I hope will help. “Maybe not. Do what makes you happiest.”
“Yeah. I just need to figure out what that is,” she murmurs. “Hey, I was thinking…who’s watching Ranger tomorrow while you’re working?”
I wince, but she probably can’t see me in the dark. “I’ll figure that out in the morning.”
“Why don’t you let me?”
“I can’t impose—”
“It’s not an imposition,” she argues. “I’m happy to do it. I love kids, and your little guy made me smile tonight. And in case you haven’t noticed from looking at my skin, I have a lot in common with a vampire. Neither of us do well in the sun.”
“You’re really pale.”
“And I burn horribly. I probably would never have come to Hawaii if my best friend wasn’t here,” she murmurs. “Anyway, if you need a babysitter, I’m free.”
That would be a godsend. I feel guilty…but I don’t have many alternatives. “It’s just until about six tomorrow evening.”
“That’s perfect. I usually start filming between eight and nine, so that gives me plenty of time to get back and set up.”
“Before you go, I could feed you dinner. And…maybe after you’re done filming, we could finish what we started?”
Chapter Five
About half past six the next evening, I make it back to my condo. I texted Masey as soon as I docked an hour ago. She hasn’t answered. I called, too. Nothing.
Maybe I’m overreacting, but I’m a little panicked. I hope she and my son are okay.
I sling my mother’s SUV into a spare parking spot. Masey’s car is still where she left it last night. That’s a good sign.
But my adrenaline is still chugging as I run to my front door, key in hand, and burst inside my condo. Frantically, I scan the cool interior—and see everything is absolutely perfect.
Ranger is on a blanket in the living room, lying on his belly and gurgling happily as he drools on a teething ring. Masey, still in the nightshirt I lent her and engulfed in a pair of my shorts, stands in the kitchen. She’s sautéing something at the stove and bopping to Justin Timberlake, who croons that he can’t stop the feeling. The savory scent of Italian spices fills the air as her shoulders sway and her hips shake to the beat.
I can’t resist smiling as I ease the door shut.
When Ranger catches sight of me and lets out a delighted cry, Masey glances away from whatever she’s cooking and leans around the corner to look at my little man. “What’s up? You have such a cute smile. You’re going to be a heartbreaker, like your daddy, aren’t you?”
“I’m a heartbreaker, huh?”
At my unexpected drawl, she gasps and whirls, pressing a hand to her chest. “Jeez, you startled me.”
“Sorry.” As I step closer, I notice Masey is even paler than usual. No, wait. She has something smeared all over her face. “What’s on your skin?”
Her eyes flare wide. “Dang it, I forgot! Stir that.” She shoves a wooden spoon into my hand and gestures toward the sauté pan of marinara sauce bubbling on the stove. “I’ll be back.”
I watch her race down the hall with a shake of my head, then look down at Ranger. “You doing good, buddy?”
My son makes a happy little coo.
“Good.” I nod his way, then stick the spoon in the pan and give it a stir. The heavenly smell makes my stomach rumble. “I’m glad she didn’t scare you off.”
Just then, she jogs back down the hall, yanking the overlarge shorts up as they threaten to slide down her hips. I can’t help but laugh.
“Stop,” she protests. “You must think I’m a train wreck. First, I forget to rinse off the face masque I was testing, then I can’t keep my pants up.”
“You mean my pants.”
Masey gives me a saucy cock of her head. “Since I’m wearing them, they’re my pants right now.”
“Point taken. I called and texted earlier.”
“Sorry.” She winces. “I was jotting notes and watching some footage back on my phone. When I do, it’s a habit to turn on my Do Not Disturb.”
“No problem. I just worried—”
“I’m sure you did. I’m sorry. We’re good. In fact, we had a great day.” She crouches down and skims her palm over Ranger’s downy hair. “Didn’t we?”
He gives another little cheerful cry and looks up at her like she hung the moon.
Okay, that really does something to my heart. When I liked her and she seemed merely sexy and sweet, that was one thing. But now that my son seems smitten?
I clear my