Page 66 of Game On

Mari sighed. “They’re rambunctious today. I think Aunt V fed them too many C-O-O-K-I-E-S last night.”

A smile spread across my face. Liam and Rosie were too damn cute; I’d give them all the cookies too. That was the hardest thing about being a parent — you wanted to be gentle yet firm with them. Hard enough to do that with a partner, even harder when you did it by yourself.

Mari eyed me with a raised eyebrow. “So, how was last night?”

I felt myself flush. “Good.”

Mari rolled her eyes. “Good, that’s it?”

“Really good?”

“What did you do?”

I looked between the kids. “I’m not telling you in front of the kids.”

“Not that! Where did he take you?”

“Oh,” I said, feeling foolish that the first thought I had when it came to Logan was how he had me spread-eagle on his bed pretty much all night. “He took me to this bar that had a bunch of old-school arcade games.”

She laughed. “Wait, is he a nerd like you?”

I nodded. “Mari, you have no idea.”

She squinted at me. “What does that mean?”

“You know that guy I game with?”

Mari made a grossed-out face. “The one who’s probably a creepy forty-year-old man?”

“Mari,” I whispered. “He’s Logan.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Wait, are you serious?”

I nodded. “Isn’t that wild?”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh my God, it’s fate. You two are great together. Logan’s a good man, but he feels like he needs to be a martyr and sacrifice everything.”

I shook my head. “We both don’t have time.”

Mari rolled her eyes again. “That’s BS, and you both know it. Do you like Logan?”

“Yeah…” I whispered and thought about how kind he was and how generous he was in bed. He didn’t need to take me out if we wanted a casual thing. I could be a booty call, but he wanted to give me a good time. I liked that he wanted to pamper me and called me a princess. “I really do.”

“Then make time! That’s why I’m here, to help you both out when you need a mommy and daddy date night.”

This time, it was my turn to roll my eyes at her. I checked the time on the stove and realized I had to get going. I might make my own hours, but I liked to keep a normal nine-to-five schedule when I could.

I stood up, cleaned up Rosie’s dish, and put it in the sink.

“Eat before you leave!” Mari scolded me.

I waved her off. “I have a protein bar in my purse. I have to stop home before going to Manayunk and then maybe to Kensington later.”

She sighed. “Sis, please eat. You’re gonna run yourself ragged.”

Too late for that.

I walked back over to the table and bent down to give Rosie a kiss on her head. “Okay, baby, be good for Aunt Mari. Mommy’s gotta go to work.”