Blocked by Lisa N. Paul

woman.” Decker’s bright smile instantly put April at ease. “You truly are a selfless soul. I feel as though I owe you a great debt, you know… for saving me from the Thonged Villain.” April giggled at Decker’s mock horror. He shook his head, feigning torment. “I was going to ask her out for this weekend, but you opened my eyes and made me think better of it. Now what should I do?”
     
    * * *
     
    HELL, THIS COULDN’T have worked out better had Decker planned it himself. April’s bright eyes sprung wide as he tossed out the question he’d been gearing up to ask. Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink than when she’d just finished her cardio. Was that bad or good?
    “What do you say, April?” he teased. “The guys on the jobsite would say you cock-blocked me with the Thong Princess… so—”
    April’s eyes narrowed as her hands rested on her small waist. “Oh, big guy, I didn’t realize I was interrupting such a love connection between you and the Floss Fairy.”
    Decker wanted nothing more than to kiss the woman who was dishing out silliness with the same ease she received it.
    “You stay put, and I’ll see if I can go find her. I’m sure she and all of her 90s hair could be ready for that date in about four hours.” She winked and turned her back to him.
    “April,” Decker warned, his hand gently gripping her biceps to stop her retreat. He watched as her shoulders rose and fell and her blond ponytail swayed with each breath. Within two steps, he stood face to face with the smiling beauty and found himself at a loss for air. He could get lost in the dimples that hugged each side of April’s lush lips. In fact, he wanted nothing more.
    “What can I do for you, big guy?”
    “Will you go out to dinner with me this weekend?” The timidity in his own voice threw him off guard for the first time in years. Shit, the only time in his entire life he’d lacked confidence were the years he was with Olivia, and even then it was conviction he was missing, not confidence. At the time, he’d been too frightened of making a mistake, of hurting the wrong people to follow his heart, and in the end, everybody lost. Now, as he looked at the woman who’d not only piqued his interest but sparked his passion, he knew that he needed her to accept his invitation.
    “Umm, sure.” April licked her lips then rubbed them together as if she were spreading gloss from bottom to top, even though the perfect skin was void of artificial color or shine. “Okay.”
    Decker’s eyes dropped to her plump lips as he felt a stirring low in his groin. He shifted the towel he’d been holding to cover the front of his basketball shorts. “Wow, Dimples, I’m overwhelmed by your excitement. Seriously, try to tone it down a bit,” he snarked, attempting to hide the disappointment her lack of enthusiasm caused.
    April let out another sexy laugh. “No, I’d really like to go out with you, Deck. It’s just… well, this whole thing is just strange.” Decker wanted clarification. As if reading his mind, April continued to explain. “It’s like something came over me when I saw that girl trying to get your attention.” Again she moved her pink tongue across her bottom lip, and again he felt his cock twitch, but instead of pressing on, she looked away.
    “April, truth, okay?”
    She shifted her gaze back to his and nodded.
    “That feeling, was it jealousy?”
    “Completely.” She sighed before muttering something unintelligible to herself.
    “What was that?” He definitely liked how her cheeks flushed when she was embarrassed.
    “Oh, it’s nothing…just thinking about how that must sound, me admitting that to you. I promise I’m not the bunny-in-a-pot-of-boiling-water kind of girl.”
    The Fatal Attraction reference wasn’t lost on him. Both he and his brother had come across more than one crazy stalker over the years, but thankfully, no pets had been harmed, unless of course one counted his pet rock,