Page 30 of Summer with a Single Dad

“I’m not drama.” Her laugh came before her smile. “I’m just horny.”

“Chris is a dad. His son’s name is Hudson, and I just met him today. And his mom, dad, and sister.”

“Okay?” she asked like she didn’t see the issue.

“No, no. Everything was great. Perfect, in fact. Except for the fact that they showed up when we were having sex.”

“Shut up!” she squealed, slapping my knee.

I shrugged as my cheeks filled with heat. “We were done. But we were in the shower when they called and texted him a bunch of times.”

Cassie roared with laughter.

After she regained composure, I filled her in on the rest of the day—the afternoon session at Bark Park and ice cream with everyone afterward. “It was so easy to talk to them. I was nervous about Hudson, but he is the cutest, sweetest, and smartest little boy I’ve ever met.”

“I sense there’s abut.”

“Not really, no. But?—”

“I knew it.” She rolled her eyes again.

“It’s just that I’m not a mom, you know. I don’t know anything about kids. Certainly not about other people’s kids. And it’s just scary.”

“He’s a kid, not a rabid animal.”

“Come on, Cass. I have to be smart. There’s a little boy involved. It’s not just about me and Chris anymore.” I stared at my slice of pizza.

“Em, the answer’s not in the pepperoni.”

“It’s a whole family, Cass. I’m not used to that. My dad died from heartbreak. My mom overdosed. My grandma was all I had left. She’s gone, too. I have no one.”

“You have me,” she said, laying her hand on my leg. “I know it’s not much, but you do.”

“And I’m so thankful for you, Cassie. I am. I just don’t know how—they’re already a family. I’m just a dog trainer.”

“You’re notjustanything. You are a hard worker. You have a heart of gold. You’re a survivor. Hell, the things you had to deal with . . . well, it’s not fair. But it is what it is. Thankfully, that’s all in the past. What you have, right here and now, that’s real. And I don’t know what more you could ask for.”

“Yeah. No, you're right. You're right.”

“So, why don’t you sound more relieved?”

“Because it is real. And he’s already suffered so much hurt. So has Hudson.”

“So have you,” she reminded me.

“And what happens if that all gets taken away?”

“You can’t live your life worrying about the what-ifs. You’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“I'm, I’m scared, Cassie.”

“Of course you're scared. That's how you're supposed to feel.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“What I mean is, that’s how you know it’s love.”

The fluttering in my belly was impossible to ignore. “I know. I haven’t even said it yet. He hasn’t either.”

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