“I love spaghetti!Whoosh! Zoom!When?”
“Dinner? Half an hour.”
“Good. ’Cause I’m gettingsohungry.” He turned and headed back up the stairs,whooshingandzoomingall the way.
On the phone, Josh said in a wistful tone, “I love spaghetti, too.”
She realized that Shane was probably with Lenore by now. “Are you on your own?”
“Just me and Roger.” Now he sounded downright mournful.
“You poor man,” she teased.
“Hey. Don’t worry about me. I’m dealing with it.”
It didn’t seem right not to invite him after she’d spent Friday night and much of Saturday taking advantage of his hospitality—and his hot body, as well. “All right, then. You can knock off the long-suffering act and come on over.”
“Yeah?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
And she couldn’t help smiling, too. “Yeah. And bring Roger.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. You can’t leave Roger there all alone.”
“Well, I can. He’s good on his own. But I’d rather not.”
“So don’t.”
“All right, then. We’re on our way.”
* * *
Josh and Roger arrived twenty minutes later. Roger flopped right down on the kitchen floor, and Josh helped Dillon set the table.
After dinner, they watchedThe Lego Movie, the three of them sharing the couch with Roger snoozing nearby.
When bedtime came, Dillon asked Josh to read him astory. They climbed the stairs together. When Josh came back down, Riley went up to say good-night.
After she’d tucked Dillon in and turned off the light, she found Josh on the sofa, checking out the streaming options.
“Anything you want to see?” he asked.
She sat beside him. “I think I’ve had enough screen time for one night.”
He put down the remote and wrapped an arm around her. “Are you getting ready to kick me out?”
“I probably should…” She met his eyes. That did it. Who cared what sheshoulddo?
Tipping up her chin with a finger, he kissed her, the lightest breath of a kiss. And then he pulled back enough to meet her eyes again. “Well?”
Rising, she held down a hand. He took it. They went up the stairs together, Roger trotting behind them.
A couple of hours later, she woke to find Josh looking down at her. He kissed her shoulder. “Go back to sleep,” he whispered, as he slid from the bed.
She really wanted to ask him to stay. But then in the morning, they would be putting on the usual show for Dillon, pretending that Josh had just happened to fall asleep on the sofa or that they’d stayed up so late, he’d crashed on the rollaway in her home office. Somehow, the deception didn’t seem so bad when they only did it now and then.
But lately, it was getting to be nothing short of a habit. She found herself thinking, why bother with the pretense? She was pregnant with his baby, for crying out loud. Everyone knew they were close, she and Josh. Neither of them was married or otherwise committed. Who cared what they did when they were alone?
