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“Does the book have a fire truck?” Jesse asked without looking up.

“Fire truck!” Max’sarmsreached out for me and I lifted him up just as Jesse was standing with a box of whatever she had decided on from the bottom row.

“That’s right,” I laughed, twirling Max around. “The fire truck is here! Your mom thought I wouldn’t show up, but she’s crazy if she thinks I’d rather spend Friday night anywhere but with you guys.”

I finally looked at Jesse whose eyes were wide. She was clutching the box to her chest, her mouth gaped open as I settled Max onto my hip.

“Whatchya got?” I winked.

“What’re you doing here?” She asked instead of answering my question.

“You invited me. Sorry I’m late, it's a long story and I hate that I messed up our first date by being tardy, but I promise to make it up to you.”

“This isn’t a date,” she laughed uneasily. “You’re a crazy person for even being here.”

I couldn’t deny that she had turned me into a crazy person, but my wink and smirk made her turn pink and she spun on her heel back toward the cart. She tried to subtly put the box she had been holding back on the shelf, but I caught her and grabbed her arm.

“You better get those,” I growled into her ear. “You just never know when they will come in handy.”

Chapter Sixteen

JESSE

Why?Lord, why, did Easton have to find me while I was picking out condoms. Why was I even buying condoms? Why did he have to see me nonchalantly trying to put them back?

Why did I grab extra, extra, large?

There wasn’t a deeper shade of red I could have turned when he took the box from my hand and tossed them in the cart. He was unbothered, even keeping Max on his hip while he started pushing the cart and nodding for me to keep going.

“Those had nothing to do with you,” I lied, trying to save face.

“Then how come they are exactly my size?” he teased.

“I’m going to the city in a few weeks to see a friend and we may go out one night. I wanted to be prepared. I mean, a girl has needs, ya know?”

He paused and turned to face me slowly, Max completely unaware that the man holding him looked as if he could wring my neck for what I had just said.

“If you haveneeds,” he hissed with a throaty growl, “then I can stop being so noble and take care of those for you.”

Shit. He called my bluff. There was no way in hell I was going out in the city to get laid. Did I have needs? Yeah. But I wouldn’t be having sex with strangers any time soon. I’d rather risk the shampoo bottle breaking my little toe in the shower while pleasuring myself. It was the safest way to feel good.

Though, there was no denying how my body had felt since meeting Easton. He added to that fire I felt inside myself that night we met—the night I had attempted, and failed, to help myself feel something other than the stress of my move to Harmony Haven. I was worried that if Easton kept pursuing me, he’d break me down enough for me to lead him straight to my room and let him take care of any needs I may have had.

It made sense to be prepared, just in case. Max was the best thing that had ever happened to me, but he was walking, talking proof of what happened when I got stupid and wasn’t prepared. The birth control I was on wasn’t enough reassurance.

With Easton’s words, my mouth had gone completely dry, and my mind went down a rabbit hole of thinking of him following me up to my room, making me forget how hard and lonely life could be as a single mom.Damn, I was further gone than I thought.

As it turned out, him showing up at Wal-Mart on a Friday night and scooping my son into his arms was all it took for me to reconsider theno’sI had given him. He was going to be hard to resist if he kept being so cute and charming.

“Come on, Mama,” Easton laughed, lightening the mood and breaking me from my stupor. “Let’s shop.”

We spent the next hour strolling up and down the aisles. I’d throw things into the cart while Easton kept Max entertained. He’d let him walk down the aisle, then pretended to chase him. Then he’d lift Max over his head, claiming he was The Hulk. I had never heard Max laugh as hard as he was that night.

Between the fun they were having, Easton and I would chat—mostly about surface-level things. His favorite food was pizza, and he loved the Atlanta Kings baseball team. He seemed surprised that I was also a baseball fan, and he was even more surprised when I told him I had created a candle for the Kings and was trying to pitch it to them to carry in their pro shop.

That led us to going a little deeper, and talking about my business. I explained how I had managed to thrive when the odds were stacked so high against a home-based business. He was proud, and even seemed to be in awe, of how I had taken a little hobby and turned it into a chic brand. I was, by no means, as well off as his brother, but he compared the two of us. It took a lot of heart and dedication to create an empire. The fact that he recognized that in me was fascinating. He made me want to share every detail, even if it was boring to most people.

“Enough about my candles,” I finally waved a hand around. “We should talk about you.”

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