“There was one guy,” I lied. I didn’t know why I needed to lie, but I did.
“Just one,” he breathed.
“Two now.”
There was a heavy moment. If we were at the office, we would have been naked already. We weren’t there. We were surrounded by screaming kids. Jace rushed over and dropped a stack of tickets on the table. “Wow!” I exclaimed. “You did good.”
“Can we go buy something?” he said.
“I’ll take him,” Nash offered.
“Thanks. Be careful. It gets pretty vicious up there.”
Nash grabbed Jace’s hand. I watched as they made their way through the crowd. It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. I couldn’t stop watching them. When they came back, Jace had himself a bouncy ball and a crappy plastic toy.
“Nash says we can go get ice cream,” Jace announced.
I looked up at Nash. “He did?”
“It’s a Saturday night. Let’s live a little.”
“That works for me,” I said. I was happy to extend our fun evening.
“I was thinking we could pick up something and then go back to your place,” he said.
That gave me butterflies in my stomach. “There’s a place near our house. We’ll be able to make it back before it melts.”
We went through the drive thru of the ice-cream shop and took our ice cream back to my place. We sat around eating and sharing each other’s ice cream.
“Jace, you need to brush your teeth and get your jammies on,” I said.
“I don’t want to go to bed,” he pouted.
“You don’t have to go to bed right now, but you need to get ready for bed,” I told him.
Nash was still sitting at the kitchen table. “I suppose I should go,” he said.
“You don’t have to,” I said. “Not yet.”
I sat down at the table with him. “He had a good time today,” I said. “Much better than I thought he could.”
“Are you saying you didn’t think I was fun?”
I smiled. “I knew you were fun, but I didn’t think a kid would appreciate your humor.”
“You think I’m fun?” he teased.
“I think I’ve had some fun with you.”
“I’ve had fun with you.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“What’s with this girl that tried to protect him?” he asked.
“She is the daughter of my best friend. They’ve been friends since preschool. Joss, my friend, and I spend a lot of time together. It’s very convenient that our kids get along so well. I’m not sure it would be the same if they weren’t friends.”
“Is it his girlfriend?” he teased.
“No. Absolutely not. He is forbidden from ever having a girlfriend.”
“Why?”
I shook my head. “Because I don’t want him to grow up and get married. I don’t want him to get hurt. I’m going to protect him forever.”
He laughed. “Do you actually think that is going to work?”
I shrugged. “Is it going to work for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are protecting me from Eli, right?”
He cringed. “What are you talking about?”
“I think you know. You scared him off.”
He grinned. “I asked him to stay away. How did you know that?”
“I’m not an idiot,” I told him. “I felt the tension. It was pretty clear you didn’t like him.”
“He was an asshole.”
“Yes, but do you plan on running off every possible boyfriend?”
He pretended to think about it. “Maybe.”
“You won’t be in the office all the time,” I said with a smile.
“I might be.”
We stared at each other. The heat between us was rising. Jace came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. It was exactly what we needed to cool things down.
“I should go,” Nash said. “You need to get to bed soon,” he said to Jace.
“I’m not tired,” Jace replied.
“But you will be,” I told him. “I’ll walk you out,” I said to Nash.
I followed him to the front porch. “I hope we can do this again,” he said.
“I won’t impose on you.”
“You’re not imposing,” he said. “I might just crash your party one of these days.”
“Crash all you want.”
He stepped toward me, his body crowding mine. “Is that an invitation?” he breathed.
“It could be.”
He reached up and touched my cheek. “Don’t tease.”
“I wouldn’t. I’m not.”
He stared at me for several seconds. I was hoping he would kiss me. I wouldn’t reject him. He leaned down and brushed a kiss over my forehead. “I’ll see you Monday.”
He walked away. I watched as he got in his car and drove away. I sighed and turned to go back inside. It was a wistful sigh. Jace was on the couch