Page 92 of But For You

“Daddy told us we could go back to school next Monday.”

“Good,” I said as I stood up.

“Oliver and his mommy came and saw me and Kola when we were leaving. She said she was really sorry for what Mr. Parker did.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“What’s divorced?” Kola asked me, looking worried.

“Divorced means that your parents don’t live together anymore,” I explained to him.

He took a breath. “Will you ever get a divorce?”

“No divorce,” Sam declared as he walked back into the room. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, and he was barefoot. I could barely breathe. Even his hanging-out-at-home clothes made me hot. “Right?” he asked, stopping in front of me.

“Right,” I agreed as he curled a hand around my neck and eased me forward into a kiss.

The silence surprised me, and it must have been odd for Sam, too, because we separated at the same time and looked down at our children.

“Not making you sick today?” I asked them.

Kola shook his head.

“No.” Hannah smiled up at us. “It’s okay.”

Apparently, displays of affection were sometimes good.

Sam had Hannah up on his shoulders, and I held Kola’s hand as we walked to meet Duncan Stiel.

When I’d heard that Duncan was going out of town on a task force starting the following day—he was flying out to New York—I had insisted that Sam invite him to dinner. Duncan had agreed, picked The Char—a steak place he liked—and we had headed out. When we got there, I realized it was a little fancier than I had expected, but the decor inside—the lighting, the jazz, the murals on the walls—and the smell of good food all gave me a warm feeling. It felt upscale, but not too refined for my family.

“Sam?”

When we turned, we found Detective Duncan Stiel waiting for us at the bar.

“Jory?”

And there, at the other end, as requested, was Aaron Sutter.

“I’m hungry,” Hannah said, putting her chin down on the top of Sam’s head.

“What’d you do?” Sam was instantly suspicious.

“I’m sorry, what?” I opened my eyes wide.

But Sam so wasn’t buying it.

Well, yes, I was doing a little matchmaking, but really, was that a crime?

The muscles in Sam’s jaw started to tic.

“Just hear me out. I had an epiphany.”

“Have you lost your fu⁠—”

“There’s a kid on your head,” I reminded him.

His growl was deep.