I hold up my hands. “Can we not do this? The whole thing is weird.”
The girls laugh.
“He seems nice.” Bailey brushes my arm with her hand. “I can see why you like him.”
“I don’t?—”
“Don’t bullshit us, Mum. We know you do.”
I shake my head. “I can’t hide anything from you two.”
“Three.” Noah speaks up from near the door. He takes a further step into the room before dropping into a chair. “I see it too. He likes you too, for what it’s worth.”
“It’s been such a long time.”
“I’m not sure that matters to him.”
Caleb’s so popular, he stays for dinner and joins in as if he’s always been a member of my family.
We sit next to each other at the table, and it’s not just the conversation. He’s close—so close I can smell his cologne, and our knees bump every so often in a pattern that isn’t accidental.
I’m over the moon that they’ve accepted him so easily.
When dinner’s done and the dishes are in the dishwasher, the girls excuse themselves to do their homework, Noah heads off to watch some TV show he says he can’t miss, and Jason snuggles on the couch between Caleb and I.
He’s the one who’s surprised me most of all.
Seeing them together leaves a lump in my throat. This is what he should’ve had all along—not a father who was sick and angry.
I almost feel bad about taking him upstairs to have his bath and get him into his pyjamas, they’re getting along that well.
All he can do when he’s in the bath is talk about how much he likes Caleb.
I head downstairs once he’s in bed.
Caleb’s head turns.
“Jason would like you to read him a bedtime story.”
Caleb hesitates. “Me? Are you okay with that.”
“I am very okay with that. He’s asked specifically for you.”
He grins and stands up before walking toward me. “He’s such a great kid.”
“And he feels the same way about you.”
Caleb presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Take your time. He’ll have to choose a book first.”
He chuckles and I let out a sigh as he climbs the stairs, and I take my turn on the couch.
It takes about twenty minutes before he returns, triumphant and smiling.
“He’s out like a light.”
My eyebrows rise. “Really?”
