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I turn my head just before I take a bite, a smile breaking out on my face as Teddy sprints through the kitchen and wraps his arms around my leg, his little face looking up at me with adoration.
“Hey, bud. Having fun with Ms. Emily?”
Teddy turns into a babbling machine, trying to communicate all the fun things he’s been doing so far this morning but not having a vocabulary that’s large enough to explain it all.
Emily dutifully lifts him up onto the counter and washes his hands while he chatters, her lips tilted up in a small smile.
“Puhbuhs please,” he says, reaching out for the sandwich I have in my hand.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you what puhbuhs means,” Emily says, gripping Ted under the arms and moving him softly to the floor from the counter. “He said it yesterday too and cried when I gave him his stuffed puppy.”
I chuckle, wiping at my mouth and handing Teddy the second half of my sandwich.
“He’s asking for a PB&J. Puhbuh is peanut butter.”
Emily’s mouth forms an O, and she nods her head.
“That makes sense. It takes a bit to learn all the kiddie lingo. If you have any others for me, let me know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Teddy stands in the middle of the kitchen, noshing messily, and Emily leans back into the corner of the counter, just watching him.
I don’t know if she’s aware of this, but her facial expressions are a direct reflection of what’s on her mind. It feels like I’m being given a show, watching her as she watches him. The subtle ticks in her jaw and brow muscles give away her amusement and bit of delight at Teddy’s silly mannerisms, at the way he goofily bounces on his toes as he eats, humming a song only he knows.
Well, I guess if I had to hire someone to take care of my kid, at least it’s someone who looks like that.
I shake my head and stand up straight.
Someone who looks at him like that.
Looks at him like that.
That’s what I meant to think.
Not that I needed someone attractive to be his nanny. That’s not…at all what I was…
I grit my teeth, feeling like I’m digging this mental hole deeper than I need to.
“I’m heading back to my office,” I say, giving her a tight smile and placing a kiss on Teddy’s forehead before leaving the room.
“Oh, just a reminder,” I hear from behind me.
I turn and find her at the end of the long hallway that leads to the guest bathroom and my office.
“I’m working the early shift at The Lighthouse, so I’ll need to leave by three thirty today. I can make up the time next week whenever works for you.”
“I didn’t forget. I’ll make sure I’m done in here by the time you have to leave.”
She smiles and I give her a nod before shutting the office door.
That was a lie. I did forget, not that it really matters. I have no problem with her leaving early and giving Teddy back to me.
What I do have a problem with is remembering what she looked like as she sassed me a few weeks back at The Lighthouse, and how my eyes dipped down to check out her ass as she walked away from me, her curvy hips swaying as she left me behind.
Shaking my head, I try to shove that image from my mind, focusing instead on the rest of the files that need to be moved to the big gray cabinet. It’s mostly bullshit. Old tax records. The deed to the house and all the paperwork we signed when we bought it early last year.
I file it all, though when my eyes catch on the brown envelope that contains our unsigned divorce papers, I drop into my desk chair and stare out my window at the back yard, unable to keep my mind from wandering.
