She blinked quickly, recovering from her emotions. “Sorry, buddy. I’m listening.”
“You got quiet.”
“Just miss you. And Grandma and Grandpa too.”
“Aww.” Ben drew out the word with his own dramatic flair. “Don’t cry, Mom.”
Vander’s mouth tipped at one corner around the rim of his coffee mug.
“I’m not crying.”
“Grandma says women cry when they’re emotional.”
“What? Tell Grandma I’ll be having a talk with her later about that.”
“Uh-oh, Grandma. You’re in trouble!”
In the background came her mother’s unconcerned laugh. “I’ll give you trouble, little boy. Come closer and I’ll tickle you.”
Ben’s squeal bounced through the phone, and Summer laughed with him. Vander watched her with an expression that made a tingle take up residence in the pit of her stomach, stretching heated fingers lower.
Nobody had ever looked at her that way—like she was a decadent dessert to be savored one bite at a time.
She gulped, forcing her mind to focus on what Ben was saying. After a few more minutes, he eventually yawned hard enough to hear it clearly through the speaker.
“Sounds like you’re going to need a nap before your next adventure.”
“Naps are for babies.”
“And grandmas!” her mom piped up over the line.
Emotion tightened Summer’s chest because no matter how happy she was for him getting these adventures, part of her still hated sleeping without him in the next room.
“I love you, buddy.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
The words settled around her heart, warm and familiar.
Then Ben added, “Love you, Vander!”
His head jerked up, surprise flickering across his face before a stronger emotion replaced it.
“Love you too, buddy,” he said with such ease that a lump filled every corner of her throat and she melted right there in the middle of the kitchen.
After they hung up, she stepped up to Vander. He stared down at her, a small crease between his brows as if he didn’t quite know how he’d adopted a single mother and her son.
Curling her hand around his nape, she went on tiptoe to brush her lips over his. “Ben’s not the only one who loves you.”
His fingers tightened on her waist, and he deepened the kiss. For a beat, all the emotion flowed between them. Then his phone dinged with a message, and she dropped back to her flat feet.
“You check your message. I’m going to check on Granny Helen.”
He nodded. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
Once he saw it was safe, he let her go and got absorbed in his phone.
Granny Helen was sitting outside on her wooden bench, watching two squirrels chase each other around the yard.
