I sighed and my breath fogged up in front of me. “I know you are. Renovation takes time and there is always something unexpected behind the walls when you knock them down. I’ll see you next weekend.”
WHEN SHE SHOWED up the following weekend she looked different. She was dressed like she had raided the Salvation Army for their most used and abused jeans and I recognized the T-shirt she had on as the one I left at her house on our last night together. She seemed so much less polished and worried about being put together than she typically did. Even though her clothes were casual and even slightly sloppy, she still made it all look really good and I wanted to peel her out of it.
I let my gaze skim over her and told her, “Nice outfit. More secret projects on the agenda today?”
Hyde clapped his hands and squealed a little. “Yeah, Sayer, are we finishing our surprise today?”
“You bet, but I have a small stop to make before we do, okay, buddy?”
Hyde pouted a little bit, but I think the kid and I were in the same boat when it came to this woman. Any chance we got to spend time with her we were going to snap it up and hold on to it with greedy hands. I walked them to her car and helped get Hyde situated in the new car seat she had bought for him. It tugged at parts of me that were forever tied to her. She went and bought a car seat for my kid. That had to mean she was planning on keeping us around. Didn’t it?
“I’ll see you guys in a little bit. Be good.” I wasn’t sure if I was talking to Hyde or her, but either way the warning felt fitting.
When she showed back up at the condo later that evening, at first I didn’t know it was her. I heard a car pull up and looked out the window to see who it was, but there wasn’t a Lexus parked behind my Jeep. Instead, a brand-new, cherry-red Jeep Grand Cherokee was where she usually parked. It wasn’t as tough looking and as masculine as mine, but it was still rugged and made for more than looking pretty. I thought it must be a neighbor until her blond head emerged from the driver’s side and she walked around to let Hyde out on the other side. She had to heft the boy down from the height, and as they walked toward the front of the building hand in hand I knew that was everything I was ever going to want in my life.
They were perfect together.
They were perfect for me.
I couldn’t ask for anything more and I would do everything in my power to keep them and to keep them safe.
I pulled open the door when I heard her quiet voice and Hyde laughing. They pulled up short when they saw me and I watched both their smiles turn just a shade brighter.
“New car to go with the new hair and new duds?”
She smiled and let go of Hyde’s hand so that he could throw himself against me like he liked to do. I picked him up and mock-growled at him as he put both his hands on my cheeks. I almost died laughing when he growled back at me like a little animal.
“Sayer let me pick the color. Red. It’s my favorite.”
“I saw.” I looked at her over her shoulder and she lifted her hands and let them fall.
“I never really liked the Lexus and the Jeep makes more sense for winter.”
“You bought a Jeep?”
She shrugged again. “Yeah. I like yours.”
I wanted to growl again, but instead I flashed her a predatory smile and muttered, “I like yours, too.” I wasn’t talking about the Jeep and she knew it. “Want to stay for dinner?”
This time she shook her head. “No. Not tonight. I have a few things I need to finish up at the house. But thank you, and I’ll see you next weekend, if that’s okay.”
“It’s okay, but one of these days I want my shirt back.” I stared at her so that she knew I meant I wanted to peel it off of her while she was wearing it and get to all the pretty, pale, and pink things underneath.
“Soon. I’ll see you guys next weekend. Bye, Hyde.”
“Bye, Sayer. I can’t wait for Dad to see the surprise.”
“Me, too, kiddo.” She smiled at me and both my heart and my dick responded. “Next weekend, Zeb. I’ll see you soon.”
She disappeared back down the walkway and I looked at my son. “Waiting for this surprise is killing me, you know. I better like it.” I was only half kidding around.
His little face got really serious and he leaned in close so that our noses were touching. “You have to like it. Sayer worked real hard. You can pretend if you don’t so you won’t hurt her feelings.”
“I’ll pretend. Just for you, little man.”
“Good. Can we have pizza for dinner?” I groaned.
“How about we make tacos or something else?” I was going to have pizza coursing through my veins by the time the kid was old enough to buy his own food.
“It’s the weekend. We get to have pizza on the weekend.” His eyes twinkled at me and I knew I was going to cave in, even though the last thing I wanted to eat was another slice of pizza.
“Fine, we can order a pizza.”
“Because you love me.” He threw his arms around my neck and squeezed so hard I had to pry him loose.
“Because I love you.” I put him down and pulled my phone out of my front pocket.