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“Little Miss Whiz over there had deleted some of my contacts while we waited for our flight this morning. I was trying to remember Lisa’s number from memory.” She pulled her brown hair up and into a ponytail with a hairband.
My gaze traveled along the curve of her neck. I was a neck man.
Jaynee’s tempted the hell out of me.
I turned my attention to Sadie before I did something stupid. She had the saddest face I’d ever seen. “Hey, peanut. I need to go. It was great meeting you.”
She launched herself off the bed and into my arms. “Don’t leave,” she whimpered.
“Whoa, what’s this all about?” Oh boy, this was not good for a softy like me.
“Sadie, Zander has to go, sweetie.” Jaynee took her from me.
“But I’ll miss him,” Sadie cried.
I dried her eyes with my thumb. “Don’t cry, sweet girl. Maybe we’ll see each other again. If you need me, I’ll come. Don’t forget, number two, okay?”
Sadie nodded, sobbing into Jaynee’s chest. I didn’t understand what had her so upset. She didn’t even know me. Perhaps it had been a long day and she needed a nap. Either way, it damn near broke my heart to see her this way.
“Shh, sweet baby.” Jaynee pecked kisses on her cheek. “We’ll watch a movie after you take a bath. How does that sound?” She winked at me and whispered, “This always works.”
“Will Zander stay?” Sadie sucked in a ragged breath.
“No, sweetie, he can’t.”
The wails began.
Jaynee grimaced. “Sorry about this.”
I couldn’t breathe. My heart palpitated wildly.
What was going on with me? I had the urge to snatch Sadie out of Jaynee’s arms and do anything she wanted so she’d stop crying.
Instead, I squeezed Jaynee’s elbow, kissed Sadie’s head, and got the hell out of there. There were too many emotions floating in the room, attacking me from every direction. My defenses were on the verge of crumbling. This was why I stayed away from single moms. A child was innocent, vulnerable. They didn’t understand the complexities of life and, in this case, why I couldn’t stay.
I jogged out of the building, not daring to look back.
This diversion screwed with my head. The sooner I got back to my everyday life, the better. Jaynee and Sadie were only a blip on my radar.
Helping them was my good deed for the next decade. I ought to be crowned the King of Minnesota Nice.
Now I could forget about them.
