d hung the moon.
    And all he wanted to do was walk across the floor, take her into his arms and sweep her into a dip for a kiss that would send them both over the edge of hunger. Need was a gnawing ache inside him. He’d never experienced that before, either, he thought. Desire, sure. Want, absolutely.
    But need?
    Never.
    â€œI can’t ask you to do that,” Nicole said, shattering the moment.
    Rafe took a breath to steady himself and shook his head, clearing his thoughts, getting a grip on the emotions suddenly churning through him. As he regained control, he mentally thanked Nicole for shattering whatever it was that had so briefly hummed between he and Katie.
    Looking at the blonde, he said, “You didn’t ask. I offered. And don’t worry about it. Besides,” he added with a grin for the toddler, “with this little guy around, you’re going to need water, right?”
    Katie was still smiling at him as if he were some kind of comic-book hero. And she was still stirring him up inside, so he gave her a smile, then tugged his keys outof his jeans pocket. Best all around if he left now. “I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll get you set up.”
    â€œThanks.” Nicole whispered the word. “Really.”
    Katie gave her a brief hug, then stepped up to Rafe and slid her hand into his. “I’ll walk you to the door while Nicole gets the broom and mop.”
    His fingers curled around hers and he felt the heat of her skin zing through his system like a raging wildfire. At the front door, Katie looked back over her shoulder to make sure Nicole was out of earshot, then said softly, “Thank you for offering to help her like that, Rafe. Nicole couldn’t afford a plumber. You’re really doing something amazing for her.”
    â€œIt’s not a problem.”
    â€œFor you, ” she said with another smile. “But for a single mom, it’s a catastrophe. Or it would have been. Without you. You’re my hero.”
    Her simple words hit him with a crash. Always before, when people needed help, he wrote a check. Made a donation. It was safe, distant and still managed to salve the urge he had to help those who needed it. He hadn’t realized until just now how differently helping felt when it was up close and personal.
    â€œI’ve never been anybody’s hero before.”
    She looked up at him and he knew he could lose himself in the deep, summer green of her eyes. Her delectable mouth curved at the edges. “You are now.”
    He reached up and cupped the back of her neck with his palm. “Keep that thought and hold on to it for later, okay?”
    â€œI can do that,” she said and went up on her toes to brush a soft kiss across his mouth. Then she stepped away and said, “Hurry back.”
    His lips were tingling, his breath was still stranglingin his lungs and Rafe was suddenly so damn hard he didn’t think he’d be able to walk to his truck without limping.
    Some hero.
    Â 
    Nicole and Connor joined them for the