“Thanks, Gus. You give great hugs,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey held out one arm to give Wyatt a side hug, but instead he put both arms around her. “I’m glad you came to visit.”
It was clear to Isabella that both Wyatt and Gus loved Kelsey. They had to figure this out sooner rather than later because Kelsey made them all happy.
Isabella drove the boys to school and Kelsey went along. Once they’d dropped them off, Kelsey turned to Isabella. “Did you see Wyatt give me a hug?”
“I did.” Isabella smiled.
“I couldn’t believe it. I thought side hugs were the thing now with teenagers,” Kelsey said.
“He loves you, Kels. So does Gus. I can already tell.”
Kelsey sighed. “I love them.”
“It’s a good thing because they come with me,” Isabella teased.
Kelsey chuckled. “I have a couple that come with me.”
They got back to the house and cleaned up the kitchen together.
“I’ve got an idea. We’ll use the island as our work space,” Isabella said, getting her computer out of her bag.
“I only have a couple of things to do. It won’t take long.”
“We both work from home so we’ll have to be disciplined about our jobs,” Isabella said. “You can have this end and this side of the island.”
“Okay.” Kelsey got her computer out and opened it.
“I’ll be at this end across from you. I’ll work, but it will be nice to look up and see you down there. No kisses. If we start that we won’t get anything done.”
“My, oh my,” Kelsey said. “So many rules.”
Isabella chuckled. “Get to work so we can play before I have to take you to the airport.”
They both got to work and a short time later the doorbell rang.
“Oh,” Isabella said, walking towards the front door. “It’s Spencer.”
“Hey,” he said, walking into the living area. “Wyatt left his hoodie at my house and I thought he might need it.”
Isabella furrowed her brow. The boys had clothes at both of their houses.
“Hi, Kelsey,” Spencer said, walking further into the room. “You’re still here.”
“Hi, Spencer,” Kelsey replied with a friendly smile. “Yep.”
Isabella could feel the annoyance building inside her. Spencer rarely came by her house and his nonchalance was irritating.
“I wondered if I might talk to you for a minute,” Spencer said, turning to Isabella.
“I have a call I need to make,” Kelsey said. “I’ll be out on the patio.”
Isabella smiled at Kelsey and almost stopped her, but knew it would be better to talk to Spencer alone and send him on his way.
“Uh, I thought we had agreed to check with each other before the boys met someone new,” Spencer said.
“Do you mean Kelsey? She’s not new. The boys know her. They talk to her every week and have since this marketing project began. This is the first time they’ve met in person, but they know her.”