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“It’s lovely, Wes. And Katie’s very excited. We’d love to go with you.”
He releases a breath, and I can picture him running his hand through his thick hair. “Thank fuck.”
“Tomorrow then?” I say and my heart races like I’m agreeing to a date. I know that’s not what this is, because this is about Katie, but I’m definitely excited to be spending any nonwork time with Wes.
“Yes, tomorrow,” he says and when I’m just about to hang up, he adds, “You could have walked over to say all this. I would have liked to see you.”
My lips pull into a giddy smile—something that Wes seems to elicit from me—but I fight it.
“You’re right, Wes. I could have. Have a good night.”
“You too, Lucy.” He chuckles as I hang up the phone.
Katie and I wait for Wes in front of the house the next day, with her car seat at my feet. Even though he offered to pick us up and take us out, I still feel like it’s a chore for him to do it, so I’m trying to make it as easy for him as possible. I know I shouldn’t feel like that, but I already get so many handouts from family and friends that I feel guilty whenever people do something nice for me.
Wes pulls up in his truck and immediately jumps out to meet us. I don’t really take in his appearance until he’s walking our way, and when I do, I’m locked in place as desire runs through me.Kill me now.He’s wearing gray sweatpants that mold to his muscular thighs—and almost have me drooling—a fitted black tee, and a San Fran baseball cap.Um, what?! Is he trying to mess me up in front of my daughter?
I can’t stop myself from staring as he approaches. The way he moves has me mesmerized, and I’m struggling to concentrate.
When he reaches our side, he lightly flicks me underneath my chin and then squats down to Katie’s height, handing her a kid-sized football as he says hello. She’s got a hundred of them at home, but she still lights up, just like my heart does. I’m giddy again, and it’s not until Wes’s eyes meet mine that I realize what just happened… Was he closing my dropped jaw?Jesus! That’s embarrassing.
When his laughter touches his eyes, I know he’s read my thoughts, but without saying a word about it, he helps carry our things to his truck with a smile in place. And I’m not complaining about that.
“Do you want me to install the seat?” I ask after he lifts it into his truck. His forehead creases as he stares at the contraption, seemingly processing what to do.
“Nope, I’m good,” he says after a beat, and sets out to get it done.
Fifteen minutes pass and it’s not only me laughing at Wes’s frustration, but Katie’s joined in too. “Why don’t they make these things easier to install? I must be missing a part. Is it still in your car?”
“Nope,” I say, pulling my lips into my mouth.
“Okay, so do you know what I’m doing wrong?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
Pushing between his rock-hard body and the door of his truck, I work my magic and have the seat installed in a couple of minutes, all while Wes watches me with great interest.
“Now if you could just pull this as tight as you can, we’ll be on our way.” I hand him the tightening strap and step out, biting back my triumphant grin, until Wes grumbles and my laugh escapes me.
“I’m going to beat it next time,” he huffs out.
“It’s not a competition.” I laugh in return.
True to his word, Wes devotes most of his attention to Katie throughout the day, and he should—he absolutely should—but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if he threw a tiny bit my way. And neither would I. Instead, I watch on from the sidelines—where Katie relegated me to—and try not to embarrass myself by openly drooling again.
My phone vibrates on the grass as Wes throws Katie in the air, and I’m laughing as I reach for it, completely unaware of the pain it’s about to bring me.
Unknown: Can we talk? This is my work number. I’m doing pretty well for myself and I’d like to support you and Katie. Greg
My heart jolts. I’m not sure why I keep thinking he’ll give up. I may have tried to insinuate Katie wasn’t his, but he’s not stupid. I should have expected this.
I don’t respond, and the phone continues to vibrate until I have two missed calls and another text.
Unknown: Please, I just want to get to know her, and make up for the lost time and my lack of support
What is he even saying? Does he want to pay child support? I ignore his message again and avoid looking at my phone for the rest of the day, vowing not to let it get me down on an otherwise perfect afternoon.
