Ava gave him a small smile and gestured toward the living area he knew was on the other side of the stairs.
“Avery fell asleep watching a movie. Summer needed to get home since she’s teaching sunrise yoga in the morning. Figured it was easiest to let him sleep until you could get him,” Ava explained before he could ask.
Relief filled him. “Sorry about this. Didn’t realize he’d end up here when I asked Summer to watch him today. How was it?”
Ava waved a hand dismissively in his direction. “We had fun. Avery’s a cool kid. We gave him the full cabin experience. You know, canoeing, blanket forts, a movie on the old projector screen.”
She nodded toward the living room and walked to the hallway in front of the stairs. Owen followed, his eyes dropping to the sight of her hips swaying in front of him. He never could resist the view of Ava in those tight yoga pants.
He shook himself of the thought and stopped beside her at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall. On the other side of the stairs, in the living room, Avery lay sprawled in a blanket fort on the floor. The projector screen was down, playing a movie he recognized.
“Avery and his mom are reading this book series together,” Owen said.
“Yeah,” Ava whispered. “That’s why he picked it. Lucky for him, dad had all the movies on DVD. Got to explain what a DVD was to him today. God, did that make me feel old.”
Owen chuckled. “I can’t believe Gavin still had that projector. It must be at least twenty years old.”
“You know my dad. Never got rid of anything, especially if it still worked. Avery thought it was cool at least.”
Owen glanced once more at Avery’s sleeping form. His hair spread in all directions on the pillow, his chest rising and falling slowly. Warmth and relief drove away the last remnants of stress from his day, seeing his son comfortable and cared for in the most unlikely of places.
Then a flicker of bright yellow to his left drew his attention. Yellow caution tape stretched tightly across a hole in the stairs where a step was missing.
“What happened there? Avery didn’t break that, did he?”
Ava grimaced but shook her head. “That was me. The stair gave way under my foot a couple of days ago. Summer and Avery found dad’s stash of Halloween decorations when putting away the life jackets and had some fun. I’m just glad I convinced them to go with the caution tape instead of the bloodied white tape.”
“Good call,” Owen said.
They stood there in charged silence, neither of them moving from the narrow space where they watched Avery sleep. The changing scenes on the projector cast moving shadows in the living room. Owen was hyper aware of Ava’s presence next to him. If he moved his hand an inch, it would brush her waist. She shifted on her feet and bumped into him, the brief contact sending a buzz up his arm.
Owen’s hand reflexively cupped her hip, her softness giving way under his fingertips.
“Oh, sorry,” she murmured. She pulled away, but his hand tightened, drawing her close enough to inhale the lemony-sweet scent of her hair. She’d always smelled like lemons and sunshine to him.She still does.
What was he doing? He had no clue. All he knew was she still fit perfectly in his palm and the warmth in his chest had more to do with the way she’d smiled at him in the doorway when he’d arrived than he cared to admit.
She peered up at him, following his lead and taking a step closer. Her pink lips parted, her eyes widening in an unspoken question. He squeezed her hip tighter, and she swayed toward him, pressing her palm against his chest. Her touch burned through his shirt.
She bit her bottom lip, and some being possessed his body because he lifted his other hand to trace his thumb across it like he had countless times in the past. Her warm breath skittered across his thumb, sending another buzz through his arm.
Ava leaned further into him, her chest grazing his own, trapping her hand between them.
A snore from the living room had them breaking apart. Ava stepped so far back her shoulders hit the door to the porch behind her. He yanked his head back in surprise, smacking it on the wall.
He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Owen avoided her gaze and looked to the living room, where Avery now slept on his stomach. “I should get him home,” he said.
“Right,” Ava said in a hushed tone.
Owen approached his son and gently scooped him into his arms, praying he wouldn’t wake up. Avery’s head lolled against his shoulder and continued snoring, despite the jostling. His back tightened from the strain.
Either he’s getting too big or I’m getting too old for this.
Owen turned to leave the living room. Ava was nowhere in sight. He continued to the kitchen, where she waited by the front door. She opened it for them and followed him to the truck to open the passenger door for him, too.
He placed Avery on the bench seat of the truck, where he immediately curled into a ball. Owen shut the door quietly and faced Ava. She stood a few feet back, hugging her arms to herself to ward off the chill ofthe evening air.
Owen rubbed the back of neck. He was aware of the awkward distance between them, physically and otherwise. “Thanks for this. For everything,” Owen said with sincerity.
