She blinked, sure that she’d misheard him. He couldn’t have possibly just asked her out on a date.

“Umm, I’m sorry, what?” she asked, shifting so that she could glance down and immediately regretting it when she saw how high off the floor she was. She moved back until her back was once again touching the wall.

That killer smile of his became knowing as he said, “I’d like to take you out tonight.”

“I see,” she said, simply to say something while her mind processed what he’d said and when it did, she said, “Oh, um, no thanks,” and moved to climb off the cabinet only to remember that she was afraid of heights and that there was currently an army of six and seven year olds waiting to attack her.

“Why not?” he asked, leaning back against her desk, looking unfazed by her rejection.

Instead of answering him, she asked, “Do you think you could help me down?”

“No,” he said, his lips twitching with amusement as he studied her.

“No?” she repeated, swallowing back a curse when she risked another peek over the edge only to find a small group of angry looking six and seven year olds glaring up at her, armed with paste and bowls of glitter. “Umm, why not?” she asked, moving back a safe distance from the edge and those rather frightening children.

“Why won’t you go out with me?” Danny returned calmly.

Because she wasn’t looking for another friend, another guy to look at her like a kid sister, and she sure as hell didn’t want to go through the motions of a date only to get rejected at the end with a barely-there kiss on the cheek and a few complimentary words about how sweet she was. She especially didn’t want to go through that with him.

She knew that it was foolish, but after falling asleep in his arms the other night, she couldn’t stomach the idea of him looking down at her like she was the sweet baby sister that he’d never had and he would. There was just something about her, she didn’t know if it was her size, her looks, the way she smiled or spoke, but something about her made men view her as nothing more than a kid sister. She didn’t want Danny to see her like that, not when it meant that he’d start viewing the other night with horror.

He’d held her all night, caressed her stomach, constantly kissed her and had refused to let her go. If she went out with him the illusion that a handsome man wanted her would be ruined. Within minutes of the date he’d start looking at her funny and start to feel uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t know why until the end of the date when he walked her to the door and stared down into her eyes. Then the realization would hit him and that would end any fantasy that an incredibly handsome man wanted her.

“I can see that I’m going to have to do this another way,” Danny murmured and before she could ask him what he was talking about, he was back in front of the cabinet and pulling her off.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” she said rather hysterically as he pulled her down into his arms, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck in a desperate attempt to stay there when small hands made a grab for her.

“Anything you want, Tink,” he said as he walked over to the checkout desk and plopped her down on the high counter right next to Matthew who was-

“Is that my lunch?” she asked, frowning as Matthew popped what looked like the rest of her double fudge, buttercream frosting brownie in his mouth with a shrug.

Danny sighed, as he gently cupped her chin and forced her to look back at him. “I’m going to need you to focus here, Tink.”

“That’s not my name,” she murmured absently as she peered past him and what she saw had her swallowing nervously and trying to shift back on the counter, but Danny wasn’t having that.

“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said, loosely wrapping his arms around her hips as he stepped closer, forcing her to spread her legs to accommodate the move.

“I can’t,” she said, gasping in horror when tiny hands suddenly closed around her ankles and tried to drag her away. Danny’s large frame was the only thing that kept her from being dragged to the ground and smothered in paste and glitter. That triumphant look in his eye let her know that he knew it.

“No?” he said, cocking a brow as he moved to step back.

“Get her!” one of the normally docile children screamed excitedly as she found herself being pulled to the edge of the counter.

Refusing to be covered in white gunk for a second time that week, she wrapped her arms and legs around Danny’s retreating form and held on for dear life. He simply stood there, his arms down by his sides as he stepped away from the counter, allowing the little demons to grab hold of her. Tightening her hold around him, she snapped, “Danny!”

“Are you sure you can’t go out with me tonight?” he asked, sounding amused, the bastard!

“Yes!”

“Well, then,” he said, sighing heavily as he grabbed her hips and-

“Wait!” she screamed a bit desperately when she realized that he was truly going to hand her over to the demons still pawing at her.

“Yes?” he inquired politely as she tightened her hold around him, her face buried in his neck as she struggled to come up with a way to get out of this without needing to scour glitter off her body for the next two months. When it came to her, she quickly looked up and peered over Danny’s shoulder only to find Trevor standing next to Matthew, both males snacking on Matthew’s loot as they openly watched them.