Aelin walked over to turn it off, and frowned. There was something on the?—
Her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the tablet on the floor. Amaya's screen was pointed directly at the couch where Ryan relaxed with a book. Shirtless.He was a reader?She could count on one hand the number of men she knew who read actual paperbacks and didn't listen to podcasts or audiobooks.
His hair was down. It came just past his shoulders. Her eyes traced the lines of his bare chest and the dark trail of hair that started at his navel and disappeared into the waistband of his fitted sweatpants.
Aelin's mouth went dry, which was when she realized she wasspying on him in his own house. What the hell was wrong with her? She hit the red button to end the video call, and then the blood rushed from her face when she thought about what that had sounded like on his end. Was the tablet silenced or had it made a weird "this call has ended" noise?
She fell back on the bed, dropping the tablet onto the mattress. He was going to know. He would be able to look and see when the call had ended.
She groaned and forced herself back up to sitting. Maybe he would think it had timed out. Ended on its own. He didn't know that she'd been looking.But she sure as hell did.
_____
The next morning, Aelin stood in the kitchen watching as Bailey cracked eggs into a pan. "You sure you don't want me to do that?"
Bailey shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip as she focused on the hot burner. "I've got it, Mom."
Aelin smiled. She leaned against the counter and sipped her coffee. It was Sunday, and they had big plans.Two more weeks."What do you want to do after the trampoline place?"
Bailey gave her a sly grin. "I don't know. Maybe . . . brunch?"
Aelin laughed. "Are you going to pay for that?" Bailey dropped her eyes, and Aelin drew a deep breath. "Kidding. Of course we can do brunch. Then maybe the park?"
Bailey's eyes lit up, and she nodded. When the eggs were finished, they ate breakfast together and talked about the only two things that seemed to be on Bailey's mind at the moment. The end of the year choir concert on Tuesday night and the sky-high list of things she wanted to do over the summer. Bailey talked about the books she wanted to read and the craft projects she wanted to try. Parks. Playgrounds. Friends. Movies.
Aelin took a large gulp of her coffee.
After they finished eating, Bailey ran to her room to grab her things. Aelin packed a bag with snacks and then they were out the door. The drive was quick, and as they walked in, Bailey's eyes lit up at the rows of trampolines and massive slides stretching out before them.
"Mom, look at that one! It has a basketball hoop!" Baileypointed, but Aelin didn't hear her since her eyes had snagged on the guy filling out waivers at the counter. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong build. His hair was tied up in a bun.
She pulled Bailey close. "Did you tell Amaya we were coming here today?"
Bailey grinned and scanned the room, then launched forward when she caught sight of her friend at the counter. Aelin didn't know what to do with her hands as Ryan put the pen down and turned. Their eyes locked, and Aelin gave a half wave, immediately imagining him lounging on a couch half-dressed.
Damn him and his broad shoulders for fixing her garage code pad.Her antiquated ovaries were not equipped to handle that.
"Hey." Ryan's voice was low and smooth as he walked past the stanchion and ropes that along with the neon colours and the smell of foam pits decidedly gave the place a wax museum vibe. Aelin's stomach flipped.Married.She could not give in to having dirty thoughts about the married dad of her daughter's friend, and what kind of person was she to do so when his wife was in the hospital?
She was a very broken person. That's what she was. Which meant she should not be spending one-on-one time with a very not single man who knew how to fix things at her house.
"Hey." She tried to keep her tone casual, but when her hands turned into finger guns and pointed at him, she knew she'd swung too far in the other direction. She shoved her hands in her pockets.
Ryan glanced at Amaya. "So. Eleven o'clock."
Amaya shot him a cheesy grin as she twisted her wrist band. Bailey stood at the counter waving Aelin over.
"I'm going to go pay." She walked past them and pulled out her wallet. Was he going to expect her to sit and talk the whole time the girls played? She'd worn athletic clothes and brought her grip socks so she could jump with Bailey, but with Amaya there, she doubted she'd make the cut for number one friend. But Aelin didn't know what was worse. Sitting and talking to Ryanfor two hours or jumping in front of Ryan for two hours. She was probably going to pee a little.
As they walked to the cubbies to store their shoes, Bailey turned to her. "You're going to jump, right?"
Her heart swelled. "Yeah, baby. Of course."
They put on their grip socks and walked out to the trampoline area. Ryan wore brand new grip socks, and Amaya was already asking him to bring her the zip-line rope. He jogged over to it and stretched his arms above his head to grab it, and his shirt rode up, revealing a strip of what she already knew existed under there.
Aelin turned and pretended to be very interested in the mechanics of the obstacle course.
"Mom! Show Amaya your double backflip!"
