A car honks, and I stuff my phone into my pocket as I stand to see Noah pull up with Oliver. I rush to the car, open the door, and wrap my arms around my little boy, squeezing him tightly.He laughs and tells me how much he missed me before I manage to pull back so he can unbuckle himself and get out of the car.
“He asked me the whole car ride how long it would be until he got home.” Noah chuckles as he climbs out of the car. I notice that his fiancée is sitting stiffly in the front seat. “Here are his things. You still good if I take him next weekend?” he asks as he hands me the bag.
“Yes, no problem.”
Oliver walks up to me and throws his arms around my waist. I soak in his embrace because I’m afraid that when he’s older, he won’t want to hug me as much as he does now. They say it happens with teenage boys, and he’s getting bigger, so I’m hoping we can stay close.
“Bye.” I wave and then glance one last time at Taylor, who hasn’t bothered to say a word to me. It still stings that he hasn’t had the decency to introduce us officially.
“What should we do for dinner?” I ask Oliver as we get to the front door.
“Pizza,” he automatically says. It’s his favorite food.
“Done. Let me order it, and you can tell me all about your week.” He rushes inside, and I shut the door behind us. When I pull out my phone to order, I see another email from Soren.
Dear Hurricane,
Can I come over?
Your New Boss
I huff out a breath,then delete the email.
Nope, that’s not happening.
While I place the pizza order, Oliver starts telling me about his week, then all about Taylor.
“Do you like her?” I ask as I get us some drinks.
He shrugs. “Yeah. She’s all right, I guess.”
“That’s good.” And I mean it. I want Noah to be happy, and I want whoever he’s with to like my son and treat him well.
A knock sounds on my door, and I leave Oliver playingFortniteon his Nintendo Switch as I walk to the door. When I pull it open, I’m expecting the pizza delivery person, so my attention is on pulling cash out of my purse.
“Hurricane.”
I look up at Soren standing there, and my mouth opens in shock. He reaches out and presses two fingers under my chin to gently close my mouth. “I know I’m good-looking, but dropping your mouth open like that should only happen when you’re on your knees…” He pauses. “In front of me.”
I take a quick glance behind me to make sure Oliver didn’t follow me, then look back at Soren.
“You should leave,” I say.
“You ignored my messages.”
“I’m with my son,” I inform him. “When I’m with him, he’s my sole focus.”
“Reply back, then.”
Just then, the delivery guy arrives. Soren turns to him, and as I grab the money to pay him, Soren has already handed over a wad of bills and has taken the pizza box. Then he turns back to me and smiles.
“I can pay for my own food,” I grumble.
“I know you can, but think of this as an apology for interrupting your night.” He holds out the box to me, and I take it.
“Don’t come here again.” I raise a brow at him as I step back into my home.
He just smirks as I shut the door.
