Page 45 of That One Heartbreak

“I’m not a baby,” she shouted back at her brother. “Mommy told you not to call me that.”

“Yeah, well Mom’s not here, is she?” Ethan asked. “What are you gonna do, tell her? Snitch.”

“Hey, hey,” Marley took a step between them, noticing the redness in Addy’s cheeks. “Let’s calm down. Ethan, do you know how to work the microwave?”

“Of course I do.I’mnot a baby.” The kid looked almost wounded.

Marley tried not to sigh. “Okay, so you make the popcorn, and Addy can start looking for a movie for us to watch.”

“How come she gets to pick the movie?” Ethan asked. There was a whining note in his tone.

“She doesn’t. We all have to agree.” Marley let out a breath. He felt exhausted already. “But we need to start somewhere.”

“I don’t want to watch any with princesses,” Ethan warned.

“And I don’t want to watch any of your stupid cartoons,” Addy countered.

“At least my cartoons aren’t for babies.”

Okay, the baby thing was starting to grate on his nerves. Marley gave Ethan a pointed look. “Start the popcorn. Come on, Addy, let’s go see what we can find.”

She slipped her hand into his and nodded. “Okay.” And it was weird, but that little gesture made his heart feel like it was too big for his chest. They walked to the living room and Addy grabbed the remote, jumping onto the sofa and turning on the television.

Then his phone vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket.

The Eagle Has Landed. – Shana.

There was a photo attached. He could see Kate sitting at a table, and the back of a guy’s head. Kate looked nervous. She was holding a glass of water; her knuckles bleached. He zoomed in, but couldn’t see anything of the guy apart from the bald spot on his head. Kate looked uncomfortable, though. He liked that way too much.

Thanks. – Marley

A moment later he sent another message.

Keep me posted on how it’s going. – Marley

I intend to! – Shana

God, he hoped Kate didn’t like this guy. He pushed that thought away and tried to concentrate on the kids.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said to Addy. “You remember Delilah, my niece?”

Addy nodded. “She’s super cool.”

“She is. And her very favorite movie in the world isJumanji.”

“Jumanji? Isn’t that scary?” Addy asked him.

“I think it might be a little. But it’s also funny and entertaining, and I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Okay. But if I get scared, I’ll need to stay up until Mommy gets home.”

“I think I burned the popcorn,” Ethan called out from the kitchen.

Marley let out a sigh. “Don’t move,” he told Addy. Fuck, babysitting was like herding cats. “No problem,” he called to Ethan. “I’m a firefighter. I can deal with burned stuff.”

Allen liked to talk, Kate realized. About himself mostly, but he was also very happy to weigh in on anything that required an opinion. Right now he was telling Kate about his vacation to Europe last year, which involved visiting France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. She was desperate to hear about the cities he’d visited, the museums he’d seen.

But he was too busy talking about the woman he’d gone with. His ex of ten years. And how she’d managed to ruin everything.

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