Page 71 of Just a Distraction

She nods, staring at me. “Milo. Do you understand what you’re doing?”

“What do you mean? Rose, I’m falling for you.”

“Me, too.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, but her gaze meets mine, and I feel it. I know she feels the connection. Then things shift and she changes the subject. “But about tonight. I’m nervous about letting Callum stay with people I don’t know.”

“I realize it’s not ideal that you don’t know them. But they’re great. And they offered to open up Childcare and take care of him there, where there are cameras and where he’s comfortable and familiar.”

Callum squirms to get down and she lets him. He runs over to a pile of toys in the middle of the living room. “They’d do that for us?” she asks.

“It was their idea,” I say.

“It’s been months since I’ve left Callum to do anything besides work, Milo.”

“Well then it’s high time,” I insist. “You know I love being around Callum.”She laughs, tugging me towards her in a hug. “Yes, I do know that.”

“But I also can’t wait to take you out for real, just you and me. To give you some time for yourself. To recharge and to remember . . . to just remind you of the whole of you, you know?”

“To remember that I’m more than a mother. That I . . .” she swallows hard and bites her lip, her large hazel eyes searching mine. “That my ‘simple glance stops time’?”

“Exactly.” I screw up my face. “Sorry about getting carried away like that.”

“I’m not sorry,” she whispers in my ear. “Your words completely captivate me. You’re a poet, Milo.”

A moment later, when she pulls away from me, the look in her eyes challenges me. “You have yourself a date, Mr. Milo Tate.”

I laugh. “And you say I’m the poet.”

Chapter 28

Rose

We step out of the resort, where we’ve just left Callum with Sophie and Oliver. I liked them instantly. Sophie’s the county librarian, and she, Milo, and I talked about the latest bestsellers while Oliver and Callum took turns sliding down the Childcare slides. Oliver didn’t let the fact that he’s over six feet tall get in the way of him having fun, and Callum couldn’t get enough of it.

I can see the similarities between Milo and Oliver.

I’m not worried about leaving Callum with Sophie and Oliver. It helps that we can access the security feed to Childcare from our phones. And Milo’s family feels upstanding and sweet. And kind of normal, actually.

“You hungry?” Milo asks, as he drives his car out of the resort parking garage and turns in the direction of Longdale.

“Starved,” I say. I can’t stop looking over at him. His blue Oxford shirt sleeves are rolled up a little, as are the sleeves of his grey blazer. It’s as if he wants me to stare mercilessly at his forearms. His black chinos fit his body perfectly. And his spicy, clean scent? Forget about it. Now that I’ve decided to finally stop fighting my feelings for him, I’m completely unable to stop staring.

And the way his gaze dipped at my apartment when I walked out of the bathroom? I don’t feel the discrepancies in our clothing costs. I don’t feel less than. Because this man loved what he saw. He drank in the sight of me in my tight burgundy lace dress and brown leather heels like I was a everything he ever wanted in a woman.

“There’s a pretty good Chinese place in town. Or we could drive over to Tollark to that burger place they have.”

“Chinese sounds amazing.” I hardly ever go out to eat, so the thought of heavy, spicy food has my mouth watering.

“So, have you gotten caught up on Thaddeus Blackthorn yet?” I ask. “I’m dying to discuss it with someone. It’s getting so good.”

“You really like it, huh?” Milo’s focused on the road ahead.

“I was almost late getting back to work after my lunchbreak because I was reading it. If Blackthorn ever decides to publish it into a physical book, I’m buying it and then searching him out to get him to sign it.”

“Wow. You are a fan.” He white knuckles the steering wheel. “Should I be jealous?”

“No.” I scoff. “He’s probably a grandfather living in a retirement community in Boca Raton. You might need to be a little jealous of the brilliance of his mind, but other than that, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay, good.” He hesitates, peering at the road in front of us. “I think.”

---