“Lex stopped behind us if you want to catch a ride with him,” Hadley said to Blaise, repositioning herself in the driver’s seat. She wanted to give him an out from the kids now that he’d gotten a taste of them and their squabble. The afternoon would go downhill from here as the witching hour—what Fallon called the late afternoon and early evening—grew closer.
“No need,” he replied.
She put the car in gear, turned on the blinker, and merged onto the street. “Kids, I want you to meet Mr. Mortenson. He’s spending the afternoon with us. Please introduce yourselves.”
“I’m Audra Caples.” Her voice didn’t waver. “Does your beard itch?”
Blaise rubbed his fingers over his facial hair. “Not now, but it did when I was first growing it.”
“I want to have a beard,” Ryder chimed in. “I’m Ryder. I’m Audra’s brother. Are you Aunt Hadley’s boyfriend?”
“No,” she and Blaise said at the same time.
“Mr. Mortenson is considering working with me,” Hadley clarified.
“Oh,” Audra said knowingly. “You’re going to find him a wife.”
“Possibly.” Hadley saw the humor in his gaze. He appeared amused, but that might change after hours with the kids. “That’s why we’re going to talk.”
“Since we have a guest, can we go for ice cream after Ryder’s soccer game?” Audra asked.
Hadley should have seen that one coming. “We’ll see. You have dance class first.”
“Aunt Hadley didn’t say no so that means we get ice cream, Mr. Mortenson,” Audra explained.
Hadley glanced at her niece for a moment. “No, it doesn’t.”
“It has every single other time,” Audra said.
“Good for you on recognizing a pattern. That’s an excellent skill,” Blaise said. “And I appreciate you sharing insights about your aunt.”
Sure, he did. Only because the info might help him.
He should, however, know one thing about her. “I’m an open book. What you see is what you get.”
“No secrets that need to be pried out of you?”
“Not really.” Oh, she had them, but none that she wanted to tell anyone. Especially him.
* * *
The temperature was in the mid-seventies for Ryder’s game. Blaise stood on the sidelines without his suit jacket, which was in Hadley’s car, feeling as if he had stepped into an alternative universe.
Little kids, similar in size to Ryder, stumbled and ran on the makeshift field. Chasing the ball seemed a more apt description than passing it. Orange cones marked the sidelines with two collapsible nets on either side.
This appeared to be one step up from daycare, given the chaos.At least he was outdoors and not stuck inside the dance studio lobby with parents and siblings who didn’t understand the concept of talking quietly.
Hadley stood next to Blaise. Audra sat on her left.
He didn’t know what to make of the matchmaker. Hadley had gone from hard-nosed outside her office to doting aunt the minute the kids appeared. Though she hadn’t let them get away with much in the car or during their ten-minute stop at home to change clothes and grab a snack—string cheese, apple slices, and Goldfish crackers.
He’d thought she was joking about not having any free time to speak with him. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Blaise loosened his tie. He had a feeling they would be here a while.
A boy kicked a goal. His team cheered. So did people standing near them. “Aren’t there teams? Sides?”
“They don’t keep score at this age,” Hadley explained.
