kitchen table and Hannah gave Aria a glass of milk and grabbed beers for the two of them.
“Mommy, cupcake?” Aria asked, pointing at the blue Magpie bakery box on the counter.
“No, that’s too much sugar before bed.”
“Would it be okay if I split one with her?” Chad asked with a wide-eyed innocent expression that most women couldn’t resist.
“You are worse than she is,” Hannah muttered under her breath as she stood up to grab the box. “Yes, you two can split one cupcake. And one game, then it’s bedtime.”
“Yay,” Aria cheered and smiled at her new partner in crime.
“That’s it, I made it to Candy Castle before y’all,” Chad said, throwing the final card onto the game board and raising his arms in victory. “Boom. Just call me King Kandy from now on.”
Aria rested her head on the edge of the table and pouted. “I don’t like this game.”
“Honey, that’s not nice. You can’t always win,” Hannah chastised gently.
Aria shook her head so hard that her hair whipped her face. “No, it was too fast! Mr. Chad played too fast.”
Chad took a huge swallow of beer to hide his embarrassment at getting busted by a toddler. It was true. He’d raced through the game, grabbing his cards and moving his game piece like he was on a deadline. All he could think about was the way Hannah felt pressed against him, and if it would be possible to make it happen again after Aria went to bed.
And maybe more.
“I’m sorry, Aria. I guess I really wanted to win,” Chad said.
She shook her head and didn’t look at him.
“Come on. Bedtime now.” Hannah stood up and held out her hand to Aria, and the little girl slumped off her chair onto the floor like her bones had liquified. “Aria, stop being silly.”
She didn’t move from where she had landed.
“Hey, Aria, I hope we can play together again soon. I had fun,” Chad said.
“Yeah,” she said forlornly, then got up and walked out of the room dragging her feet.
“I’ll be back in fifteen,” Hannah mouthed over Aria’s head. She didn’t smile at him as she left the room.
Chad pulled out his phone and snapped a quick photo of the game with the cards and pieces scattered on top of it, then scrolled through his new Instagram account, checking up on what Hannah had done with it. It was a different world, but he was shocked that he enjoyed occasionally peeking in on what Hannah was up to when it came to what she’d called “building his brand.” She’d followed some of the other ranches and cowboys he’d told her about from former jobs, and it was fantastic seeing what his old buddies were up to. He was sure they were having a tough time believing the stuff going up on his account, but the truth was, he liked what Hannah was posting. More than he’d ever thought possible. He’d always assumed social media was a spit-polished version of the truth, but the way Hannah did it? Her posts told his story, one beautiful photo at a time. The guy he was online, the joiner and do-er, was him.
“She’s already asleep,” Hannah said with a sigh as she walked back into the kitchen.
“Too much fun, huh?” Chad kidded.
“Not exactly,” Hannah answered, sounding a little sour. “You didn’t have to be so competitive! You raced through it so quickly she barely had a chance to understand the rules.”
“But I thought …” Chad drifted off with his mouth hanging open. “You said one quick game then we needed to do, you know … grown-up stuff. I was rushing because of that.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
He wordlessly pointed over his shoulder at the front room where they’d shared the full body hug and the promise of more.
“Still not sure what you mean.” She shrugged.
Chad stared at the game board for a minute and tried to figure out a way to make it right. He shifted gears.
“I uh, I took a picture of the game. I thought it might be good for social media.”
“Show me,” she answered, striding to where he was sitting.
He held out his phone and Hannah examined the photo.
“Not bad, but you need the human element in it. To show that you’re actually playing it. Let me do it.”
She fiddled with his phone, then propped it up against one of the beer bottles.
“Grab one of the cards and hold it over the board, like you just