My chest squeezes. I type back a neutral smiley and toss my phone onto the sofa like it’s misbehaved.
Back off,I tell myself.Back off gently. Give him space.
The house is quiet except for the hum of the fridge and the soft baby snores from the next room. My reflection in the conservatory glass looks… unsettled.
I throw myself back into work like it’s a rip current. If I keep busy enough, maybe my feelings will get bored and wander off, the way they always do.
He turns up just after six.
I hear his knock while I’m helping Rhiannon line up her Sylvanian Families. Sadie’s in the kitchen with a twin on each shoulder. Leo’s late back from the parlor because he’s picking up dinner.
“I’ll get it,” I call, ruffling Rhi’s hair.
The moment I open the door, my resolve starts leaking out of me like air from a punctured balloon.
Jacob’s in his work stuff, but the tie’s loosened and the top button’s undone. His sleeves are rolled to his elbows, showing a dusting of dark hair and that new bird tattoo on his wrist. His dark hair is slightly mussed, like he’s been raking his fingers through it, and his eyes are pale blue and wary.
He is outrageously, unfairly sexy.
“Hi,” he says quietly. “Is now a bad time?”
A ridiculous part of me wants to launch myself at him and wrap my legs around his waist. Instead I smile, careful and nonchalant. “Hey, Professor. Come in. You’re just in time for a Sylvanian Families meeting.”
His mouth twitches. “Sounds important.”
Rhiannon squeals when she sees him. “Uncle Jacob!” She barrels into the hallway, socks sliding, and latches onto his leg. He nearlytopples over, catching himself on the doorframe.
“Woah,” he laughs, steadying them both. “Hello, my little menace.”
“Did you have another bad day?” she asks, peering up at him. “We can draw feelings again if you need.”
He glances at me, soft. “Better day today, thank you. But I may require an expert consultation later.”
She nods solemnly, satisfied, and drags him into the sitting room to show him her latest drawing of a dragon eating broccoli.
I follow more slowly, my stomach knotting. He came here. After I sent those lukewarm texts. That’s… a choice.
Sadie looks up from the babies, eyes flicking between us. There’s a question there, but she doesn’t voice it. “Hey, bro,” she says to Jacob. “You on dinner patrol too? Leo’s bringing pizza on his way back.”
“Sounds great,” he says automatically, but his gaze keeps bouncing back to me like it’s tethered.
We muddle through the first fifteen minutes on surface-level small talk. Work. The weather. The twins’ latest sleep rebellion. He looks at me a lot. I keep finding reasons to look away.
It’s Rhiannon who saves us. “Uncle Jacob,” she says blithely, “why are you staring at my Aunt Tippi like she’s tasty?”
I choke. Sadie snorts so hard she nearly drops a baby. Jacob goes scarlet from collar to hairline.
“I - I wasn’t - I mean -” He clears his throat and offers Rhi a helpless look. “She is very… nice to look at. But staring is rude. I’m working on that.”
“It’s OK,” Rhiannon says magnanimously. “I stare at her too. She’s got pretty hair.” She turns to me. “Can we put glitter in it tomorrow?”
“Absolutely,” I croak.
Jacob’s eyes meet mine. There’s embarrassment there, yes, but also something like determination. “Tippi, could I… talk to you for a moment? Somewhere quieter?”
Sadie’s gaze flicks to me.Be careful,her eyes say. She doesn’t say it out loud. She just adjusts Ezra on her shoulder and kisses his forehead.
“Sure,” I say. “Garden?”
