“I blame it all on Cicero. He deserves all the credit. That cat is a dang diva, demanding all the love and attention.”
The way Braeden’s eyes lit up when I told him we were getting a cat did something to my cold, dead heart. He may still be hurting, but the cat makes him feel a bit better.
“Humility doesn’t suit you, Cal.”
“No? Too bad.”
“You’re impossible.”
“So you keep saying.”
Seth chuckles as we watch the two older boys head our way when they wrap up their second ride.
We all stand, and I plop the velociraptor princess into her stroller, now calm, then we head toward Storyland.
The place is filled with little areas representing children’s books. And there are a ton of kids, most of them screaming and running, which is kind of a headache. I can already feel the pressure in my temples.
“Alright, boys, please keep an eye on your sister.”
All four kids ran off, making sure Emily was close to them. The area is small enough, and we can watch them from where we sit on the park bench.
“You sure you want to let her loose in the world?” I tease.
He huffs a laugh and bumps my shoulder playfully, which makes me smile in return, while trying to ignore the strange zings that hit me. “I try to promote independence and autonomy in my kids. I don’t want them to feel constrained by life, you know.”
I think about my mother and how I was raised. It was nothing like this. “I was pretty much neglected,” I tell him. It slips out with a strange ease, but I don’t divert the subject to something more pleasant. I understood a long time ago why women enjoy venting so much. “Part of it wasn’t my mom’s fault since she had to work all the time to take care of me, but she had no constraints on me. I ran amok much like your little hellion. She didn’t teach me much, except that when I did something wrong, she would punish me for it, even if I didn’t know any better. I spent much of my youth learning from my friends, who were hellions themselves.”
“Sounds terrible. Parents shouldn’t neglect their kids. They need love and guidance.”
“That’s not even half of it,” I reply, but I don’t elaborate, and I don’t acknowledge his staring. I’m not in the mood to go into that much detail. Honestly, it’s a wonder I’ve done as well as I have with my life. “How’s the boyfriend?” I ask to change the subject, not that I want to know about his boyfriend all that much.
“Good. It’s good.”
“Just good? Not fantastic? Not on cloud nine? Not ‘he makes my heart beat faster and my hole throb pleasantly’?” Yeah, I went there.
“Oh my god.Stop. We’ve only had a few dates.”
“I saw him coming out of your house one morning with a grin on his face. You must’ve done something right.”
Seth’s face bloomed and went blotchy. I gnawed on my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling like a loon. “That’s none of your business.”
“Who knew my neighbor was such a tiger in bed?”
“Stop!” he snaps, but he can’t hide the humor in his voice, nor the smile on his face. “You’re seriously incorrigible.”
I leaned close to his ear. He smells of lemons and other citrusy scents. It suits him. “Maybe, but I have a few good qualities.” His breath catches, and his eyes ping to mine. The blues with flecks of yellow are quite pretty. “I mean, look at how I get you to react to me.”
Seth quickly pulls away and coughs, masking his blush again. “No doubt you excel at that.”
I laugh and make a mental note not to tease him so much. It’s fun, but I also shouldn’t give him the wrong idea. He’s taken, and I’m not looking, no matter how cute he is.
“Harrison! Harrison! Emily’s running off,” he yells suddenly. All three boys chase after her. I can hear her squealing with laughter from here. Even Braeden is laughing. That’s definitely a good sign.
“Brae is nicely distracted by your kiddos. Thanks for this.”
He glances at me with a soft smile and a gleam in his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
Seth adjusts himself on the bench to look at me. “Say, now that you’re a dad—”
