“Yeah.” It was what it was. Nothing I could change now. “I’m just glad you’re parenting like an actual compassionate person instead of a fake one, you know?”
He hummed, then cracked up at Moira Schitt’s antics, and we stopped with the heavy talk.
Later, when there was no good reason to prolong the evening anymore, Law got up and stretched.
“This was a good night,” he stated, smiling slightly.
I smiled back. “I think so.”
Then he got more serious, and I could tell he was going to ask something I wasn’t ready to answer. I didn’t want to label this or think about what it could be.
As he opened his mouth, I held up a hand. “Let’s… not?” I grimaced. “Can we just let it be whatever? For now?”
His expression gentled, and he nodded. “Okay.”
He went to put on his outerwear, and I watched with Salem in my arms so I wouldn’t try to keep Law there.
When he was ready, he hesitated as he looked at me. “Okay, so….”
“Oh!” I held up my finger and put the cat down. Then I grabbed my hooker bag and pulled out the long, blue scarf I’d made. I presented it with a flourish. “Here you go.”
Law leaned forward. “You put it on me.”
I grinned and shook my head fondly, then folded the scarf in half and put around his neck, then pulled the ends through the loop. “That looks good.”
When I lifted my gaze, he was looking at me with thiswarmththat spelled trouble.Moretrouble.Infinitetrouble.
So instead of kissing him like I wanted to, I took a step back.
He seemed to understand what I was doing. Or not doing, rather. He smiled.
“Thank you, Oak.”
“Of course.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“Probably. If the weather holds, the boy and I are going to go skating again.” I nodded toward Salem. “He enjoyed hanging out.”
“He’s such a weird cat,” Law said fondly, scratching Salem under his chin.
“That’s your nephew you’re talking about.”
He snorted, then went to the door. “You grab him?”
I scooped Salem up and watched as Law opened and slipped through the door.
“Good night!” I called just as it was closing.
He grinned over his shoulder and said, “Night, Oak.” Then he closed the door behind himself.
I will not swoon. I will not swoon.
I might’ve swooned.
Somehow, I missed Law and the kids the rest of the weekend, and by the time Monday morning rolled around, I was itching to see him again.
I’d dreamed of falling asleep with him, which had messed with my brain enough to make me grumpy in the morning. Luckily, I still had Salem and needed to get him and myself to work, so I didn’t have time to wallow too much.
