We finished eating, and I bought the cookie on the way out.
“We’re going to walk Miss Julia to her car,” I told Noah.
“Why?” he asked, biting into the cookie.
“Because we have to make sure she gets to her car safely, which is the gentlemanly thing to do. We always want to be gentlemen when there’s a lady present. Got it?”
He nodded, immediately serious. “Got it.”
We made our way toward the parking lot, with me walking between Noah and Julia. In between cookie bites, he chattered about all the goats he had met and how he was going to draw pictures of them when we got home. I had snapped a few photos of him feeding the animals, which I would show him later.
He slipped his hand in mine, small and warm and trusting. Julia’s hand swung near mine on the other side. I longed to take it, but that would be too much. We hadn’t even gone on a proper date yet.
We arrived at her gray Nissan Sentra far too soon, and she unlocked the door but didn’t get in immediately. She gave Noah a hug, then straightened and looked at me. Our eyes held for a beat, a whole conversation taking place without words being exchanged.
“I enjoyed my time today,” she said in a soft voice.
The wordsI haven’t stopped thinking about you once this week, not even when we were apartwere on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t say them. Not with Noah standing right beside us, looking at us with curious eyes.
“I did too.”
I pulled her into my arms and experienced one of the best hugs I’ve ever had. She was soft and warm, and even after half aday outside, smelled like heaven. I rubbed my hands up and down her back twice before letting her go.
“Drive safely.”
“I will.” Her voice shook a little, and I understood why. We were both falling. Whatever emotion she felt was also charging through me, leaving me a bit unsteady on my feet.
She climbed into the car, and as she started the engine, I placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder and guided him to step back. We watched her back out of the parking space and drive toward the exit.
When she finally disappeared from view, Noah slipped his hand into mine.
“I already miss her,” he said quietly.
With my chest tight, I squeezed his hand. “Yeah. Me too.”
Chapter 11
Marcus
Monday morning, I rolled out of bed at six-thirty like I had been doing for the past few weeks and stumbled into the kitchen to start the coffee maker before waking up Noah. Once I had finished my own morning routine, I went into his room.
“Let’s go, big man. Time to get ready for school,” I said, shaking him gently.
He moaned, rubbing his eyes as he yawned.
After ensuring he had brushed his teeth properly, I headed back to the kitchen and placed a couple of strawberry Pop-Tarts in the toaster, our standard breakfast. I wasn’t going to win father of the year, but at least he was getting food in his belly.
Nonetheless, I intended to learn how to cook. His comment at the petting zoo had been jarring. He was a growing kid and needed vegetables and home-cooked meals. Last night, I bookmarked a couple of YouTube videos that showed how to make simple dishes like spaghetti and meat sauce, and my sister promised to send over a couple of easy recipes later this week.
While the coffee brewed, I checked my morning schedule. I had a client meeting at eleven and needed to complete some paperwork. My listing coordinator, Lupe, was doing a great job handling work when I couldn’t be in the office, but I couldn’t have her covering for me indefinitely. It wouldn’t be fair.
“Uncle Marcus?”
Noah was standing in the kitchen doorway, already dressed. But instead of the Robin costume I had washed and placed in his dresser, he was wearing khaki pants and a white shirt, which was crooked because he had missed one of the buttonholes.
“Hey, you’re already dressed. Good job.” I walked over to him and dropped onto my haunches. I started fixing the buttons. “Where’s your costume?”
“I don’t want to wear it today.”
