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By the time I’ve sorted out my feelings and made a promise to myself to follow through, Ella’s breathing has evened out and the sun is barely peeking over the smooth surface of the lake. I snap one last photo of Ella burrowed into my side, then ease to my feet, careful not to jostle her. I slip off my suit coat and wrap it around Ella’s petite body, then lift her off the bench. Though her eyes remain closed, she immediately responds by putting her arms around my neck and burying her face into my skin. My heart pounds as I toss our remaining ice cream in the trash bin, then start up the steps to head towards my truck a few blocks down from Dairy Dock, pausing at the top of the steps to press my lips to Ella’s dark curls.
“I promise I’ll always protect you,” I whisper. “Always.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jenna
Here’s what I’ve learned in the past three, nearly four, hours: my son is remarkably good at checkers if you move the pieces wherever you want to on the board; the house is noticeably quieter without Ella around; and I’m really bad at making paper airplanes. The reason I know that last one is because, after Eli went to bed, I opened Facebook and there was some random video about paper airplanes waiting for me.
I only clicked on it—and then proceeded to spend the next half hour attempting to make a sea glider plane that would fly farther than two feet—because I needed to distract myself. Seth texted me a couple times throughout the evening to let me know everything was going well, and I impressed myself by not inquiring further. I even responded withthat’s good!and a smiley face both times. I even dared to add a heart with the last one. But once it was just me with no Eli to keep me on my toes, well, you can see why I had to resort to paper airplanes.
But now my concentration is completely broken, and I’ve abandoned my pile of wasted printer paper because Seth just pulled into my driveway. I wish I could say I’m not hovering by the door like a stalker, but I am. I’m standing on the tips of my fuzzy-sock-covered toes to peer through the rectangle of windows in my door and watching with hawk eyes like a professional spy. Need a full report? I’m your girl.
First, I notice that Seth doesn’t have his suit jacket on anymore, and he’s rolled the sleeves of his very nice white dress shirt up to his elbows, which means his tanned forearms are exposed. Second, he smiles softly as he lifts Ella from the back seat, and I see that Ella is utilizing his jacket exactly how I envisioned doing so—as a blanket. Lastly, he’s carrying a little tiny to-go carton I instantly recognize as being from Farm to Table as he comes up driveway towards the door.
Is it wrong of me to hope it’s my favorite dessert on our menu—flourless chocolate torte cake with a raspberry drizzle and one tiny dollop of whipped cream on it?
I quickly compose myself by giving a stern inner monologue, force myself to back away from the door, and then open it after I’ve counted to ten. Seth doesn’t even look shocked that I was right there and ready like a doorman at the Plaza.Doorwoman. I don’t know. In fact, the smile he gives me is filled with spine-tingly warmth and I decide I don’t need any blanket at all. Seth Smiles will do the trick for me from this point forward.
“She’s out like a light,” he says softly as he steps inside, his arm brushing my shoulder as he moves past. I shut the door behind him and lean against it. Super casual. “I don’t know if I should take it as a good or a bad thing that she fell asleep on me. I’d hate to think our date was so uninteresting that she was put to sleep by it.”
His humor catches me off guard, and it’s then that the realization hits: Joanna must’ve slipped something into his food or his drink. That’s all it could be. Seth isn’t just relaxed and joke-y like this. It’s not normal, and the problem is that I really like it, so whenever Jo’s magic potion wears off, I’m going to be disappointed.
For now, I laugh in a completely normal way. “I doubt that’s the case, because she wouldn’t have fallen asleep. She would’ve told you she wanted to come home. Ella’s blunt.”
Seth’s eyes lock on mine, and if I wasn’t plastered against my front door, I’d probably be able to pick out those navy and gold flecks in his eyes. “Maybe she did tell me that and I’m actually an evil abductor person.”
Yeah, I’m gonna text Joanna. I want to know if the potion is in whatever’s in that box too, so then I don’t eat any of it.
“I’m kidding, Jen,” he says when I don’t respond, and I blink. “It was supposed to be a joke. Honestly, that’s not a joking matter at all but—Never mind. I’m glad to hear she would’ve told me if she wanted to come home. The last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable or be uninteresting.”
“If the way she’s snuggled into you right now means anything, you have nothing to be worried about,” I tell him. And then I jump off the deep end because I step forward and rest my hand on his warm forearm.Oops.The contact of our skin sends a thousand tiny fireworks bursting in my mind, and Seth’s gaze drops to my lips.Mayday! Mayday!I pull my hand away and swallow, hardly resisting backing against my door again. “I should probably, uh, get Ella to bed.”
My words douse the fire I saw kindling in his eyes, and he nods, gaze slowly moving back up my face to meet mine. “Yeah. Right. I would take her up there, but…”
“It’s okay, Seth.” I hold my arms out so he can transfer my sleeping daughter into them, and I’m pretty sure this shouldn’t feel so intimate, but his lips graze my temple in the process. I’m just glad he was still supporting most of Ella’s weight at that point, because otherwise she might’ve ended up on the floor. I quickly pull myself together as Ella shifts fully into my arms and take a step the size of the Grand Canyon away from Seth. I think he notices because his lips twitch in one corner. “You, um, said you wanted to talk, so I’ll be back down after I get her to bed. Make yourself comfortable.”
But not too comfortable, because I’ll never want you to leave.
Seth smiles lightly as he gives a small nod, and I can feel his gaze follow me all the way up the stairs.
Since Ella was already out, I didn’t bother with brushing her teeth or hair. I simply changed her into a nightgown, tucked her in, and murmured my prayers over her before coming back downstairs. I thought I’d find Seth in the kitchen at the island or in the living room staring at my massive pile of crumpled papers, but he’s not. The lights are on out back and a peek through the window over my sink confirms that he’s out there. For a moment, I just take it in.
Seth, sitting in one of my patio chairs with his back to me, head tilted slightly as though he’s looking up at the sky. The dim lighting gives his skin a warm glow and softens the tiny bit of his profile I can see from here.
I grab the baby monitor from the counter and slip out the door quietly. It was ninety this afternoon, but it’s cooled to a comfortable seventy-eight now, and the evening breeze teases my hair as I lower into the chair beside Seth’s. He’s still holding the to-go box from Farm to Table, I notice, and he is indeed looking up at the velvety black sky dotted with sparkly stars. But now he also has a fork and for some reason I find it strangely comforting that Seth knows his way around my kitchen.
Come to think of it, he’s the only man who’s ever cooked in it.
After a few minutes of pretending to be intrigued by the Big Dipper and whatever the other constellations are, I give up. I turn in my chair to face him, my legs crisscross applesauce. “I’ve gotta ask—what’s in the box?”
As if this was exactly how he wanted it to go, his eyes sparkle as he passes the box and fork to me. “A little birdie told me this was your favorite, so I grabbed a slice on our way ho—uh, back to your house.”
I didn’t miss that, the way he nearly saidon our way home.But I also don’t comment on it. Partly because I don’t want to spook him from whateverthismoment is and partly because I open the box to find a piece of chocolate torte with raspberry drizzle and a dollop of whipped cream and it all but demands me to take a bite. So, I do. My eyes sink closed as the rich chocolate blankets my tongue in blissful decadence, the raspberry providing that tiny POP of tart flavor. I’m not even embarrassed when I release a groan, because it’s justthat good.
“About tomorrow,” Seth says, and I nod to let him know I’m still listening even as I stuff my face with dessert. Should I ask him if he wants any? He only got one fork, though, so… “I talked to John earlier today, and he said they won’t be using one of their boats from eleven to two tomorrow. I was thinking, if you’re open to it, I’d take you and the kids out on the water for a couple hours for Ella’s birthday. I don’t know if you’ve made other plans since we last talked about tomorrow, but if you haven’t and you’d be open to that, I can pick you guys up. We can have sandwiches or something for lunch, and then just cruise around the lake or anchor up to swim or whatever. It’s Ella’s day, so she can decide too. I’ll warn you that I will be on call and can’t guarantee I won’t have to go into work, but we can still go out. I’m not going to let it stop me. Seeing the houses and the lake from the water is a different ballgame than on land.”
“Yes,” I say without giving myself time to teeter back and forth. Maybe my cake is drugged too because I’m generally not this impulsive. But I don’t stop eating it, and I’m not going to take back my answer. “We’d love that.”
