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“We’re friends is all.”
“He’s probably fed up with waiting on you!”
“No—"
Leo chuckled. “If you could see the way he looks at you when he knows you can’t see, it’s pretty obvious he has it bad for you. And as for the date? Do you think, maybe, he was doing that to get your attention?”
No. I hadn’t thought that. It was ridiculous.
Right?
“I can’t think about that now,” I said, as yet another splat of banana hit my cheek. I rolled my eyes at Charlie, who grinned at me, the little brat. Thecutelittle brat.
“You need to think about it before he does date and finds someone he falls for, Jax. Okay?”
I muttered a curse, low so Charlie couldn’t hear, and Leo chuckled; the asshole.
“Later,” he said. “See you Monday.”
Leo’s call was unsettling. I picked up my phone to call Arlo, but something stopped me—he didn’t need me calling him at every bump in the road—and I carried on dealing with banana Armageddon.
“Little nibling, you are one messy eater,” I said, and made airplane noises for the last bit. He gave me his widest mouth and took the spoonful, and this time, it stayed inside and didn’t end up all over me. “Must get that from your dad.” Or his mom, I guess. I wondered who she was, and what she meant to Zach? Had she given him responsibility for the baby? Was she a surrogate? A wife? Had she vanished from Charlie’s life as easily as my mom had from Zach’s and my life? Too many questions and not enough answers. Such as, where was Zach? And who was the other man who’d spoken to Arlo outside, the one on the dark SUV. He’d left Charlie in my care, promising it would only be temporary, but would he come back, or was this my life now? My phone remained silent after the Leo exchange, devoid of messages or calls from anyone who might be him. Worry about Zach clashed with pride that Charlie had almost managed all of his food.
As I cleaned up the mess Charlie had made, wiping banana off his tiny face, and wondering how a human so small could create so much chaos, I thought about Zach’s decision. He’d trusted me with his son without much explanation or consideration for the impact on my life, asking me to take it on faith that he needed me. It was both frustrating and confusing, and made me swell with pride all at the same time; on the one hand, I would always be there for Charlie, and for the brother I hadn’t seen since I was a baby, but on the other, I felt scared and unsure, and yeah, worried to hell.
Maybe I needed a nanny? Childcare of some sort?
Because, otherwise, my construction business could suffer too, and I couldn’t rely completely on Arlo because that wasn’t fair. I’d delegate the tasks I could, but I might have to cancel projects to accommodate being here with Charlie. It would be a juggling act, and how soon would it be before I was dropping more balls than I was keeping in the air?
But in all of that, as I put him down for a nap, I could at least see the silver lining that was Charlie with his laughter, his curious gaze, and the way he’d grip my finger with his tiny hand. I was Uncle Jax and Charlie was my family now, and I’d do whatever it took to give him the love he deserved.
I closed the drapes, and the soft glow of a nightlight illuminated Charlie’s peaceful face as he slept soundly in the travel crib. It was a rare moment of tranquility, since he’d been awake and lively and demanding my attention for the last three hours. I tiptoed out of the room, and gently closed the door behind me. In the dim hallway, I checked my watch—a little after eight, and all I could think was that I wanted to call Arlo. Was it too late to call him, and anyway, what excuse would I use to need to talk?
I miss you. I need to hear your voice. I wish you were here.Nope, that was way too honest. Work. I’ll call him about work. I dialed Arlo’s number, and it rang twice before he picked up.
“Jax? Is everything okay?” Arlo sounded worried.
“Yeah. All good,” I whispered into the phone, not wanting to disturb the silence of the house.
“How’s our little guy?”
“He’s asleep,” I replied, leaning against the hallway wall. “He’s been awake for ages, playing with that stuffed octopus Mama loaned me, but he’s down now for however long that lasts.”
A soft chuckle came through the phone. “Must be all the excitement of Uncle Jax’s construction stories.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, something like that.” There was a long pause because I didn’t know what to say, and I needed to find an actual reason for the call. “I was just calling about work for tomorrow?”Liar.
Arlo let out a chuckle, and I could picture him smiling and, maybe, rolling his beautiful gray eyes. “I told you, I’ve got it for tomorrow and the rest of the week. I’ve been working through your specs, and we’re okay.”
“I was thinking I could come to the site and bring Charlie, just stand near the structure, where it’s safe?”
“Now that’s a definite health and safety code violation,” Arlo murmured.
“What if we got him a teeny tiny hardhat and hazard clothing? Wait, does anyone even sell teeny hardhats?”
Arlo full-on laughed at that. “You mean you haven’t looked?”
“I’m checking now.”
