Page 78 of Faking the Shot

“We weren’t—”

“Oh, Chris, stop teasing the poor man,” Diana said. “Look, you’ve embarrassed Ainsley.”

“Sorry Ainsley,” Chris winked at her, not looking very sorry at all. “I just like to mess with the man. Seeing he comes over all the time and eats our food.”

“He does?” She turned to him. “I thought you were Mr. Clean and Green?”

“Until he wants chicken nuggets,” Diana said. “Then he knows where to come.”

“Really?”

“No,” he protested, as the others laughed.

Fine. Make fun of him. He could take it. Especially as Ainsley had relaxed more.

Diana took Ainsley to the bathroom to fix her makeup again, and Chris got a repentant Tanner from his room and made him apologize to Zac and Ainsley for spying on them.

“I’m sorry Zac and Ainsley,” Tanner said, eyes downcast.

“All good.” Zac fist-bumped him while Ainsley offered a hug and a smile.

“But why were you crying?” Tanner looked up at her.

She peeked at Diana, then Zac, then looked at Chris’s eldest. “Sometimes I feel like God puts His finger on my heart and says ‘This is something I want you to pay attention to. I’ve created you for a purpose like this.’ That’s what today felt like.”

“Pay attention to Zac?” the kid asked, clearly confused.

Ainsley glanced at Zac, blushing. “Um, not quite. No.”

His heart fell.

“Don’t you like Zac?” Tanner asked her. “I thought you two were hugging. Dad and Mom hug like that sometimes, then they start kissing, and—”

“That’s enough, young man, unless you want to miss dinner.”

“Dinner sounds like an excellent idea. Who can help me set the table?” Diana asked.

Fortunately, dinner was without any more embarrassing comments, and he could enjoy the dynamics between Chris, Diana, and the kids. Diana obviously had a lot of patience, something he saw Ainsley had, too, as she interacted with the kids and proved again just how perfect she was.

She insisted on helping clear and wipe down the table, and he’d been here so many times and felt at home enough to load the dishwasher while Chris and Diana took the kids to have showers and brush their teeth.

He switched the dishwasher on, then wandered out to the living room where the gas fire crackled blue flames. Ainsley was looking at the bookshelf of kids’ books, including the one with the title he’d once called her before. He wrapped an arm around her waist, glad she didn’t shrug it off like she might’ve a few weeks ago. “Hey Snugglepot.”

She laughed. “Still not a fan.”

“Of that name or me?”

She twisted to face him more directly. “Oh, I’m a fan of a man who knows how to load a dishwasher.”

“And who can offer excellent hugs?”

“Special cuddles, you mean?”

He chuckled. “But not under this roof.”

“Or any roof until you’re married, if I’m reading between the lines correctly.”

Oh, he was pretty sure they were reading the lines as Chris had suggested. Lines he couldn’t cross, until he wore a wedding ring, so Chris had told him.

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