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"I care about you, Chloe. I think we could have a future."
"Why do you think that?" she asked curiously. "What makes us good together?"
Surprise ran through his gaze at her question. "Well, you're a beautiful, kind, and smart woman. You care about your friends. And you're a great mom. We'd make a good team."
His words were very flattering, but they also didn't feel that personal to her. It was like he was checking items off a list. Which reminded her of the way she often thought about him: attractive, smart, successful, fun, and wants to live in Whisper Lake.
Were they right for each other or did they just both look good on paper?
As that question rumbled around in her head, her phone buzzed. "Sorry, I need to make sure this isn't about Leo." She pulled out her phone, frowning when she saw her babysitter's phone number. "Hello? Tracy? Is everything all right?"
"Leo is fine," Tracy said quickly. "I put him to bed a half hour ago. But I just got a call from my dad. My mom fell getting out of the shower, and I need to go home as soon as possible. I'm really sorry, Chloe."
"Don't worry about it for a second, Tracy. I'm sorry about your mom. I'll be home in ten minutes." She set down the phone. "My babysitter's mother fell, and she needs to leave."
He waved to the server. "I'll get the check."
They got back to her house fifteen minutes later. After Tracy rushed out the door, Chloe went to check on Leo. He'd kicked off his covers, so she gently covered him back up, then tiptoed out of the room.
"He's asleep," she told Joel, who was standing in the living room, looking at his phone.
"That's good," he said, putting away his phone.
"Do you want to hang out? It's not too late."
Before Joel could answer, she heard Leo's door open, and her little boy came down the hall, rubbing his eyes.
"Mommy?"
"I'm here, sweetie," she said, as he ran into her arms. "I thought you were asleep."
"There's a monster under my bed," he told her.
"There are no monsters," she said.
"I heard him growl," Leo said, his eyes worried.
"You were dreaming. But we'll check under your bed."
"Can you read me a story?"
"It's late. You need to go to sleep."
"Please? Just a short one?"
She looked at Joel, debating her options. Arguing with Leo and trying to put him down without a story would probably take longer than just reading him one. "I'll only be like fifteen minutes."
"It's fine. I'm going to go, Chloe. I have a couple of emails to answer. I'll see you tomorrow for brunch."
"Okay," she said, disappointed that he was leaving. He'd just told her how much he liked her, how great they could be together, but his actions didn't live up to his words.
Why didn't he want to wait so they could spend more time together?
Joel gave her a quick kiss, patted Leo on the back, and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, after you've slayed some monsters."
As he walked out the door, she wished he'd offered to slay a few of those monsters for her, but apparently, he had his own problems to deal with. So she'd do it herself, which was fine. She didn't need Joel to take care of an imaginary monster, but at some point, they needed to spend more time together, because what looked good on paper might not actually work in real life, and dealing with a four-year-old was as real as it got.
"What's going on?" Decker asked in surprise as Joel walked into his apartment on Sunday morning. "I thought I was meeting you at the inn at noon."
