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“But, Mo-om,” Dylanwailed as Riley picked him up. “I don’t wanna go home! I want to skate with Mitch again!”
Riley sighed, waving again to Vivian and Aiden as they walked away. They’d just finished skating, and Dylan was not ready to go. Annie and Craig had left a little earlier as Annie was expecting guests. It had been a long day for her little boy. All the excitement and exercise were finally catching up with Dylan.
They’d had a lovely bowl of soup and homemade bread at Annie’s before they’d left for the lake. All through dinner, she and Mitch had to endure her brother and cousin’s snide remarks about the kisseveryonein town was talking about. Fortunately, Annie and Vivian had managed to calm down their husbands and made a joke of the whole incident. She’d seen the light in the women’s eyes, though, and knew at some point she was going to be cornered.
She hugged her son close. “I know, sweetie, but they’re going to close in a little while anyway. When we visit Aunt Janice in winter, we’ll come again, I promise.”
Sniffling, Dylan buried his face in her chest.
Mitch approached. “What’s wrong, big guy?” he asked Dylan.
“I wanted to skate with you again,” Dylan said.
“Come on,” Mitch said and took Dylan from Riley. With one movement, he put Dylan on his neck. “Shall we race your mom and Aunt Janice to the car?”
Tears forgotten, Dylan nodded, excitedly. “Yes, let’s run!”
“I’ll meet you at the car!” Aunt Janice laughed.
“Come on, Mommy,” Dylan called.
“I don’t think I have enough energy left.” Riley grinned.
“Ahh, Mitch is so good with Dylan, isn’t he? You’ll have to play along, I’m afraid. Dylan won’t forgive you otherwise. Take the key; I’ll be there in a minute,” Aunt Janice said, thrusting the car keys in Riley’s hand. “Just no kissing where everyone can see!” She chuckled.
Ignoring her aunt’s remark, Riley ran after them, not an easy task in the snow. She was not going to think about the kiss again.
Aunt Janice was right, Mitch was amazing with Dylan. Her son didn’t easily warm to strange men, but he and Mitch had clicked right from the start.
They’d reached the car before she caught up with them.
“We won, Mommy, we won!” Dylan cried, throwing his arms around Mitch’s neck.
Shaken, she swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. She unlocked the car and opened the back door so that Mitch could put Dylan in his chair. The sight of her son feeling so comfortable with Mitch nearly had her in tears.
Taking great care, Mitch fastened the seat belts around Dylan. “I’m going to miss you,” he said, before dropping a kiss on Dylan’s head.
“I’ll miss you, too, Uncle Mitch.”
As Mitch closed the door, Aunt Janice reached them. “Oh, my goodness.” She gasped. “I’m completely out of breath. Mitch, why don’t you come for a cup of hot chocolate or something?”
Riley felt Mitch’s eyes on her. She hadn’t told Aunt Janice or any of the others that Mitch had asked her out for a drink. She’d hoped Mitch would forget about his invitation, especially after all the remarks about their kiss.
“Mitch has invited me to go for a drink with him, Aunt Janice. I first want to put Dylan in bed, though.” She looked at Mitch. “Give me fifteen minutes?”
Aunt Janice shook her head. “But that’s just silly, sweetie. You go with Mitch; I’ll put Dylan to bed. It’s our last night together, and we have a story to finish, don’t we, Dylan?”
“Yes!” Dylan called out.
Riley wavered. She’d thought she’d have time to prepare herself before Mitch would pick her up.
Mitch touched her arm. “I’m happy to pick you up later, if that’s what you’d prefer.”
She didn’t want him to drive home only to have to pick her up again. “Okay, I’ll go with you. I just want to say good-bye to Dylan.”
A few minutes later, Aunt Janice had left and they were trudging through the snow toward Mitch’s car. With every step, her heart rate increased so that by the time they’d reached his car, she was just about hyperventilating. Inhaling deeply, she tried to calm herself. She was having a drink with a family friend. That was it.
Opening the door of the car, Mitch helped her inside, his fingers trailing down her arm before he closed it. Her mouth dried up, the zoo animals in her tummy had to be doing cartwheels or something; she was a shuddering mess. Putting a hand to her abdomen, she tried to focus on her breathing.
