Page 74 of Smitten with the Single Dad

“Is that what it is?”

“Well, up until that moment, you always considered the island and the people on it safe. Now that it’s not, your body is going into delayed shock. Or at least that’s the only explanation I can come up with.”

He still hadn’t opened his eyes, but even just lying down with the whole world dark, things felt better. His brain didn’t pound nearly as bad.

Did he have a concussion?

“I’m going to get you some acetaminophen too,” Justine said, getting up and heading to his bathroom. “For the headache. The ibuprofen is for the aches, pains, and swelling, but this should help with the headache. They can be taken together.” She disappeared for half a minute, then returned and told him to sit up, swallow the pills, and drink the water.

His head spun and there were more black spots in front of her face than anything else. But he did as he was told, then reclined back down and shut his eyes.

“Just rest, Wyatt. That’s all you can do at the moment. Rest and let the painkillers do their thing. If Vica needs to rest too, we’ll tell her she can send the boys over to our place. You guys have been through something incredibly traumatic. It’s okay to be gentle with yourself.” She rested a hand on his arm, gave it a squeeze, and then left, closing the door behind her.

Wyatt was asleep almost instantly, unable to handle the pain in a conscious state. He chose to hand the reins over to the unconscious and, hopefully, it did a better job at repairing him.

By the time he woke up, the sun was blasting through the bedroom window and he was drenched in sweat, even though the window was open.

Based on the position of the sun, it had to be about two in the afternoon. He’d slept for nearly five hours. But he felt a lot better.

Double-checking that his head wasn’t still pounding and going to make him vomit, he slowly sat up. Everything was still achy, but it was a manageable ache. He took more ibuprofen and acetaminophen before heading downstairs.

What he found in the living room made him pause at the top of the stairs andjust quietly observe.

Vica and the boys were sitting on the floor in the living room, surrounded by Lego pieces. One of their more complex Lego kits—an enormous firetruck—was half built. They were all laughing and working together assembling it.

A smile curled his mouth, seeing the light and joy in his sons’ eyes.

“So you, like, get to build with Legos all day for your job?” Griffon asked in amazement.

Vica smiled and chuckled. “No. Not quite. Not Lego. I’m a mechanical engineer. So I build mechanical things. Like different machines and useful tools. The company I was working for designs solar energy batteries. Right now, solar panels are very expensive. We were working on ways to reduce the cost of them with different materials and stuff so that more people can afford to have them. Solar, wind, and wave energy are the way of the future. They just need to be more economical so everyone can have them. Not just the rich.”

“That’s really cool,” Jake added.

Vica nodded. “It is cool. But I’ve always loved building things. Also taking them apart. It drove my dad crazy when I was a child because I kept taking apart things in our house just to see how they worked.”

The kids chuckled.

“But you’d always put them back together. Right?” Jake asked.

She playfully bit her lip and winced. “Well … I tried.”

Griffon was enthralled. “What couldn’t you put back together?”

“I took apart the microwave when I was nine and couldn’t quite put it back together. When we turned it on, it started to make smoke, then sparked, and all the power in the house went off. And my dad refused to buy a new one.”

“You didn’t have a microwave!” The concept seemed ludicrous to Griffon, and Wyatt smiled.

“Not after that,” Vica said. “I’ve always loved Lego though. The building and creating. It’s so much fun.”

Griffon leaned into her affectionately. “Me too.”

Was this a glimpse of what life with Vica would be like? If they welcomed her into their family and home permanently? It brought warmth and peace into his heart at the thought of his sons having someone else in their life that loved them as much as he did. And he could see in Vica’s eyes that she was already there.

He observed them for another moment, before finally making his presence known. “Looks like fun,” he said, clearing his throat and descending the stairs.

All three of them glanced up at him. Vica smiled. “I hope you don’t mind. We weren’t too loud, were we? We didn’t wake you?”

He shook his head. “Not at all.”

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