Page 80 of The Home Game

“Good. Since Matty gave us keys and the code to the gate, that should make things run smoothly in the afternoons. You really should think about adding him to the approved lists to pick the kids up from school too. I know you don’t want to lean too heavily on him for help, but in case of an emergency …”

“No, you’re right,” Antoni said. “That would be smart.”

“And I don’t want to disrupt your schedule if you have something else planned, but would you all like to come over to our place for dinner tonight? Matty too, of course.”

“I think he was going to teach me to cook something,” Antoni admitted. “But you and dad could probably stay for that.”

“No, thanks though.” She patted his arm. “Maybe some other time.”

“You just don’t trust my cooking,” he said with a laugh.

“That’s not it, I swear!” she protested, laughing too.

But before Antoni could respond, Matty appeared with a fussy Reese. “What’s going on? This little guy is having none of it. I didn’t even get a single smile today!”

“I think he may be teething,” Eliza said with a grimace. “I put some of his teething rings in the refrigerator earlier so they should be ready to use by now.”

“Sounds good,” Antoni said. “Thanks.”

“You ready to go, Enzo?” she asked.

He looked up from his laptop screen and blinked. “Oh, yes. Just one moment while I wrap up this email.”

“Oh, before you go, let me show you the pictures from this morning,” Matty said, reaching into his pocket for his phone. “I took first day of school pics. I thought you might want some.”

“He made me do some too,” Antoni said with a roll of his eyes. “Apparently, I went into Grade Thirty-One this year.”

Eliza laughed. “Oh how cute. Let me see.”

Matty stepped closer to show her his screen and she exclaimed delightedly over it. “That’s adorable! Send me this shot of Antoni with the kids. I want to have it framed.”

“I hate you all,” Antoni muttered.

No, I really don’t, Antoni thought with a sigh. That would be so much easier.

But despite Antoni’s conflicted feelings about Matty, the next few days flew by.

He was as kind and helpful as always and Antoni tried to ignore the way it made him feel when Matty taught him to cook, then helped clean and get the kids ready for bed.

He was around in the evenings too but Antoni usually fled for his room with the excuse that he had stuff to prep for classes. It was true, but Antoni was also grateful he was so busy trying to settle into the routine of a new semester that it meant he didn’t have a lot of time to think about Matty.

Antoni didn’t have time to sit beside him on the couch and watch TV. He didn’t have to worry that he might do something stupid and rash like kiss Matty and tell him he’d changed his mind.

Because God, was Matty Carlson an amazing man or what?

It wasn’t the grocery shopping he did, bringing home cheese and clementines for Eli and teaching Alexis how to make protein-filled vegetarian lunches.

Or the way he read Reese a story every night.

It wasn’t that he’d hung a swing in the big old tree in the backyard for River and pushed her on it for half an hour after dinner.

It wasn’t that Eli and Alexis were both already enrolled in the hockey program or that gear had arrived for everyone.

It wasn’t even the back-to-school gift Antoni had found waiting for him on Friday, a brand-new brown leather laptop bag to replace his old, threadbare one.

It was all of those things and none of them.

It was Matty’s laugh and his smile and the fact that he continued to go to the children’s hospital to cuddle the babies there, even though he got plenty of time in with Reese.

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