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She took the bag and opened it up and saw a pint of ice cream. He’d brought her comfort food. Why did he have to be so sweet? “Ice cream?”
“Yeah. What’s better when you’re having a tough night than that?”
She pulled the container out of the bag and read the label. “Netflix and chill’d?”
He shrugged. The sexy smirk on his face said he knew exactly what the term meant and had chosen the ice cream on purpose. “What?”
“Really?”
“Kia, get your mind out of the gutter,” he teased. His blue eyes twinkled with amusement and a little heat as he looked at her. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to offer you that kind of comfort. I figured ice cream was the next best thing. Besides, Max said you loved peanut butter, so I figured it was a double win.”
His sweet gesture combined with the playful flirtation was exactly what she needed. How had Jeff known she’d be feeling out of sorts about the night ahead?
When her stare connected with his again, it was clear if the situation were different, it wouldn’t be the ice cream either of them would want. She cleared her throat. This attraction between them could be trouble. Needing to put some space between them, she wandered into the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer. When she turned back around, Jeff had followed her. He rested his hip against the doorframe.
Kia took a deep breath to try to get her hormones under control. She just needed to focus on Max. “So what do you have planned for the day?”
“I thought we’d check out the science center.” He rocked back on his heels. “I’d thought about Legoland since he’s so into Legos and he’s never been, but thought that might be something you wanted to do with him so—” He shrugged.
As a single mom, her budget didn’t exactly extend to things like Legoland. She hated that Jeff could so easily give her son the things she couldn’t. She winced. What the hell was wrong with her? She should be happy that her son would get to experience things she couldn’t give him instead of being jealous. “Yeah, he’d love Legoland, but it’s probably best to save that for a full day.”
When she raised her head, she found Jeff watching her. After several seconds, he finally spoke, “Would you be interested in going with us one day?”
She mentally ran through her bank account. Could she swing it? If she picked up a few extra clients when Max was spending time with Jeff, she could probably make it work. “Maybe.”
“My treat, since I’m the one asking you guys to go with me.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not, I’m offering. I’d really like to go there with you both.”
“Go where?” Max asked as he ran down the hall from his bedroom. He skidded to a stop in front of them.
Jeff winced, and he looked at her like he was unsure if he should answer.
“Your dad was talking about taking us to Legoland one day,” Kia answered.
“Today?” Max’s eyes widened.
“No, not today, buddy. We’d need a whole day to do that one.”
“Tomorrow?” He pinned her with his pleading stare.
“I gotta work tomorrow, bud, so you’re spending the afternoon with your cousins.”
Max’s shoulders dropped. “You always gotta work.”
That comment may as well have been a knife in her stomach. She worked so hard to balance work and being a mom. Tattooing wasn’t always the best hours since the shop didn’t open till eleven. In order to not miss out on dinner and bedtime most nights, it meant she couldn’t work full time. She’d sacrificed earning more money to be home more and still, sometimes, it didn’t feel like enough. She crouched. “I know, honey, but I gotta take my turn on the weekends. Otherwise it’s not fair, right?”
He scuffed his foot on the floor. “Yeah.”
“What about next weekend?” Jeff asked.
“What about it?” She glanced up at him from her crouched position.
His jaw clenched and she thought his eyes darkened for a moment and then the look was gone. “Do you work next weekend?”
“No, I’m off.”
