He gave me a small smile. “It’s going to give me great pleasure to prove you wrong, Emma. Please get me some scissors so I can open this up and get started.”

I shook my head and walked into the kitchen to fetch a pair of scissors from the drawer. I handed them to him and sat in the glider, putting my feet on the ottoman.

“That’s a nice chair,” he commented.

“Thanks. I saw it and couldn’t resist.”

He laid the box down and opened it, taking out the directions and the overly huge plastic bag with a million screws and springs in it. I smirked. His face tightened as he read the directions.

“It says we need a screwdriver, hammer, pliers, and a ratchet set. Do you have those things?”

“No.” I smiled.

“Well then, I guess we’re making a trip to the hardware store and buying them. Get your shoes on. I’ll call Darren and have him come pick us up.”

“Darren? He’s working for you again?” I asked as I got up from the glider.

“Yes. He’s working for me full-time again, and I’ve given him a large raise.” He pulled his phone out and gave Darren a call. “He’ll be here in about ten minutes. I should bring these directions with us.”

This was going to be fun. Watching him trying to build the baby’s crib was something I’d have to record.

“Have you ever built anything before?”

“No. But how hard can it be? The directions seem simple enough.”

“Okay. If you say so.” I smirked as I slipped on my shoes, and we headed out the door.

When we left the building, Darren stood at the curb next to the Rolls Royce. I smiled and gave him a light hug.

“Drop us off at the closest hardware store. What’s that place called? Home Department or something?”

I laughed, and Darren smiled at me from the rearview mirror.

“You mean Home Depot?” I lightly smacked his arm.

“I guess.”

We walked through Home Depot, and I could tell that Max had no clue what he was doing or where he was going.

“See the large signs throughout the store? They tell you which department you’re in. And see the signs at the end of each aisle? They tell you what kind of items are down that aisle.”

“Ah, I didn’t notice those.”

I laughed again. Finally, after an hour in the store, we found the tools we needed and then had to stop in the drill section so Max could play with them. “I think I’ll buy one of these.”

“For what?”

“You never know when you’ll need one, and they’re pretty cool.”

As I plantedmy tired self back in the ottoman, Max removed all the pieces to the crib and sat down in the middle of the cluttered floor. Watching him look over the directions and trying to figure out which piece was which was funny but also amazingly sweet.

“Do you need some help?” I asked.

“Would you like to help?”

“Sure. If you weren’t here, I would be doing it anyway.” I got up, sat next to him on the floor, and studied the diagram. About halfway through building it, he stopped and looked at me.

“I think this piece is on backwards.”