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She and Davy had planned to have a family, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’d died before that could come true. Still, this time with Seth and Sammy was very pleasant, and she enjoyed it tremendously.

There was a warmth in the room, and Seth gazed at her often, causing a slight flutter in her chest that was more than pleasant.

After dinner, she insisted on helping with the dishes, and as they worked together, they talked about Sammy’s birthday party and the dog.

“I suppose I’m going to have to break down and get him a dog for his birthday,” Seth said softly.

“That would definitely make him very happy,” she replied.

“Yeah, I know. But I also know that if Sammy gets a dog, that means I get a dog.”

She laughed. “That’s the truth.”

When the kitchen was clean, she and Sammy got to work as Seth went into the living room to wait until the tutoring session was over.

Sammy was particularly attentive, and the time flew by. It was a few minutes before eight when she stopped the teaching for the night. They’d run later tonight because of dinner. Seth came back into the kitchen.

“Sammy, bath and right into bed,” he said.

“No tablet time?” Sammy asked.

“No necklace, no tablet time,” Seth replied firmly.

“Just ten minutes?” Sammy wheedled.

“No necklace, no tablet time,” Seth repeated.

“Maybe just five minutes?” Sammy continued. “Please…just five minutes, okay?”

“No necklace, no tablet time. And there are no exceptions to that rule.”

“Okay,” Sammy replied in defeat. As he left to get ready for bed, Seth made two cups of coffee and served them each a piece of the peach pie.

“I’m so glad you stuck to the rules,” she said to him. “Consistency is so important with discipline.”

“He certainly tried me,” Seth replied with a small laugh.

“So now you have a birthday party to plan,” she said.

He laughed. “Yeah, I figure we’ll have the party Saturday after next. I’ll make it easy on myself and order pizza from the pizza place in town and get a cake from the Sweet Tooth Bakery. I’ll also have to figure out some party favors. It’s a good thing there are only thirteen kids in the class.”

“If you need any help with things, just let me know,” she replied.

“I appreciate that.” His gaze held hers for a long moment, and once again her heart fluttered as a wave of heat swept over her. Drat the man. He obviously had no idea how powerfully his long gazes affected her.

She broke the eye contact and took a bite of the pie. He did the same and then smiled. “Now that’s a good pie,” he said.

“Compliments of the local bakery,” she replied. “I’ve never tried to make a peach pie, although I’ve been told I make a mean apple pie.”

“I like apple pie, too. I’ve learned how to cook a lot of things since I became a single dad, but I haven’t tried my hand at pie-making.”

“Maybe one of these nights I’ll bring you one of my apple pies,” she said.

Once again, his gaze held hers. Oh, it would be so easy to fall into the blue depths and lose herself. What was wrong with her? He was just the father of one of her students and a friend. So why was she so attracted to him?

“I’d love to taste your apple pie,” he said.

The two of them talked about different kinds of pies as they finished up their coffee and dessert. They were just about finished when Sammy came running back into the kitchen.