I stand with Zoe in my arms and find Mom with her arm outstretched, smiling at Drew.
Crap.
“Mom, this is my boss—”
“Business partner,” he corrects, shaking Mom’s hand.
“Drew Carrington.”I shoot him an annoyed look because I swear, if he interrupts me one more time, I’ll kick him.
“Nice to meet you.I’m Gemma’s mom, Natalie Lennon.”
“Your name is grammmmaaaa,” Zoe squeals loudly and leans back, almost toppling me again, to face Drew.“She’s a robot.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs.Lennon.You don’t look like a robot.”Drew plays along, and I kind of love him for it.
Mom laughs.“What did we tell you about telling fibs?”
“To do it moreee,” she giggles into my chest.
“Don’t you know the story about Pinocchio?”Drew asks with a tone of mysteriousness in his voice.
Zoe glances up.“Whose nose?”
“Pinocchio.”
She clambers down my body and stands in front of Drew, who crouches.Talk about an enamored audience.
“He was a wooden puppet who dreamed of becoming a real boy.Every time he told a lie, his nose grew.”Drew touches his nose and pretends to stretch it out.
“I want a long nose,” Zoe tells him.
Mom shakes her head and waves to say she is leaving, but not before winking at me.
Ugh.
Just because Drew is an insanely handsome man does not mean anything is going on between us.
There is.
But...there isn’t.
Not if I accept his offer and we never see one another again.Perhaps I should.
“How will you get through the doorway or into the car?”Drew asks, tipping his head.
“Easy!I’ll cut it off.”She smiles gleefully at him.
“Well, Pinocchio can’t become a real boy with a big nose, so he has to tell the truth and be a good boy so his wish comes true,” Drew continues, sharing the moral of the story.
I should have saved him the bother.
She is three.
Zoe thinks about this for a while, then shrugs.“I don’t want to be a boy.”
I can’t help my laugh.
“Good try.”I pat Drew’s shoulder.“Who wants something to drink?”
