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She clutched her phone and eyed me. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
“What are you talking about? I’m just trying to give a man some letters from his mom.”
“Fair warning. He’s our age, attractive, and…”
“And what?”
She flipped the phone around, and my mouth hung open in surprise.
Chapter Two
James
“How many times is this woman going to call?” I glanced at another message my assistant stuck on my desk.
“Who is she?” My cousin Lucas stood near the window in my office overlooking the small bay on Woodley Island. Lucas turned to face me with an eager-looking glint in his eyes.
I cocked my head and stared at him in disbelief. All it took was the wordwomanto surface on his radar, and he was ready to pounce.
“Some lady who owns an antique store.”
“Ooph. That’s brutal.” My cousin knew what I was thinking. Snakes and pariahs always circled to get something from our family. “Didn’t you get everything all taken care of from your mom’s estate?”
I nodded, crumpling the paper and tossing it into the garbage.
My grandparents had essentially raised me, but they'd ensured that their daughter, my mother, was always taken care of too. But when she got ill, my grandparents were no longer here, and I had to come face to face with the fact that I needed to care for someone who'd never cared for me, but she passed away before I ever had the chance.
But I’d put that all behind me.
Sliding a chair out from my desk, I took a seat and waited for Lucas to do the same.
“It’s Monday evening. The sun is shining after a stormy weekend on your sailboat, and I say it’s time to make up for lost time.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m not going out with you tonight.”
“Why’s that? Already have plans?” he asked. “This whole recluse vibe really gets old. I want my old James back.”
“I’m not a recluse, I’m a dad. My son will be here any second. The nanny is dropping him off soon.”
“And I bet Henry would love to hear some live music and scarf down some fries.”
“So, now you want to use my three-year-old as a wingman?”
“It’s a sure thing to help my night go smoothly.”
I shook my head and groaned. “You need to give it up. Henry wants nothing more than to go home, put his feet up on the couch, and have some macaroni and cheese.”
“Are you talking about Henry or yourself?”
I smiled. “We’re the same man.”
At times, it truly felt like that. Henry was my number one reason for existing. He made my world go around, and I couldn’t imagine not spending every waking second with him.
“I promise I’ll leave you alone the rest of the week if you and Henry come out to dinner tonight.” He sighed. “All you do is work or hide out at home or on your sailboat.”
He wasn’t giving up.
“Again, I’m not hiding out. I’m having a blast with my little guy.”
