Chance had never sat on Santa’s lap. Even scoffed at it when he was older, but as a kid, he’d heard the others talking about it and kept his jealousy hidden with sarcasm.
If his mouth wasn’t getting him in trouble, then his facial expressions were.
“You’ve thought of it all,” he said.
She shrugged. “We can go if you want.”
He looked at his watch. “It’s only eleven.”
“My mother is going to put a lot of snacks out. Maverick will be hungry. We’ll eat around one. Then he can nap after.”
“If he goes down,” he said. “Maybe I should take my truck and follow you there. If he’s unruly, we can leave and you can stay with your family.”
“I don’t want to stay with my family and not you.” This time she drilled her finger into his chest. “Stop being ornery.”
He leaned his chest over the island to whisper in her ear. “You like me that way.” Then he bit her lobe, watched her shudder, and knew she was missing the connection the two of them had before it became three.
That could be part of his messed-up mind too.
Their sex life, when they had it now, was rushed and hushed. No freedom to get naked in the living room or chase the other around the apartment.
Not that there was much running from each other, but they had fun.
Now it felt more like a quick release and it was the last thing he wanted. Or wanted Jocelyn to feel as if it was all he could give her.
“I do like you that way,” she said. “I miss it too.”
“We’ll get back there,” he said. “Maybe I’ll see if my grandmother can watch Maverick for a few hours. I hate to think we’ve got to schedule these things.”
Good Lord, was he going to turn into one ofthosepeople?
“We’ll figure it out. Come on, Maverick. Want to go see my parents, Stacy and Jim?”
“Yes,” Maverick said, then ran for the door and reached for the knob.
“You’re going to have your hands full there if he can figure out how to open it.”
He sighed. “I know. One more thing.”
“Let me grab a change of clothes for him and I’ll stuff them in the bag I’ve got together.”
He watched as she ran into his son’s room in his girlfriend’s apartment. Maverick was more at home here.
If he was feeling as if he wanted to be here more, he wouldn’t let her know.
There was enough on her shoulders without adding what he was feeling.
Before he found out he had a kid, their relationship was about fun. Taking a turn onto another road wasn’t the plan for him.
He didn’t know what the plan was in her eyes.
“Ready?” he asked when she came back.
He reached for the bag, she slipped her sneakers on, picked up Maverick, then they left and went to the elevator.
“Hang on,” she said when Maverick leaned toward the buttons and almost fell out of Jocelyn’s arms. “We are going down. Remember, going down.”
“What’s he doing?”
