Page 37 of Accidental Vegas Vows

“Yucky cheese,” he clarified. “It smelled wrong.”

“You’d like it if you tried it, though,” I said.

“Okay.” He perked up immediately, dropping his fork and his car. His eyes met mine, expectant, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what he was doing.

“What?”

“I’ll try it.”

I eyed him suspiciously as I righted myself to my full height. “You’ll try it?”

He nodded. “Mom said better to try than deny.”

“Do you even know what that means?” I laughed, grabbing the Stilton from the fridge. I rummaged through the pantry at the side of the kitchen for a box of crackers — better to try it cold on that than make a whole fresh batch of eggs.

“No. But I know it means I need to just try it.”

I plucked a cheese knife from the cutlery drawer and cut off a small sliver of the blue cheese, smearing it along the topside of a cracker. I kept it light for him — better to not invade his senses. “Your mom was right about a lot of things,” I grinned, passing him the cracker.

He eyed it as if the blue spots would kill him, but one nod from me and he stuffed it in his mouth.

He chewed.

And chewed.

And chewed.

His eyes lit up the moment he swallowed. “You’re right,” he chirped.

“I’m right?”

“I like it. Another, please?”

For the first time in two hours, I felt slightly okay about the situation. I gave him another.

Chapter 13

Olivia

“Liv, I’m so sorry, I need to ask you for a favor.”

I spun in my office chair, coming face to face with a stressed-looking, poorly-dressed Damien and a smaller, curlier-haired version of himself carrying a little toy car. The smaller one waved at me.

Well, that’s certainly one way to start the morning.

“What… the fu?—”

“Come with me and I’ll explain,” he said, anxiously checking his watch before grabbing for my hand.

I let him take it, let him lead me out of the cubicles and down the hall toward the elevators. Those fucking elevators. I’d only just got to work less than thirty minutes ago, had barely had time to down a coffee from the cafe downstairs, and now instead of being able to get on with my work, I was being thrown into… something.

The elevator doors closed behind us, and a panicked Damien started rambling. “I’m so sorry. I’ll pay you extra. Overtime or something. I have a board meeting in twenty and his aunt dropped him off a week early,” he explained, motioning toward the wholly unbothered child beside him. “My sister’s away and Ethan’s a part of the meeting. I have no one else to watch him. It’ll be an hour, maybe two at the most. I didn’t know what else to do?—”

“Calm down,” I sighed. “It’s fine. I can watch him.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Just… hang out with him in my office, or take him somewhere, I don’t know.” He pushed his barely styled hair back as he tried to breathe. “I’d reschedule, but it’s about the financials?—”

“Take a deep breath. It’s okay.”

---