Page 17 of Just a Little Crush

“Can you and I discuss the possibility?”

“Of what?” I frowned, momentarily confused.

He held my gaze. “Of you being my girlfriend.”

I blinked, stunned, his words the last thing I’d expected to hear.

“Temporarily,” he was quick to add, as if he sensed I was about to reject that request. “Just until the custody case is over.”

My head spun. Of all the ways I thought he might resolve the girlfriend comment he’d made to his ex-wife, asking for a pretend relationship for the next few months wasn’t it.

“I…uh…” Still flustered by the request and certain his ex wouldn’t buy the arrangement regardless, I shook my head and stared up at him. “Caleb…I don’t think—”

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

Interrupted by the smaller voice, my gaze went to the doorway of the bedroom to see Owen standing there the same time Caleb turned around. The tense set of his shoulders relaxed a fraction as he looked at his son.

“Didn’t you have breakfast with your mom?” Caleb asked him.

Owen shook his head. “No. She woke me up and said she was bringing me home. I didn’t have time to eat anything.”

I couldn’t see Caleb’s face, which was probably schooled for Owen’s benefit, but I could easily imagine he was livid that Alyssa hadn’t fed her own son because she’d been more concerned about getting to Caleb’s to catch him in the act with a woman after being tipped off by a friend.

“I was just going to make some eggs,” Caleb said in a neutral tone. “Want some?”

“No.” Owen made a face that would have made me laugh under different circumstances. “Can I have cereal?”

“Sure,” Caleb relented, clearly not in the mood for an argument with his boy.

Owen glanced around his father, and he smiled when he saw me sitting on the bed. “Hi, Stevie. What are you doing here?”

I wasn’t sure how he’d missed seeing me earlier in the kitchen when he’d arrived, but I was grateful that he hadn’t witnessed that awkward moment between myself and his dad. As to how to answer his question, I was at a loss for an explanation.

“I…um…”

Caleb jumped in. “Stevie came by to have breakfast with us.”

Confusion creased between Owen’s brows, but before he could ask any more questions Caleb strode over to Owen, turned him around, and ushered him out of the bedroom while looking over his shoulder at me. “We’ll meet you out in the kitchen.”

I nodded, and once they were gone, I took my dress and bra and went into the bathroom and changed so I wasn’t walking around half naked. Finding a brush in a drawer, I restored some semblance of order to my hair, then exhaled a deep breath before joining them in the living area. Even though Owen had delayed ourgirlfriendconversation, I knew at some point we’d have to sort out the issue.

“Come sit by me, Stevie!” Owen said as soon as he saw me. He was already seated on a stool at the kitchen counter, digging into his Frosted Flakes and playing with two action figurines while Caleb was back at the stove, finishing the breakfast he’d started earlier.

I smiled at his enthusiasm. Because of Raven being Caleb’s sister, I’d been around Owen enough the past year that we’d established a friendly and familiar rapport, so at least what Caleb told Alyssa about Owen knowing me was true.

“I’ll be right there. I need a cup of coffee first,” I told him, which was an understatement. I desperately needed a jolt of caffeine after this morning’s fiasco, and to deal with the discussion with Caleb that still lay ahead.

I came up to the counter next to Caleb where the Keurig machine was located. He glanced my way as he continued scrambling eggs and reheating the mushrooms and ham.

“That coffee cup is for you,” he said, nodding toward the navy blue mug he’d set out for me, along with creamer and sugar.

“Thank you.” I put a pod into the machine and while I waited for my coffee to brew, I glanced at Caleb. I was glad to see his earlier anger toward Alyssa had subsided, but he still looked unsettled.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly.

Despite everything, he managed a charming smile. “I will be if you agree to what I asked you earlier, before we were interrupted by Owen.”

So many uncertainties about that request warred inside of me. “We’ll talk…later, after we eat and Owen isn’t listening in,” I promised. I’d at least hear him out, despite my misgivings.

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