Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,43

at me.

It seems like it’s been so long since my kids were this age, but Evie’s not quite nine so it’s not been that long. Shaking off the melancholy feeling that knowledge gives me, I hold out a hand for him to shake and he tilts his head to one side and just looks at it.

“Daddy,” Evie giggles, “he doesn’t know how to shake.” Taking the hand that isn’t stuffed in his mouth; she puts it in mine and tells him, “This is how you do it. Shake, shake, shake.” She says the word every time she makes our hands move up and down and he chortles in glee, loving every moment of the attention.

Connor takes his other hand out of his mouth and starts patting our joined hands with it. Evie jerks her hand away at the wet feel, saying “Gross! Ew, Connor,” while Hailey gasps and rushes forward to pick him up.

“I’m so sorry.” He transfers his wet patting to her and she’s looking down at me with so much mortification she doesn’t even notice.

Standing from my crouching position, I put my hand on her shoulder and try to reassure her. “It’s fine. I have two kids, so I’m used to feeling all kinds of drooled on things.” I smile, hoping to relax her, and it works. Her stiff spine relaxes a bit and she grins up at me. “Now, why don’t we let the kids play and you and I can talk.” She looks unsure, but Evie is way too happy to take Connor off her hands.

“Please, Mrs. Lucas? I promise I’ll watch him.” Evie has her hands clasped under her chin the way she always does when she’s begging. She thinks the position, with the big wide eyes and pouty lips, will get her anything she wants, and truthfully, she’s not wrong. I haven’t been able to resist her yet.

Hailey considers her for a few more minutes before relenting. “Okay, for a few minutes. Don’t let him climb up high.”

Evie rolls her eyes. “I knoooow.” The attitude on this kid, I swear. Grabbing Connor by the hand, she says, “Let’s go play,” in a voice about three octaves higher than her normal voice.

Once she’s out of earshot, I turn to Hailey. “That attitude comes from her mother, not me.”

“Uh-huh.” It sounds like she’s agreeing, but based on the raised eyebrow I think she’s more than a little disbelieving.

“It’s true. Tabitha is all attitude, all the time. It’s exhausting.” Talking to the person you’re trying to get close to about your ex is probably the worst thing to do, but she needs to know how things with my ex are and how she is if she’s going to be a part of my life.

Hailey ignores my attempts to convince her and turns her attention back to where the kids are climbing the steps to the low platform. There’s a slide there that’s not too far off the ground and I’m betting that’s where Evie’s going to take Connor.

She’s walking behind him, arms outstretched around him like she’s trying to shield and I have to laugh at the way she’s hunched over. All of her focus on him. She doesn’t even care that I’m laughing at the spectacle she’s making.

As soon as Connor’s seated at the top of the slide, Evie starts talking to him, gesturing with her hands like she’s telling him to stay as though he’s her pet. I’m sure he has no idea what she wants him to do, but amazingly enough, he sits still long enough for her to run down and around to the bottom of the slide so she can catch him.

Hailey’s focus is all on Connor as she watches him and Evie like a hawk. Her attentiveness to her son only makes her more attractive. My thoughts become words before I think about the consequences, startling us both. “Have dinner with us.”

“What?” Her eyes are comically wide when she turns to look at me.

I’m uncharacteristically embarrassed by the way I just word vomited that out at her but own it anyway. “Have dinner with us.” She starts to say something, so I hurry to explain before she turns me down flat. “I’ve missed you this week, Hails.” Her face softens at my admission and a smile tips up one side of her lips. “It’s been busy, and we’ve only had a couple of phone calls and greetings when the kids are getting picked up. I want more than that with you.”

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