The inference is there. I know she thinks I’m attractive. I saw the way she was looking at me in the Uber on our way to Calvetti’s the other night.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her during dinner. She noticed my interest. I know she did.
I may be exhausted but I’d give up sleep for a week to spend the night continuing the conversation we were having at the restaurant. I want to keep her glued to the spot she’s standing for as long as I can, so I ask a question I have no right asking. “Do you want to run the name of the guy you’re meeting by me? It wouldn’t hurt to double check that he’s not a part of an open homicide investigation.”
I want her to correct me and tell me she’s on her way to see, Kate, the woman I met the day after I moved in.
She shifts on her bare feet. “This one checks out. I’ve known him for a while.”
Him.
Fuck.
I rub my chin. I’m irritated that it bothers me that she’s meeting a guy. I have no claim on her. She’s my roommate. That’s it.
“I better get going,” she says softly. “I’m glad you solved the case. You make the city a safer place.”
She sounds like the police commissioner when he leads a press tour through the squad room. “I’ll see you soon, Matilda.”
Her eyes catch mine for a brief second. “Goodnight.”
I’d wish her the same, but I don’t want her to have a good night with anyone else. I want her to stay here with me, but since that can’t happen I watch as she walks away before I head straight to my bedroom alone.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tilly
“Will you marry me, Tilly?”
I smile as I look over at him. “You’ve asked me that question three times this weekend, Coop. My answer hasn’t changed.”
Cooper Gallo’s mouth dips into a frown. “The answer is still no?”
I crouch down until I’m almost eye level with the six-year-old. “One day when you’re older, you’ll meet someone who will steal your heart away. When that happens, you’ll be happy that I said no.”
“What if it’s you?” His small hand rests on my cheek. “If I’m older and you don’t have a husband yet, will you marry me then?”
“Why don’t we make a pinky swear promise to always be friends? I could use a really good friend like you, Coop.”
His pinky on his left hand juts out. “I like that. Let’s do it.”
I wrap my finger around his gently. “We solemnly swear that we’ll always be friends.”
“We do,” he affirms with a sharp nod of his head.
His blue eyes catch mine. “You’re the best babysitter I ever had. Can we look on my mom’s laptop at more stuff about the moon?”
I glance over at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. “We can do that for twenty minutes and then you’ll have to get into bed. There’s school tomorrow.”
“You sound like Mom.” He giggles. “Can we call her so I can say goodnight to her?”
Even though his mom, Carolyn, left their apartment less than an hour ago, I know how important it is to Cooper to hear her voice before he falls asleep.
When Carolyn started working at Premier Pet Care as a veterinarian she kept mainly to herself. I didn’t know she had a son until she brought Cooper to work one day last summer when her nanny was a no-show.
Coop and I hit it off right away. I spent part of my shift with him in the breakroom. We discovered our mutual love for science and ever since, whenever Carolyn has been in a pinch for a sitter, I’ve stepped in.
She’s a single mom with a demanding career and an ex-husband in another state. I see the stress she’s under on a daily basis.
