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“Hey, there,” Cal said with a surprised laugh. Jeff and Jan were twin four-year-olds. “What’s going on?” he asked Diane.
“Mr. Cal! Where are your glasses?” Jeff asked.
Was the kid talking about his sunglasses?
“Roger got held up at work,” Diane said, “and I’m going to be late for my shift. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but tonight’s inventory at the craft store. So no one can be late or miss, or we’ll be fired.”
“He doesn’t wear glasses, dummy,” Jan said.
“Mom, she called me dummy,” Jeff complained.
“No one should call anyone dummy,” Diane said, then looked back to Cal with an apologetic expression.
“So you need me to watch them until Roger gets home?” he asked.
“Do you know what a baby deer is called?” Jan asked him.
“A fawn?”
She beamed.
“If you could watch them, that would be a lifesaver,” Diane said. “I know you just got back in town.”
Cal didn’t bother asking how she knew because Diane was one of those neighbors who knew what everyone in the complex was doing.
“How long do you think Roger will be?” he asked.
“He said an hour or two.”
Roger worked for the fire department, so now Cal was wondering if there was a fire somewhere in the town, or other emergency. “That’s fine.”
He stepped outside and shut his door. He didn’t really need anything, except his phone, and that was in his pocket. Everything the twins needed would be at their place.
“Thanks so much, Cal,” Diane said, her tone warm. “You don’t know what this means.”
He could guess, and that was good enough.
“I owe you dinner—just let me know when you want to collect payment.”
“It’s a deal.” Cal smiled and reined in the two kids by grabbing a hand each. Diane was a great cook, so it was a fair trade.
“HE’S TOO GOOD TO BE true,” Steph told Brandy over the phone. She’d called to discuss the barbecue, but they’d ended up discussing Cal Conner instead.
“Is that possible?” Brandy asked. “Maybe you’re just in love and wearing rose-colored glasses. Everyone has flaws—only his aren’t bugging you.”
“Hedoesn’thave flaws.” Steph had a client in about twenty minutes. In fact, it was Lydia, so Steph answered Brandy’s call thinking it might be about her mom. “That’s my whole point.”
“What about all the tragedy he’s been through? He was homeless, then estranged from his dad …”
“He’s turned all those things into strengths,” Steph complained as she sorted the shipment of hair product that had arrived earlier in the day.
“Huh,” Brandy continued. “I think you’re right. Which makes him resilient, amazing, and sexy—because, you know, he’s definitely well put-together.”
Steph closed her eyes and sighed. Brandy was right. But so wasshe. And she needed to call Cal back. He’d been nothing but great, and now she’d ghosted him. Well, not fully ghosted him. He’d been out of reach for several days. But apparently, he was back, because he’d left a message on her phone the day before. A message she’d listened to several times if only to appreciate the low rumble of his voice. He’d also texted this morning:Is everything okay?
“So …” Brandy prompted after the long moment of silence. “Are you bringing him tomorrow to the barbecue?”
“I can’t,” Steph said. “It will lead him on more. And if I see him in person, it will be too hard to tell him that I’m not interested in his brand of perfect.”
