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fallen on her ass trying to reach a blue circle, he’d had to take her place. Those were the rules—which she’d reminded him of when he’d resisted her attempt to take the spinner from his hand.
    Mac somehow maneuvered his left foot around his right hand and got it on a green circle about a mile’s stretch away. Nice. The view was nice, too. In camo shorts and white tank top, he was giving a magnificent muscle flexing show. The man was simply magnificent. Even his curmudgeon attitude couldn’t detract from that.
    Besides, he allowed enough amusement to show through his gruff exterior that she wasn’t the least bit daunted by his attempts to push her away. He would have a better chance if those enticing lips would stop twitching at the corners, letting her know he wanted oh-so-badly to smile. The fact that he fought the impulse made him all the more intriguing to her.
    “Okay, Skylar, your turn.” Gayle spun the arrow. “Right foot, red.”
    The little girl groaned. “Really?”
    With her little hands splayed on the red dots on one side of the plastic mat and her feet on the green dots on the opposite side, the move wasn’t going to be easy. Skylar hated to lose.
    Gayle grinned. “Sorry.”
    She brought her right foot forward, getting it as far as the line of blue before she simply tilted over onto her side. The fall was so fast and so dramatic, Gayle burst into laughter, and Skylar followed with her childish cackle, which made Gayle laugh even harder. She loved the pure, unapologetic joy of a child.
    She glanced over at Mac to share the moment, and all her enjoyment faded. What would have brought an immediate grin to anyone else’s face, failed to do so on Mac’s. The stricken expression was filled with such sadness and longing as he stared down at the child, Gayle’s heart clenched tight.
    He jerked his gaze away and directed it across the room, shoving his hand through his hair, a swallow working his throat.
    This man must have one hell of story.
    Time to lighten the mood again. “Okay, Skylar. You know what that means?”
    The little girl jumped up. “It’s my turn to call and it’s yours and Uncle Mac’s turn to twist.”
    If his head had whipped around any faster it would have flown clean off his shoulders. At least he was distracted from whatever past demon had surfaced.
    “That would be correct, Skylar.” She cocked the challenging eyebrow she was quickly learning goaded the hell out of him. “How about it, handsome? A friendly competition between adults. Which one of us has the best balance?”
    As expected, the angular jut of his jawline tightened. He really shouldn’t make it so easy for her to read him. The man simply could not back down from a challenge—even from her. Which gave her all the power.
    He walked toward her. “I’m the only one in the room who hasn’t fallen yet.”
    “Because you’ve only played once.”
    “And I stayed on my feet. The one time you played, someone landed flat on her a—” He cleared his throat, his gaze shooting over to Skylar. “ Er , backside. Seems to me I’m already the victor between the adults.”
    The man was just as bad as Skylar about winning. Gayle would have to change strategy. “It’s pretty sad that a grown man would claim victory over an eight-year-old when the only reason she couldn’t make the move was because she is an eight-year-old . I would’ve been able to make that move.”
    He pressed his lips together, but not before she saw the twitch at the corners. To seal the deal, she crossed her arms over her chest, cocked one hip out, and pursed her lips in a what-are-you-going-to-say-to-that? way.
    He immediately dropped his head, but she’d seen it. Oh. My. God. She’d seen it. A flash of white teeth. Handsome had smiled. Unfortunately, she hadn’t received the full effect or seen how it transformed his face, but still, he’d failed to keep it buttoned up.
    She was getting to him.
    It wouldn’t be long and he’d smile just