“I think I can handle this little hellcat for a few minutes.”
“Whata hehcat?” she asks.
“That’s you, pumpkin. The terror of the high seas. The velociraptor of the swamps.Grr. Let’s hear your best growl.”
She shows him her claws and growls at him. I swear to god, my heart is melting right now.Dangit!
“Say bye, Daddy,” he tells her.
Emily gives me a big wave, now happy to be in Calvin’s big, strong arms.
Ugh, shut up, Seth.
This weird, growing attraction is starting to concern me. I have a perfectly good and attractive boyfriend. Can I call him a boyfriend after only three dates?
Right when the ride moves, Calvin grins like he’s up to something. He waves, and right when I pass him, he yells, “I’m going to fill her with a pound of sugar. We’ll be back!”
“Oh, heck no! Calvin! Don’t you dare!”
He walks away, laughing maniacally.
He’dbetterbe joking.
Sawyer and I step off the ride fifteen minutes later. He’s not feeling so good, but the other two boys are riding again. It’s not the craziest ride, being made for little kids, but Sawyer has always been sensitive.
I find Calvin sitting on a park bench with Emily on his lap. He’s handing her an animal cracker that I’d brought with us. He looks like a natural with her. Maybe he’s resistant to children, but he falls into the role with little effort. I wonder if he even realizes it. I melt a little more from watching them.
This isn’t good. No, this isbad.
Chapter 14
Calvin
“Youknow,you’renotso bad when you’re sitting here happy,” I tell Emily. I have no idea whether she understands me. She probably only understands the word ‘no’, so she can ignore it.
It helps that her mouth is full of animal crackers and she’s happily getting crumbs all over me. I’ll live, but I draw the line at changing diapers. Is she still in diapers? I know absolutely zero about infants and toddlers.
She’s pretty cute when she’s not being feral, with her blonde hair in little pompoms on top of her head.
Emily looks up at me with soggy crumbs all over her face.Ugh, gross. “Muh.”
I dig in the box and pull out a few more cookies. I have no idea how many she’s allowed, but she’s happy, so it’s a win in my book.
The ride is over, but only Seth and Sawyer return. Seth stops in his tracks and looks at me with what? Doe eyes? Jesus. I’m only watching his daughter. What’s the big deal?
I almost didn’t come today because I needed to work. But when Seth came to my door in his little yellow golf shorts, exposing lean, tanned, runner’s legs, a pink polo, and a white sweater wrapped around his shoulders, he was too cute to ignore. He looks like an Easter egg exploded all over him. And now he’s taken. Bummer. But I can stilladmire him from afar. I never thought I’d be into preppy dudes, but here we are.
“Look at you and Em. Seems like you two can be friends after all.”
“Tsh, what’s not to like about this hellcat? If she misbehaves, she gets to live with you, not me.”
God, I love pushing his buttons. Before, he was scowling and fighting the urge to flip me the bird, and now he rolls his eyes and tries not to smile. ‘Try’ being the operative word. He always gives in to the inevitable.
“Hey, Sawyer,” I say.
He gives me a quick wave and tucks his body behind his dad. He seems to be the shyest and quietest of the three kids.
Seth sits next to me as Sawyer crawls beside him. “Braeden seems to be having fun. He’s really coming out of his shell,” he says.
