When I returned, Sami was sitting on the couch next to Luna with Naomi in her lap, munching on her doll’s hair. “What? It keeps her happy.” Sami sighed.
Chuckling, I took a seat on the other side of Luna. “Hey, no judgement here. Where is everyone else?” And by everyone, I meant Caitlyn.
“The rest of the guys took a group out for a hike. Lauren’s in the kitchen finishing up dinner prep for the client-guests, and Chassie went into town to pick up Caitlyn. Car trouble. They should be here soon. Are you going to serenade us?” Sami shifted her daughter to face me. I looked around the room and had everyone’s attention.
“I was thinking I’d take requests. Luna, what’s your favorite song?”
“Bye Bye Bye!” she started clapping. “Can you play it?” She pointed to the guitar, a thousand-watt smile lighting her face.
Confused, I looked to Caitlyn and Dylan, who’d busted out laughing. “Yeah, Vic. PlayBye ByeBye.” Dylan grinned as she gave me a wink.
Sami snickered. “C’mon, Vic. I’m sure you have that one memorized. Don’t act like you don’t know all the songs by NSYNC.”
I gave her a,you’ve got to be kidding melook. But she just shrugged, and now Theo had joined in, and he and Luna were chanting it over and over. Well, one thing a performer knows is that you have to give your audience what they want. I pulled out my cell. “Okay kids. Hold on a sec. I need to check something first.” Quickly scrolling throughsongsterrI found guitar music for the requested song, then handed the phone to Sami. “Hold this and when I nod, scroll down.”
For the next half hour I played the hits, includingI Want You Back, another round ofBye Bye Byeand I was halfway throughIt’s Gonna Be Mewhen Caitlyn and her sister walked through the front door. Relief flooded me. These songs were kicking my butt. Used to rock and grunge licks, I was out of my element for sure, but the kids were dancing around like they were in a midnight rave. It was cute, but I welcomed the interruption.
Luna ran to her mom, and Theo, Naomi, and Mateo collapsed in a heap in the middle of the room. I set aside my guitar and helped the moms pick up the exhausted kids. “You’re hired, Vic. Every afternoon. And if Mateo sleeps through the night, I might just kiss you.” Caitlyn swung her son onto her hip and left. Sami scooped up her kids and followed her friend out.
Dylan stood and waddled over to me. She paused, patted me on the cheek, and said, “I think you’ve cemented yourself as the toddler whisperer. Can’t wait for you to play something for your niece. See ya.” she headed for the kitchen, chortling all the way.
Just Chassie, Luna, and Caitlyn remained. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t sure how to act in front of a woman. I felt her stare on the back of my neck as the other women had spoken to me. What was she thinking? Would she be mad that I let her daughter talk me into playing pop songs instead of something more traditional or appropriate, likeThe Wheels on the Bus?
Her sister broke the awkward silence. “Hey, Vic. I’d pegged you as a Guns N’ Roses dude, but NSYNC is, well…catchy. Hey, Luna. Get your doll and let’s go see if Uncle Kane is back from playing with his buddies. It’s pizza night!”
“Yeah!” With pigtails flying, Luna launched herself at my legs and hugged me tight. “Thank you, Vic. That was the best! Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, Luna.”
We both watched the little dynamo take off running behind her aunt. Then, right before she closed the door behind her, Luna popped her head back into the room and shouted at the top of her lungs, “I love you more!” and slammed the door.
Caitlyn chuckled. Turning in my direction, she smiled at me. Her face radiated happiness, and I wondered how I could put that same look on her beautiful face.
“It’s silly how a little ritual can just melt all the stress away, isn’t it?”
“What ritual is that?” Had I missed something?
“Whenever one of us leaves the room and we know we won’t be seeing each other for a while, we shout ‘I love you more,’ and race out before the other can say it back. I know it sounds silly, but I started doing it not long after she started talking, and it stuck. Her dad thought it was dumb and refused to join in.”
“Sounds like his loss. How is telling someone you love them dumb?” What a complete idiot her ex was to not realize how damn lucky he was to have a woman like Caitlyn.
She seemed a bit startled by the force behind my words, but she needed to know not all men had a problem sharing their feelings with those they truly loved. She definitely made the right decision getting as far away from him as she could.
“Agreed. Thank you.” Caitlyn broke eye contact first, then looked around the room and sighed at the mess the kids had left behind. Discarded toys and doll clothes strewn over the couch and floor.
“Here, I can help.” I bent down and picked up miniature outfits and plastic building blocks. Caitlyn found a woven basket next to the fireplace, brought it over, and we filled it up.
“So,” Debating what to say, which was really unlike me, I tucked my hands in my pockets and looked my fill. She looked tired, but it didn’t detract from her beauty. “So, how’s the new job?” Okay, not my best effort when what I wanted to do was seduce her with words, but I was genuinely interested. And it hit me that my old fallback of using flattery wasn’t good enough. Not for Caitlyn.
“Good. It’s interesting, and I’m finding my place in the workflow. Thank you for asking. Now I just have to get my car fixed.” She turned to go, but I held up my hand and was this close to touching her on the arm.
I wanted to touch her, had thought of little else since the truth or dare kiss. She continued to put a shield up whenever she was around me. I’d spent hours trying to figure out how to convince her I wasn’t looking for just one night in her bed. “I could help you out with that. You can borrow my truck until you get it fixed. It’s just sitting there now that I can walk to my job.”
She didn’t say no right away. Instead, she just stared at me as if I were a bug under a microscope. I’d been wanting her full attention, and now that I had it, I felt like a pimply teenager asking the popular girl out on a date. Suddenly, she threw her hands up and started pacing.
“Sure, of course you’d offer your truck. And you give piggyback rides to little girls you just met, and sing and play guitar for a bunch of toddlers like the frickin’ Pied Piper and…and you smell so good every damn time I’m close to you and it drives me crazy. Why couldn’t you be conceited and hate kids, and only be looking for a quick fuck? It’d make my life a hell of a lot less…unsettled. And damn it, why when you kissed me did you make me feel, make me believe that I’m the most desirable woman you’d ever met?” Caitlyn dragged in a deep breath, her chest heaving and her eyes flashing with desperation. I stepped closer, needing to reassure her in some way….
But she moved more quickly. In two quick strides she was before me, hands cradling my face, then rising onto her toes, she pressed her lips onto mine. Then, with a frustrated groan that may have actually come from me, she deepened the kiss.
