Page 27 of Stolen Kisses

She looks up, eyes so much like my own looking back at me. “Chocolate.” My cheeks rise slightly. I pull my milkshake forward and place it in front of my niece.

“Here, you have mine. I’ll drink the strawberry one.”

“Thank you, Uncle Theo.”

“No problem. From now on though, when I ask you to choose something, I want you to choose whatyoulike. Not what your mom liked. Okay?”

She nods. “Okay. I’msowwy.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. You’re not in trouble. I know you miss your mommy.” I rub my chest. “I miss her too.” We drinkin silence for a few moments, side by side. “Maybe we could work out some things we can do to remember your mom.”

She smiles up at me. “Okay.”

–emma–

Kate and I watch Theo and Kenny make their way toward the parking lot. As he climbs intohis truckafter securing Kenny, Kate turns to me. “Oh my gosh! You’ve been holding out on me.” Her eyes are comically wide as she fans her face.

“No, I haven’t. There’s nothing to tell!” I nudge her with my elbow.

“Nuh, uh, uh. You wouldn’t let me get away with that when you found out about Oliver. Now spill!”

I tell her everything from the moment I met Kenny, to spying on Theo naked on his deck, to his verbal jabs at me and our argument the other night. Kate’s heart breaks for Kenny and she oohs andaahsat the appropriate times like the good friend she is.

“You need to jump on that whenever you get the chance. He’s hot!”

“Oh yeah, like someone who looks like he does is going to go for me. I’m still carrying the baby weight from the boys and my youngest isfiveyears old.” I grab the extra pounds around my tummy to make my point.

“Stahp! Just stop it.” She taps my hand away from my stomach. “You, my friend, are absolutely stunning. Besides, I saw him checking you out.”

“Rubbish. I’m always a mess whenever he sees me and today’s no different.” I point out my messy hair and the splash of red paint on myknitted top, thanks to Daniel gesticulating like it’s an Olympic Sport while painting his favorite emergency vehicle.

* * *

Arriving home, the boys and I pile out of the car with our bags. Austin bounces up the steps just in front of me, Lachlan bringing up the rear.

“The timber is new,” Lachlan states in his usual matter-of-fact manner.

Trying to balance everything as I slot the key into the lock, I turn around. “Huh?”

He points down at the step he’s standing on. “This wood is new. It wasn’t like this when we left this morning.”

I open the door for Austin and then investigate the steps. Sure enough, the timberisnew. The second step was starting to give out, but all three steps have been replaced. These steps have been on my list of things to do along with a million other things that need to be done around the house, but I have to budget carefully for renovations. I don’t remember organizing anyoneto repair the steps. Heading inside, I continue to run through my mental filing cabinet but come up blank. I prepare an afternoon snack for the boys and then head out front to check the mailbox. As I close the latch after collecting my mail, I notice the lack of wobble. Gone is the old grayed-out wood, replaced with a fresh two by four of redwood, exactly like the new set of steps.

Sheet! How did I forget I had someone coming out today? Looking through the envelopes, I look for an invoice, but I come up empty.

I start to head back inside but change direction toward Theo and Kenny’s house. It seems I’m always apologizing to him because I owe him another one for last night, especially since he left behind pizza—that reminds me, I owe him some money for that. I race back inside to grab my purse so I can pay him for the meal. I look down at the red paint on mytop, wondering if I should take the extra couple of minutes to change. Shrugging my shoulders, I decide I don’t care. He’s already seen the mess and he’s seen me much worse. Just last night, I was covered head to toe in milk, courtesy of Lachlan’s meltdown in reaction to his father’s brush-off.

I take in a deep breath and knock on the screen door. I don’t have to wait long before his silhouette comes into view. “Emma,” he breathes out as he opens the screen door. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Now, what do I say? I mean I know I owe him an apology for kicking him out minus his dinner, but where do I begin. “How was your milkshake?”

“It was great,thanks. Kenny and I had a good chat about some things.”

“That’s great. I’m so happy to hear that.” I shuffle my feet. This is so incredibly awkward. May as well get to the reason for my visit this afternoon. “Uh, sorry about last night.”

Creases form across his forehead and his dark brows slice down low over his eyes. “I’m not sure what you’re apologizing for.”

A nervous laugh escapes me. “For starters, I pretty much stole your dinner.” His eyebrows shoot up toward his hairline as he tucks his hands into his pockets, a half-smile touching his kissable lips.Oh God, stop looking at his lips!“Uhm, Lachlan had a bad afternoon and he wasn’t able to regulate his response to the situation. I’m sorry it happened while Kenny was in my care, but at no time was she in any danger. Lachlan wouldn’t hurt a fly, I promise.” I pull out my purse. “So how much do I owe you for the pizza? Which was delicious by the way.” I point over my shoulder back home. “I’ve still got two pizzas in my fridge. Did you want them back?” I need to shut my mouth to stop myself from rambling.

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