“Ohmigod!” I yelped, clutching the sheet up to my neck.
How long had he been standing there?
“Good morning, Miss Julia,” he said, completely unfazed in the way only a child could be.
“Hi. Good morning, Noah.” My gaze flitted around the room, hoping Marcus would suddenly appear, butI didn’t hear him in the adjoining bathroom. “Where is your Uncle Marcus?”
“He went to get breakfast. He told me to be quiet because you were still asleep.”
Clearly, he forgot to tell Noah the most important part—do not come into this room. You have to be very specific when you give instructions to children.
“Well, you did a very good job because I had no idea you were standing beside the bed,” I said.
“Did you and Uncle Marcus have a sleepover?” Noah asked, his head tilting to the side.
Sleepover. Cute.
“Um... yes, we did.”
“Did you play the tickle game?”
“The what?”
“The tickle game. Sometimes Uncle Marcus plays it with me when he puts me to bed, and I can’t stop screaming and laughing, and I mess up the sheets.”
“Oh, um... yeah, we did play the tickle game. There was some screaming, and the sheets definitely got messed up.”
“Uncle Marcus is really good at the tickle game,” Noah said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“He sure is.”
I heard the front door open and close, followed by footsteps in the hallway. Marcus eased open the door, perhaps thinking I was still asleep. He took in the scene with me clutching the sheet like a lifeline and Noah standing beside the bed.
His eyes widened. “Hey, buddy. Let’s give Miss Julia some privacy.”
“But we were talking about the tickle game.”
Marcus frowned in confusion.
“I told him we played last night during our sleepover,” I said.
“Oh. Right. Yeah, we played twice last night, didn’t we?” His face shifted into amusement. “Okay, big man. Let’s go into the kitchen and give Miss Julia some privacy.”
He scooped up Noah and carried him out, closing the door behind them. I covered my face and laughed. Then I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. After washing my face and rinsing out my mouth, I finger-combed my hair into some semblance of order and then I started hunting for my clothes.
One by one, I found them strewn across the room and slipped them on. As I was closing the snap on my jeans, Marcus knocked and then came in, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, an apologetic but amused expression on his face.
“I’m sorry. I ran next door to buy breakfast, and he was already awake when I was on my way out. He saw your purse in the living room and asked about you, so I explained you were here but sleeping—andnotto bother you or make any noise. Clearly, he did the opposite.”
“It’s fine.”
A lazy smile appeared on his lips. “Good morning.”
I sauntered over to where he stood and allowed him to fold me into his arms. “Good morning.”
He kissed the tip of my nose and then my lips. “I bought sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches on bagels. They’re my favorite. Coffee too, if you’re interested.”
“Sounds divine.”
