Page 76 of Halo

“Yes, for you.” She ties the ribbon loosely around the bedrail before pulling something else from her purse.

“And—” she grins—“I found this in one of the prize baskets.”

She places in his hands a small plastic puzzle with brightly colored tiles that are scrambled. “You have to slide the pieces around until they make the picture again.”

Grady studies it. “I don't know how.”

“I can show you, if you'd like.” Leah pulls a chair beside his bed and sits close enough that their shoulders nearly touch. She slowly slides one tile at a time, explaining the pattern.

“Uh-oh …” She chuckles softly. “If you move that one, the Triceratops loses his tail.”

“And-and he'll look silly.” He giggles into a cough.

Leah chuckles. “Very silly. Let's try again.”

Grady watches closely, his tiny finger tracing in the air, mimicking his teacher's moves.”See? Sometimes you have to mess up the whole picture to move one tile into the right spot.”

“Ohhhhh …”

Within minutes, Grady is carefully sliding the pieces himself, tongue poking out.

“There you go, Grady,” Leah encourages. “You're doing so well.”

I settle onto the couch, watching her tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear before she continues to play with my son.

And dear God, it is attractive as hell.

“You did it!” she squeals.

Grady beams, holding up the handheld puzzle. “Look what we did, Nick!”

“Good job, partner!

“And now …” Leah takes the puzzle, quickly mixing up the tiles again before handing it back to Grady.

He stares at the toy for a few seconds, his eyebrows drawing together. “It's broken again.”

“And now, you can play again. See?”

Grady looks at it for a minute, adjusting his glasses. He lets out a laugh and starts sliding the tiles again.

Leah flashes me a smile, and for one reckless second, I wonder what this moment would've looked like if I had kissed her that night at the bar. The funny thing is I don't think much would be different. I'd still be sitting here, watching her make my son feel better. The only difference is I'd be able to lean over and kiss her whenever the hell I wanted.

“Well—” she stands up—“I better get out of your hair. Do y'all need anything?”

You. “I think we're good.” I ruffle Grady's hair. “What do we say to Ms. Harrison?”

He waves. “Thank you.”

“Of course, buddy. Make sure you teach Nick how to play, okay?”

He nods eagerly, pulling up his covers.

“I'll be right back, partner. I'm just right outside.”

I walk Leah out into the hallway, the door clicking softly shut behind us. Her pace slows down, as she casually pivots to face me.

I will not look at her lips.