This was him, absolutely not pushing.
She was right.
“We can’t get attached,” she said, lifting her gaze to his. “This can’t be that.”
Of course not. He nodded.
Of. Course. Not.
This thing he had with Aprilwaseasy. But even Jack wouldn’t rearrange what she wanted because, he sighed, there was nothing to fix there. Anything he attempted would just be manipulation for his own sake, and that’s not who he was.
The thing that was right for him wasn’t right for her. It was what it was. So he’d take what she’d give and move along.
“Hey, I had an idea for Rohan,” he said, setting the cup of detergent on the edge of the machine for her.
He hadn’t realized her shoulders had tensed until he changed the subject and they relaxed. She dumped the contents of the basket into the machine. “What’s that?”
“Do you trust me?” he asked, covertly swirling a fingertip over her elbow. Playful. They could do playful. They’d agreed to playful. Playful was safe. Temporary. Just for now.
She shivered, then smiled. Though she probably didn’t do it intentionally, she let her warmth wrap around him.
He liked that. Enjoyed having that ability to cause a reaction with only the barest of touches. Their bodies were in tune in a way that should be illegal.
Lucky for them, it wasn’t.
He’d enjoy it while he could.
“Of course I trust you.” She paused, dumping in the cup of detergent he’d prepared. “As long as it doesn’t involve using more Pledge on my tile floors.”
No, he’d well and truly learned his lesson on that front.
“It’ll just take a bit of the backyard.” About four feet, if he had to give specific measurements.
“Like a trampoline amount or a kiddie pool amount?” she asked.
Actually, a kiddie pool was an excellent idea. He hadn’t thought of that. One of the hard, plastic pools would be perfect.
“Kiddie pool.” He closed the washer as she wrapped up and turned it on. “You have one Rohan and I could use?”
The edges of her lips quirked. “In the shed, all the way in the back. Behind the mower.”
“You don’t mind if we use it?” he confirmed.
“Lola’s too big for it now, anyway. You can have it.”
“Perfect.” He needed to grab the kid and hit up the hardware store.
“You’re really not going to tell me what you’re up to?” she asked as he walked away.
He stopped. Turned. “It’ll be more fun as a surprise.”
Given that the other surprises he’d handed her had all been excessively abundant in the fun department, he hoped she’d leave it at that.
She didn’t look convinced.
“It’ll be good,” he assured. He was also pretty certain it would help Rohan.
“Okay.” She headed toward him, looked both ways down the hall like she was crossing the street. Then she rolled up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”
