Page 110 of Resorting to Romance

“Aunt Phyllis watches the Home Channel.”

“Ahhh.”

“I love demo day! I think I want to be a demo day guy when I grow up.”

“Hmmm.” I smile at my son, his life wide open with possibility. “Would you build things too?”

“Like in Minecraft?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“I could build lots of stuff. Maybe I’d build you something too.”

He hops off the footstool and wraps his arms around me. I hold him tight until he wriggles free. Noah has always been affectionate, but he’s already at the age where he tells me not to hug him in front of school or when I drop him off for a playdate. I savor each one of his hugs, knowing one day he’ll spend years withholding them from me down the road.

“Let me check with Brad to see if we can stop by his construction site.”

I grab my phone off the counter.

“You have his number?” Noah asks, his brow scrunched in confusion when I grab for my phone.

“Oh. Yeah. I do.”

I’m at a loss for a snappy comeback that would explain why Brad’s number is in my phone. So I just send a quick text.

“Does Unko know?”

“Know what?”

“That you have Mister Brad’s number?”

“I think so. Yes.”

“Okay.”

Noah turns and walks out of the kitchen, leaving me dazed by our interaction.

Brad texts back that he’d love to see me and Noah.

Great. Yay.

My next text is to Chloe. She texts back that I’m a saint and she’ll miss me in heaven when I’m seated on some special throne for people who are unnecessarily kind to their exes. She follows that with a text that says,I’ll be thinking of you while I huddle alone in my little ramshackle shack in heaven while you live in a mansion reserved for people too good for this earth. I shake my head, but I’m smiling. Then I type back,I’ll have you over to my palace at least once a week. She types,See! That’s why you’re getting the mansion. You’ll never forget the little people.

I’m smiling despite the fact that I’m taking Noah to see Brad in less than an hour. Chloe should get a mansion in heaven for her loyalty alone, not to mention her quick wit and ability to make me smile.

I text Kai next. I don’t even question the fact that I feel the need to let Kai know I’m going to see Brad. Somewhere over this past month I’ve come to lean on Kai more than anyone else. He’s the one person who holds me together like no one else can. I need him to know I’m about to spend time with Brad. Knowing he’ll be aware settles me a little. I can take Kai with me in my heart and draw strength from him even when he’s not actually there. Besides, seeing Brad without telling Kai feels like an odd sort of betrayal. If Kai really were my boyfriend, I’d definitely begiving him a heads up.

An hour later, Noah and I are walking down the trail that leads to the cove.

“Do you think he’s got a backhoe? Or a skid steer? Or a crawler crane?” He’s been chattering on about construction the whole fifteen minute walk from the inn to the cove.

I think back to the truck book we used to read every single night before bedtime:Trucks At Work. Each page was basically a photo, the name of the machine, and a simple sentence of what it did. We read that book like a Puritan reads scripture. Noah started reciting the contents cover to cover with me by the time he was three.

“I don’t know what kinds of machines …” My voice trails off when I look up to see Brad standing with his arms folded defensively over his chest.

And there he is.

Kai.

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