“Oh, a naughty confession? Am I the priest, and you’re the guilty sinner?”
I sit up and playfully punch his arm. “No, dork, although… Nope, not going there.” Calvin laughs and kisses the top of my head. “Anyway, what I’m trying to tell you is that my oldest and most beloved has informed me that the kids intentionally left their toys in your yard.”
He stops mid-sip to raise his brows and look at me. “Those little stinkers. Why?”
I chuckle. “Apparently, they left toys out unintentionally the first time, and you made your little toy totem. They loved it so much, they kept doing it.”
Calvin throws back his head and laughs. “Those clever, rambunctious, little otters. But hey, it brought us together, and apparently, brightened their day.”
“It really did.”
Calvin stands, leansdown to kiss my lips, and plucks the empty glass from my hand for a refill. He returns, hands me my glass, and snuggles back into me.
“I have to hand it to them, you’ve got some smart kids, Tiger.”
“This is the first time I’m happy that they disobeyed me.”
“Because then you wouldn’t have seen how sexy I am in boxers and my bathrobe?”
I cackle because he’s not wrong. “That, too. But that’s the bridge that got us to talking. I don’t regret that for a second.”
Calvin combs back my bangs from my face and looks at me with longing… I think. “The only thing I regret is not getting to know you sooner.”
God, I’m freaking melting.
Chapter 29
Calvin
It’sFridaynight,andI’m finally home. I worked my ass off today with the upcoming jobs, making sure everything is on schedule. It is. Thank fuck I have a talented team that can keep up with the extra workload.
I shift the brown paper grocery bag in one arm while I unlock the front door. It’s later than I’d like. I don’t like leaving Braeden home alone for long periods. It makes me damn nervous.
He’s been standoffish with me since I’ve been back from Houston—more than usual. So, the plan is to make him a nice homemade spaghetti dinner tomorrow night, which is one of his favorites. But not tonight. Tonight, Seth and I have a date planned, a real one, and our first. We kind of jumped into sex first, and I want to make it up to him.
I look over at his house to see his soccer-mom car gone, so he must be taking his kids to his parents’ house.
The thought of a nice date, then some sexy fun time, boosts my mood.
I shut the door behind me and head to the kitchen to put away the groceries.
Perhaps Braeden and I can bond over making dinner together. Would he like that? We haven’t done much bonding since we’ve been so busy getting him settled in.
“Brae!” I call out.
I wait a few minutes, but he doesn’t respond. I guess he doesn’t hear me, so I jog up the stairs and knock on his closed door. “Brae?”
When he doesn’t answer, I take a deep breath. His emotions are all over the place, making it hard to manage and connect with him. It’s not his fault. I get why he’s like this, but I hoped that once I had full custody, things would look up.
I don’t knock again and simply walk in. I look around his room and blink. It’s still bland, and the bed is unmade, but there’s no sign of him. That explains why he didn’t answer me. Where is he? He was supposed to come straight home after school. He knows the rules.
After a cursory search of the house, he’s nowhere to be found. I pull out my phone and call him, but he doesn’t answer. Then I shoot him a text. It shows delivered, but not read.
“Fuck.”
I call him again, but there’s still no answer.
Now, I’m getting worried.
