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Leaning back against the sink, he pulls me in front of him, my hands against his chest, his arms locked around my waist. He kisses me. “I said, I love peanut butter. And I love you.”
I fight the smile. “I love peanut butter, too.”
“Is that all, Lace?” His eyebrows dip broodingly low over his dark eyes.
“And I love you, Landon,” I say, not able to control my smile as his grin beams down on me, then he swings me around in his arms, crushing his lips to mine.
“We should celebrate this momentous occasion of our declaration of love.”
“How would we do that?”
“Adult sleepover!”
“I thought we were already doing that tonight. Your words. ‘The kids won’t know. I’ll be out of here before they’re up in the morning,’ I remind him.
“About that…” he sets me down brushing my hair back.
Uneasiness settles in. “What?”
“Don’t be upset.” He strokes my cheek. “I can’t stay the night. Bree sprained her ankle. She was trying to fix a broken door jamb I’ve been meaning to fix. She fell off a chair.”
“When did this happen?” He came here with Jackson, picked up Jacob, and they went to the park. They came back, all was fine. He told me he loved me, and yeah...what step am I missing?
“She called me for help when we were at the park. She was crying; I couldn’t just ignore her. Before we came here, the boys and I stopped over there. I helped her ice and wrap her ankle while the boys played in the backyard.”
Okay. What was he thinking, bringing my son over there without telling me? Or asking if I would be all right with that. I swallow the words, shifting away from him. “It would have been easy for you to tell me as soon as you came in. Even better, if you called and told me after you spoke to her.”
“I didn’t think it would be a big deal. The park was close to the house, she was upset, I just wanted to help her.”
“You weren’t thinking.” I fold my arms, walking over to the unfinished cake. “If you had been, you would have asked me if it was okay to take my son to see your wife, who I’m sure hates my guts.”
“I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. Jackson’s spending the night here.” He blankly stares at me. “It was a snap decision. She was hurt. Would you want me to leave my son’s mother hurt and in pain? You know that’s not the person I am.”
I pick up the spatula, slapping a glob of chocolate on the top of the cake. “No, it’s not, but I need to know where my son is and who he’s with. A phone call would have sufficed. Besides, what does this have to do with you not staying?” I can’t see what that has to do with him spending the night with me, especially after saying we loved each other.
“I tried to fix the door, but when she fell she tried to grab on to it to break her fall. It did more damage to the door frame. I have to go back and fix it tonight so the door can lock properly. I also said I would come back to help her. She can’t put any pressure on her ankle. She needs someone to help her move around and to drive her to the hospital in the morning for an X-ray.”
Isn’t that perfect? I spin the cake around with a sharp turn.
“I couldn’t refuse to help her. Jackson was right there, what’s the message I would send to him by leaving his mother when she genuinely needed help?”
“I understand.” I wouldn’t want him to refuse to help her if she was genuinely hurt. I’m just really disappointed we won’t be spending the night together, and he’ll be spending it with her. Just the two of them. Alone. And it’s not like I don’t trust him, but…it’s his wife.
I slather chocolate on the top, smoothing it out as best I can. His hands slide around my waist, holding me to him, making me sigh when his lips brush against my ear. It’s weird how my body relaxes in his arms, even when I’m still not happy about our change of plans.
“Lace, don’t be mad. I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you next weekend?”
“Nothing to make up for. You’re going to do a good deed. Show your son what it’s like to be a man. Helping a woman when she needs you.”
“There is plenty I need to make up for.” His hands flex against my stomach, running his nose underneath the sensitive spot of my jaw, sliding his tongue across the spot, making me take a deep breath. “Ask your mother or Shay to babysit next Saturday. It’ll be us, alone, all day and night. A day of us. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
I can’t resist his touch or the earnest way he promises it’ll be a day just for us. “Fine.” My mother’s words echo in my head.
He takes my spatula, putting it on the counter and turning me in his arms, my hands holding on to the counter. “Thank you.” He kisses me.
I hate letting this bother me so much. I’ve learned a few things from therapy, and I’ve had a lot of it. Don’t let things fester for too long, or you risk the chance of having a meltdown when you least expect it. “You’re going to be alone with her all night with no Jackson.”
“Nothing’s going to happen, like nothing everhappens.”
