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“More than you know.” She daintily dabbed her napkin across her mouth. “Now, there’s some kind of cheeseburger pizza that’s calling my name. Excuse me while I indulge.”
“I’ll be here.” I watched her go with a fond smile before turning to see what Joey was doing.
He was standing on a small step stool playing pinball and he was so intense I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures to send to Boone.
To my surprise, he responded almost immediately.
BOONE: Someone looks like they’re getting spoiled.
JOLIE: No idea what you’re talking about. LOL
BOONE: Is he behaving?
JOLIE: He’s very well-behaved. We’re having lunch with my grandmother. Well, he already ate and now he’s becoming a pinball wizard while we finish eating.
BOONE: Excellent. Hadley texted to say Benny has strep and Joey is staying with you until I get home. Are you sure that’s okay?
JOLIE: Better me than Sheridan. I can afford to get strep if he has it, but she can’t. It’s no problem at all.
BOONE: Our flight gets in around nine. Is it all right if I come by to pick him up that late?
JOLIE: Of course. I’ll be up working on my dissertation.
BOONE: Then I’ll see you then.
JOLIE: See you tonight.
I looked up from my phone and smiled.
* * *
I’d putJoey to sleep on my bed so he wouldn’t be disturbed by me typing away on my laptop, and I was buried in all things microbiology when a soft knock on the door made me jump.
Boone.
I got up quickly and fluffed my hair, wiping my hands on my jeans.
Why was I nervous?
He was just here to pick up Joey.
It wasn’t like anything was going on between us.
But my grandmother’s words had resonated with me and I realized that I’d been hiding behind science and my education for so long, at some point I’d stopped living. Even when I’d been with Jarvis, my mind had always been on my studies, my PhD, things like that. Since the breakup, I’d added hockey to my arsenal of ways to distract myself from life in general, but deep down I recognized that something was missing.
I hadn’t been able to articulate it until today, but Boone made me want to feel again. It made no sense, but it seemed like I should try to find out why. We’d never finished our conversation from that night at the rink, and I wanted to.
“Hi.” I opened the door and motioned him inside.
“Hey.” He looked road weary and slightly tousled but deliciously hot in the suit he’d obviously been traveling in. His broad shoulders seemed to fill the small room as he stood there looking around.
“Joey asleep?” he asked.
“Yeah. I put him in my bed so I could potentially watch TV or something, but I’ve been working.”
“I really appreciate you stepping up like this.”
“It’s not a problem.” I cocked my head. “You look wiped. Are you hungry? I could make you a sandwich. Nothing fancy, but I have turkey and Swiss, a ciabatta roll…”
