Page 128 of One Night with Number Nineteen

And then find myself lying there, staring at a little boy who owns a good chunk of my heart. His messy curls topple forward to drape over his forehead and I push them back, then press a kiss there. “Goodnight, bud,” I whisper, carefully climbing to my feet and spending a few seconds fixing the blankets and tucking Ollie in.

I turn on the nightlight, turn off the overhead lights, and then quietly close his door.

My phone buzzes as I stride toward the stairs.

BRI: See you tomorrow!

I still, mind racing…and then screeching to an abrupt halt.

Fuck!

The charity lunch.

Panic tears through me and I rush to scroll up through the texts, to the dates I gave her…one of which is tomorrow.

And that’s the one we both confirmed.

BRI: The winners are super excited to meet you!

“Fuck,” I whisper. “Fuck.”

SAWYER: Remind me what time and where it’s at?

She sends the location and the time and the panic eases a little bit. The restaurant is only fifteen minutes from Ollie’s school.

Maybe I could ask Bri to move it?

No.

The auction winners are excited and they donated a fuck-ton of money to the shelter. Plus, I already dragged my feet on giving her the dates.

Bri’s counting on me to make this happen.

“Okay,” I say softly. “Okay, this is doable.” I’ll go to the lunch, keep Bri’s donors happy, and make sure I’m out of there in plenty of time. Then I’ll zip over and catch Ollie’s concert, which isn’t happening until three.

It’s totally doable.

Totally.

Forty

Lainey

I scribble at the paper, jotting down just one more thought.

And then another.

And just one more.

And…just one more.

By the time I look up again, it’s to find that an hour has passed and…

Sawyer is standing in the doorway, his expression gentle, his eyes warm, his mouth curved.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling my cheeks heat. “I got a little carried away.”

But there’s no irritation in his eyes when he pushes off the doorframe and walks over to me. “I like watching you get carried away.”