to pull them both into his arms and hug them. Instead, he nodded again. “Then how about if we go have those grill cheese sandwiches?”
The twins grinned, relief in their silver eyes now. “You need to be careful with Herbie,” Halley explained, leaning forward confidingly. “He likes grilled cheese sandwiches too.”
Harrison finished the explanation. “He steals them.”
Janus chuckled. “Thank you for the warning.”
The kids led the way down the sidewalk towards the house. Janus held back, watching them. He was momentarily overwhelmed with a strange sensation. Was this love? For two little people he hadn’t known existed only a few days ago?
Impossible! And yet, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off them as they walked down the sidewalk, still hand in hand.
“Will you tell me about them?” he asked Stevie quietly.
He felt her smile. Janus wasn’t sure how he could tell, but he could.
“Well, they are both really good at sports, which absolutely didn’t come from me,” she laughed. “They hide balls in their backpacks every day before school and I pretend that I don’t see them doing it. But I love that they enjoy running around.”
“What kinds of sports?” he asked eagerly.
She groaned. “Harrison loves football,” she admitted, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. “Yes, you can say it.”
“That’s my boy!” he replied at once, laughing when she rolled her eyes. “What about Halley?”
“Soccer,” Stevie replied. “She loves soccer! She’s irritated that she can’t join a soccer team until next summer.”
“Why can’t she?”
“Because she has to be five years old,” Stevie explained.
Janus grunted. “That makes sense. They probably don’t have the ball control until then.”
“And the head butting issue,” she added with derision.
They’d reached the house by that point and Stevie unlocked the door. Herbie danced around the kitchen that was made smaller because of the presence of Janus. His broad shoulders and tall physique made everything feel smaller.
“You guys go wash your hands. I’ll make the sandwiches.” She turned to Janus. “I’ll be right back.” She turned to the prancing dog. “Come on Herbie,” she patted her thigh. Herbie immediately moved to the door, his nose literally pressed against the doorframe.
“What’s he doing?” Janus asked.
“He knows that I’m going to throw a ball for him. If I don’t wear him out, then he has too much energy during meal times. And he gets…” she looked down at Herbie, rubbing his ears, “mischievous.”
Janus had no idea what that meant, but he watched as Stevie followed the dog out into the backyard. There didn’t seem to be an obvious basket of toys, but Stevie reached into the grass that was definitely too high, and came up with a ball that she tossed…two feet away.
He remembered the other night when he’d watched Halley and Harrison throw the ball for the dog. With a shake of his head, Janus acknowledged that his four year old children could throw the ball further than Stevie could. She tried, he’d give her that much. But somehow, the ball only went about two or three feet no matter how hard she tried to throw it. To his credit, Herbie seemed thrilled with Stevie’s efforts, literally pouncing on the ball before trotting proudly back to her with the ball in his mouth. But if she were really trying to wear the dog out, her efforts were laughable.
Stepping outside into the rare, Seattle sunshine, he paused for a moment to admire Stevie. It occurred to him that, even after five years, he was still intensely attracted to her. He’d noticed that the other day, his body reacting immediately when he’d caught her on the stairs. At the time, he’d dismissed it. He’d been too angry about her keeping their children a secret.
But now, seeing her toss the ball…well, trying to toss the ball, her efforts really were pathetic…he had to admit that Stevie’s body was amazingly lush. He wanted her. Part of his attraction might be the fact that she was the mother of his children. But the motherly type hadn’t ever caught his attention before. There was just something about Stevie. Her hair was a mess, literally just piled on top of her head, and her jeans were loose. Her sweater had definitely seen better days.
Was she hurting for money? He made a mental note to put some money into her bank account. As far as he was concerned, Janus owed Stevie five years of child support. Hell, he owed her a whole lot more than just child support.
Moving behind her, he