A knock at my bedroom door made me jump like a guilty teenager.
“Daddy?” Aiden’s voice was a sleepy croak. “I need you. I’m thirsty, and I forgot to get water before bed. And also, it’s very dark downstairs.” He hesitated. “So, c’you get some for me?”
Fuck.
“Yeah.” My voice was hoarser than Aiden’s. “Gimme two minutes. Go back to bed, and I’ll bring you some, okay?”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
I went into my little en suite bathroom and flipped on the light to clean myself up with a damp towel. I looked exactly the same as I had when I’d brushed my teeth before bed, even though it felt like a lot had changed.
It hasn’t,I reminded myself.Fantasy is fantasy.
In reality, I was going to help Luke Williams get his roof fixed before he hurt himself, because that was what a good neighbor would do. I was going to focus on taking care of my son and not let anything else distract me.
Including this crazy attraction to my own betrothed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LUKE
“U-N-L-I-K-E-L-Y, unlikely,”Aiden Sunday recited the following Thursday, kicking the back of his sneaker against the edge of the cafetorium’s stage to punctuate each letter.
All of the other children who’d stayed after school for extra spelling bee practice had already been picked up, and Aiden and I had the whole room to ourselves.
“You got it!” I held up my hand for a high five, and Aiden smacked it enthusiastically. “That’s twelve words in a row. Keep up the practice for the next few weeks, and you’re gonna kill it at the spelling bee.”
“C’you give me one more practice word? Please, Mr. Williams?” His gap-toothed grin was infectious and seriously hard to resist, so I usually didn’t. But…
“That’s what you said ten words ago.” I folded my legs beneath me and sat beside him. “How about if you start working on your journal entry for Monday while we wait for your uncle Drew to get here?”
Aiden agreed but dragged his composition book out of his backpack with the enthusiasm of a sedated sloth. “Hey, Mr. Williams? Do you think my mom will come to the Spring Fling?’Cause the mayor gives out prizes for the spelling bee at the Spring Fling, and maybe if I can win one, she can see me get it.”
I glanced up from the lesson plan I’d been working on. “I… I don’t know. The Spring Fling is open to the whole town, so I don’t see why not.”
He nodded and tapped his pencil against his closed notebook for a few moments, then said fake-casually, “You know, Mom took me to hockey practice this week.”
“Did she?” I’d heard about this… but only briefly. “Was it fun?”
He nodded enthusiastically… then stopped. “She came on Monday afternoon.”
I frowned. “Okay? That’s good, right?”
“Practice is Tuesday.”
“Ohhh. Well, it was the first week, wasn’t it? She probably got confused. Did she come back on Tuesday and take you?”
“Yeah! Totally!” He hesitated for a second. “Dad was annoyed, though. She… she forgets things a lot. She forgetsmea lot.”
My heart squeezed. “I am almost positive that’s not true, bud. You’re basically unforgettable. Some people just aren’t great at remembering dates and times and take longer to adjust to new routines. Be patient. And remember your dad probably gets annoyed because he loves you, and he doesn’t wantyouto be upset.”
He cocked his head. “D’you think?”
“I do.”
He looked relieved. “Because Mom’s also gonna take me to Nature Scouts, ’cause I want her to meet Olin, and I was thinking, maybe she could pick me up after spelling bee practice sometimes, too, so she could meetyou. Maybe you could ask my dad. Or ask Principal Oliver?—”
“Why don’t you wait,” I suggested. “See how she does with next week’s pickup. Thenyoucan ask your dad. I’m sure I’ll meet her sometime soon.”
