I gasped and held onto my chest. Miles wouldn’t do that, would he?

Miles’s eyes hit mine. He swallowed hard several times.

Penelope offered me a smug smile. “Is something wrong? Afraid you’ll be out of a job?”

“Enough, Penny.” Miles stood with Henry in his arms.

I wasn’t worried about job security. I was sick thinking about the little boy I loved so much being all alone at a boarding school.

“Are you ready, love?” he asked me.

Distracted, I pulled out my phone to record his dance.

Miles used his phone to pull up a song by the band Wings called “Silly Love Songs.”

Penelope came and stood next to me. Oh joy.

As soon as Miles turned up the music and before I could hit record, she whispered in my ear, “Don’t think he’ll be content to play house with you forever.”

She stalked off before I could tell her that at least he wanted to play with me. That sounded kind of kinky. Maybe it was a good thing that didn’t come flying out of my mouth.

I watched and recorded Miles’s silly dance. The song repeatedly said “I love you” throughout. I foolishly wished that maybe someday he would point at me and repeat those words. But I was happy he was directing them all at Henry.

When they were done, Henry ran back to me saying, “Let me see. Let me see.” He loved watching himself on the screen. I handed him my phone and caught Miles’s attention across the room. “You’re not thinking of sending him to boarding school, are you?”

Miles gave me a pained look. “That is several years away, and nothing has been settled yet.”

“So you’re thinking about it?”

He released a heavy breath. “Aspen, my life has been turned upside down the past several months. And you won’t be around forever. I have to keep my options open.”

I wasn’t ready to let it go. “But boarding school?”

“They can be quite lovely.”

“Surely not as good as being with you.”

He flexed his fingers several times. “Aspen, you don’t know that. I’m not the man you wish me to be.”

“How do you know what I wish for?”

He lowered his head. “Because I know you, and it’s the same thing I wish for.” He took his seat at the desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to accomplish.”

I stared at him for a moment. Did he truly wish for the same thing as me?

Henry tugged on my hand. “Again.” He handed me the phone.

I picked him up and kissed his head, wishing I could do it every morning until he was at least old enough to drive a car. But from the sounds of it, I wouldn’t be getting my wish. Like Miles said, I wouldn’t be around forever. The thought stabbed me in my heart.

I left Miles to his brooding ways and took Henry to the cottage with me.

Chloe was bubbly this morning. She was feeling good about her report and she was looking forward to the dance tonight. She had her beautiful dress laid out on her bed so she could admire it while she got ready for school.

I loved having both kiddos at the table eating my blueberry pancakes. Chloe was so good with Henry and he was the happiest when he was around her. I didn’t blame him; she was amazing.

After I dropped Chloe off at school I stayed in town as long as I could. Anything to stay away from Penelope, and if I was being honest, Miles too. Unfortunately, it was too nippy to stay at the park for long and Henry wasn’t in the mood for the library again. He begged to go home so he could play with his trains. How could I say no to his cuteness? Seriously, I could kiss his cheeks all day long.

When we arrived back at the house, I was grateful to find only Oscar and Molly sipping tea at the island. Apparently, Penelope was off taking pictures of the landscape. I was surprised she wasn’t in Miles’s office trying to seduce him.

“Can I make you something to eat?” I offered the pair since I had to make Henry’s lunch anyway.

Oscar set down his teacup. “You are a doll, that would be lovely.”

Molly’s eyes followed me wherever I went, from placing Henry in his booster chair and giving him some fruit snacks to tide him over to when I walked over to the refrigerator. “You are certainly different from Miles’s usual type.”

“Quite right you are,” Oscar agreed with her.

I opened the refrigerator and stuck my head in it. Can we say awkward? “Um . . . he’s my boss.”

“He must be a wicked boss. Wicked Mr. Wickham,” Molly said, making them both laugh.

I set down the ham and cheese I retrieved from the refrigerator on the island and tried not to make eye contact with Oscar and Molly, but they weren’t going to let this go.