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I winced, then edited the reply I’d started and sent it.
Sorry! You caught me on the job!
“Crap,” I muttered. Then, I remembered and looked down at my son, who looked at me with his innocent blue eyes, and I groaned. “Sorry about that, baby. Mom’s not acting like herself, right? Don’t pay attention to me right now. A lot of women go through times like these.”
He let out a muffled gurgle from behind his wet fist. I wiped at the drool, making him squirm a little before I rocked him a little again and he quieted down. He was a well-behaved child. There were times when he woke me up in the middle of the night, demanding to be fed, so it was quite convenient his crib was in my room, but as long as I met his needs, he didn’t cry much.
The phone vibrated again, and my eyebrows shot up at Joshua’ new message.
I hope Danny’s not giving you trouble?
Could he somehow read my mind? I was just thinking about it!
Of course not! He’s always so well-behaved, he just had his nap and woke up alone, so I had to get him.
I groaned to myself again. Now that I’d given the lie, I had to keep it up, but it would only make things more complicated when it came time to tell him the truth. Joshua was going to be mad at me. Maybe he would be surprised at first, but I would be surprised if there wasn’t some lingering resentment later on.
That’s good, he replied. So are you free to chat right now?
I bit down on my lip. I could technically do both, but then I’d be pushing work to the side. I glanced at my computer, then decided work could wait until later when Danny was asleep. Texting was a lot easier than typing if I had to do it with one hand.
Even though you’re the boss, shouldn’t you be in the middle of work?
I didn’t know much about the nature of his work as CEO. Honestly, it was a little daunting dating someone with such a background, so before, I had done as little as possible to mingle with that side of his life. His mom disliking me hadn't helped the situation.
It had taken some time, but I realized that had been a mistake on my part. Meeting his parents and learning of his mom’s disapproval had been a blow to me, but ignoring one side of his life that didn’t sit well with me was the same as not accepting all of him, as I should have done. If I hadn't realized that in time, I might not have made that call a few days ago.
/> This was me trying to give our relationship a fair chance. While it didn’t seem like it, I knew Joshua had made compromises for me, and I couldn’t remember doing the same for him.
It just really annoyed me, though, that the one time he needed me there to comfort him after his dad died, and the one that was there for him instead, was Rachel.
That damn woman.
Rachel was everything I was not. A young woman from a background that better matched Joshua’ family, and she had his mom’s approval as well. She didn’t even try to be subtle about preferring Rachel as Joshua’ partner over me.
I was distracted again by my phone.
I’d instead think of more important things, he wrote. Another chat bubble appeared. Like when I get to see you again.
My heart stuttered in my chest, then started beating a little faster. I had figured he would, but I was still pleased to know he wanted to meet me again.
Let me know what your schedule is like, and I’ll double-check with mine.
I grinned. I was only teasing, but whether or not he would get it…
A minute later, his reply came in.
Better yet, give me a time and place, and I’ll be there.
My eyebrows shot up. What if I pick a wrong time?
I’ll make time for you. Tell me when.
I chewed lightly on my lower lip. That last bit was almost a command, and I was wondering whether to go along with it or not.
Since I was mostly free, other than taking care of Danny, I had free time to do whatever I pleased. In fact, I had too much free time. My random walks with Danny out to the park was one of the few activities I regularly did that took me outside. There just wasn’t much reason for me to be outside if it didn’t have to do with school since I was very focused on my future.
Now, Joshua was another aspect of that future that I wanted to fit back into my life.
