Page 31 of Single All the Way

When Skyler came down alone a couple of minutes later, fully dressed and looking more animated than the past few days, I had my answer.

Emerson might very well be avoiding me.

“Morning, Sky,” I said. I suspected she’d dressed herself as she wore a pink leopard-print shirt, blue leggings with rainbow unicorns, and a red-and-white-striped skirt. “How are you today?”

“Hungry!” she said, her eyes lighting up as she took in the spread on the table. Nugget pranced up to her, tail wagging.

The other kids greeted her and passed the food her way as soon as she climbed up on her chair.

“Is your mom coming?” I asked.

She looked at me with wide eyes and shrugged with her arms spread. I cracked a grin in spite of myself because she was such a cutie. I was relieved to see her excited about food and not fixated on where her mom was. It seemed like progress.

I eyed my place setting and the food, knowing I should sit down with the kids and act like everything was fine. I couldn’t pull it off though. I needed to resolve things with Emerson. I set my coffee on the table.

“Everybody have what they want?” I asked.

I got four positive answers as Skyler stacked bacon on her plate next to a large heap of eggs.

“Help Skyler if she needs it,” I said to Evelyn. “I’ll be right back.”

“I will, Daddy,” she said.

I jogged up the stairs, my head down in concentration, trying to figure out what to say to Emerson. As I reached the top, she rushed out of the bathroom at the same moment, and we collided hard in the narrow hall.

I caught her upper arms to steady her and realized she wore nothing but a towel. Her long hair was wet, cheeks slightly pink, and drops of water beaded on her chest above the towel, drawing my gaze downward. I popped it right back up and swallowed.

“You okay?” I asked.

With a nod, she said, “Forgot my clothes in my room,” and crossed an arm over her chest to hold the towel in place.

I took a step back, but there wasn’t far to go before hitting the wall. “I was afraid you were avoiding me.”

She darted her gaze down the hall. “Where’s Skyler?”

“All four kids are stuffing their faces in the dining room.” Their chatter was audible.

Emerson nodded once, then said in a low voice, “This is awkward.”

“Doesn’t have to be,” I said, unsure whether she meant because she was nearly naked or because of what had happened last night.

I was about to ask if she wanted to get dressed and then talk when she barreled right in.

“Last night… Ben, that can’t happen again. I’m sorry if I led you on?—”

“You don’t owe me an apology.I’msorry.”

She frowned. “Yesterday was nuts. We were exhausted and wrung out emotionally.”

I nodded. “I only meant to offer comfort, companionship, a partner through Skyler’s struggles. I didn’t mean for that kiss to happen.”

She surprised me with a slight smile as she met my gaze directly. “No premeditation?”

I chuckled, thankful as hell we were able to joke about it. “None. Temporary insanity.”

“Same.”

“I won’t do it again,” I said with conviction. Blake might be gone from this earth, but it still felt wrong to kiss the woman who’d been married to him.

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