it wants to. Naturally, without us pushing things.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
We could make this work if that’s what we really wanted.
And I could see it in her eyes that she was trying to open up her heart and let me in, even if I was figuring my own heart out myself.
We kept drinking our coffee while looking into each other’s eyes deeply, not saying a word and just taking in each other’s presence.
Not too long after, I heard Ira call out to me, and I quickly got up to get to him. “I’ll be right back.”
When I got to his bedroom, he was already sitting up in his bed with his stuffed animals all around him.
“Hey, buddy. Did you have a good night?” I asked, squatting down next to his bed.
He nodded, rubbing his eyes with both his fists and yawning.
“Rooney’s here. Let’s go wash your face and get you dressed, hm?”
“Did you have a sleepover with her?” he asked.
This kid was gonna make me regret ever telling him about sleepovers.
Luckily, he had no idea what adults did at sleepovers.
“No, she left after you fell asleep,” I explained, helping him out of the bed and walking over to the bathroom with him.
“And now she is back?”
“Exactly. We missed breakfast because you slept so much, but we’ll have lunch together, okay?”
He nodded and stepped up onto the little stool which helped him reach the sink, and once I pulled up his sleeves, he held his hands underneath the stream and then splashed water onto his face.
“What do you wanna wear today?” I asked, letting him dry off his face and hands.
“The bear sweater.”
“Great choice.”
We went back to his room and after I pulled his sweater with bear ears on the hood and a pair of plain jeans out of his dresser, I helped him change into it.
“All set?” I asked, tugging at the fluffy material of his sweater and clipping the pump to his pants to ensure he’d be comfortable for the day.
“I wanna see Rooney!” he announced happily, jumping up and down.
“She’s in the kitchen. Go say hi,” I told him.
I followed him, and as he reached her, he threw himself at her with joy.
His arms wrapped around her neck and she pulled him up onto her lap to hug him tight.
“Hi, little man. I like your outfit,” she told him.
“It’s a bear! See?” He leaned back and pulled up the hood, then made a growling sound to imitate a bear.
“That’s amazing! I wish I had one of those. Did you have a good sleep? You slept longer than usual, huh?”
Ira nodded, and I watched them having the most adorable conversation ever while smiling brightly.
They were too damn sweet.
“We have lunch together,” Ira pointed out.
“That’s right, and I’m very excited.”
“What do you wanna eat, Ira?” I asked, watching as he pushed himself off Rooney’s lap.
“Uh…” I let him think about it for a moment, then he lifted his little finger to let us know he had an idea.
“Pasta!”
“Sounds good to me. Up for some Italian?” I asked Rooney.
“I love Italian,” she replied, still smiling.
God, if I kept looking at her, I might change my mind about everything concerning her.
“We can leave now and play at the park a little bit before heading to the restaurant. I don’t think they open before eleven.”
We grabbed our things and headed outside the apartment.
“Do you like swings?” Ira asked Rooney as they walked down the stairs hand in hand.
“Of course I do. It’s my favorite thing at the park,” she told him.
“Can you swing high? Daddy always pushes me until I touch the sky!”
I chuckled at his statement.
“That high? Wow! Maybe your daddy can push me that high as well. What do you think?” Rooney said, grinning back at me.
Whatever she wanted me to do, I’d do it.
Chapter Eleven
Rooney
We played on the playground, had a delicious lunch, then we headed back home because it started raining.
Ira was tired anyway, and Wells suggested he’d have some quiet time with his books and toys.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if he fell asleep right there on the floor,” Wells said, sitting down next to me on his couch.
I looked over at Ira who was looking through a book with his stuffed animals, whispering things to them and pointing at the pictures.
“He’s got a lot of energy,” I admitted.
I had never seen a toddler run around that much, and although he had lots of fun at the playground, he didn’t complain when Wells told him we’d head back home.