Her eyes are full of empathy. “Was it triggering?”
“You know me so well. Yeah, it was a bit.”
“And you held him anyway. Look at you growing up. I’m so proud.”
I huff a laugh and shake my head. “That’s more than my mother will ever tell me.”
Her face softens, and her smile is soft and understanding. Yes, Olivia knows all about my mother as well.
To anyone else looking in, they would’ve been appalled by our unprofessional banter, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Olivia keeps my work life sane.
“Oh, and I do have one friend,” I say.
“Who?”
“You, dumbass.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet when you call me names.”
I chuckle and take a tentative sip of my hot coffee before opening my laptop. “So, what do I have for today again?”
“You have a meeting with Mrs. Cunningham about designing the wing at the children’s hospital in her late husband’s name.”
“Ah, here it is. It’s right after lunch. It’s going to be a boring job, but it’ll pay the bills. Does Dean have the CAD drawing ready?”
“He says he’ll have it by the end of the week.”
Her fingers fly over her tablet as she nibbles on her bottom lip before looking up and smirking at me. “And you have a lunch meeting with the other designers to talk about the restoration of theEagle Saloon.”
“We worked our asses off to obtain that job. It’s one of the oldest jazz clubs around, so it’ll be nice to get that baby restored to its full glory. Can’t fucking wait.”
“I’m so excited for you, Cal. It’s going to be big.”
“Thanks, Olly.”
She scoffs, stands, and grabs our empty mugs when we wrap up our meeting.
I spend the rest of my morning going over blueprints for other projects we’re working on to ensure there are no mistakes and that everything is going according to plan.
As soon as I pull into my driveway after work and get out of my car, Seth hauls his kids out the door and loads them into the silver minivan. God, even his car is lame.
He’s wearing this egg-yellow sweater tied around his shoulders, a white-and-blue striped polo shirt, and tan chinos. Seth looks like he’s going off to an Easter egg hunt, except that it’s September.
As he buckles in his middle child, his youngest hellion sits her ass in the grass, removes her shoes, and tugs off her T-shirt before running off.
“Dangit, Em!”
Before he can chase after her, his oldest son grabs her before she reaches the street. Then her brother practically throws her into the car.
Seth is pinching his nose, trying to calm himself. It pulls a grin from me. I’m sure he’s a good father, but what do I know? My father was never in the picture.
“Hey, neighbor!” I yell over to him and wave.
He looks up and tentatively waves at me, probably wondering if I’m going to tease him mercilessly or if I’m being genuine. I’mdefinitelygoing to tease him.
“How’s the leash hunting going? I’veGoogledsome. I found one that’s got a five-point harness, guaranteed not to lose little ones.Amazonwill ship it overnight. Do you want me to forward the links to you? What’s your email address?”
Seth’s look is deadpanned before getting a squealing toddler into her car seat. She doesn’t seem to like being constrained by anything, including clothes. Honestly, I don’t blame her. I want to be free, too.
