Page 39 of Falling Together

“So.” Erin cleared her throat. “Thank you so much for doing that for him. I’m sure he’ll talk about it for days.”

“Yeah.” The moment from earlier was gone. If something was actually going to happen between them, that wasn’t the case anymore. Blair awkwardly pointed at the door. “I guess I better go.”

She grabbed her shoes and walked out before Erin could say anything else. She tossed and turned throughout the night, wondering if the next day would be awkward, given what almost happened between them. Blair thought about calling Erin and saying she was sick, but she didn’t want to lie. Plus, she knew calling out would put Erin in a horrible position for work, and Blair couldn’t do that to her.

Blair wanted a moment to gather her thoughts before she knocked on the door the next day, but that wasn’t going to happen. As soon as she parked out front and got out of her car, Nolan ran out of the house. He was holding something in his hands that he was clearly excited about, because he was waving it around.

“Bear! Bear! We going to the zoo!”

The zoo? What was he talking about? When he got close, she saw it was tickets that he had in his hands. She grabbed them from him and found that they were, indeed, two tickets to the local zoo.

“Surprise!” Erin said as she walked out of the house. “I thought you two could use a break from the pool today.”

Blair couldn’t believe it. She had spent the whole night worried about this very moment, and now, she could barely even remember why she had been worried. All she could focus on was the zoo. If she had any reason to believe Erin actually wanted that kiss to happen last night and it wasn’t a fleeting hormone-filled moment, she would’ve kissed her right there in the front yard. The joy she felt over her childhood dream being fulfilled was a pretty good consolation prize, though.

Chapter 14

Erin

Erin still couldn’t believe she almost kissed Blair the night before. Or was it that she almost letBlairkissher? Was there really a difference?

Okay, there definitely was. If she almost let Blair kiss her, that meant Blairwantedto kiss her, which meant the feelings she was trying so hard to suppress were not one-sided. Obviously, she didn’t know the extent of Blair’s feelings. Hell, she didn’t know the extent of her own. All she knew was when they almost kissed, she couldn’t think of anything in the world that she wanted more. Hell, she still couldn’t. That was the problem. Blair made it so she couldn’t think straight at all, and she needed to. Because her life was not her own. It was hers and Nolan’s, and she had a responsibility to make sure she did not do anything that could cause him to get hurt.

If things became messy with Blair, hewouldget hurt. It was clear he was attached to her, and Erin refused to do anything to potentially ruin the bond that they had formed. All she wanted was for the two of them to be happy. Watching them chat animatedly about all the animals they were going to see as they got into Blair’s car was so much better than a kiss. Getting the call from Blair asking if Erin would be upset if they got home a little bit after her because they were having so much fun was more fulfilling than having those lips on hers.

I can do this. I can keep my feelings under control. No big deal.

Blair certainly wasn’t going to make it easier on her, though. As soon as those thoughts had run through Erin’s head, she looked outside and found Blair carrying Nolan in her arms. He was tucked up against her, holding what appeared to be a stuffed giraffe. When Erin opened the door to let them inside, she realized Nolan was fast asleep.

“Do you realize you just broke the cardinal rule of all parents?” she asked with a laugh, because if she didn’tteaseBlair, she might be tempted to do something else instead.

“And what would that be?”

Erin nodded her head at Nolan. “Never let a child fall asleep this late in the day, because they’re not going to bed that night if they do.”

Blair visibly cringed. “Shit. I’m so sorry. He just fell asleep about five minutes ago. Do you want me to wake him?”

“Nah. That five minutes is going to give him enough energy to stay up for at least an hour past his bedtime, so might as well let him rest for now.”

Blair looked toward the stairs. “Should I take him to his room?”

His room. The scene of the almost-crime. “No, that’s okay. He’ll get scared if he wakes up by himself after falling asleep in the car. Why don’t you put him on the couch?”

After laying him down, Blair turned toward Erin and brought her hands up in a praying motion. “Please let me stay. It’s the least I can do after messing with his sleep schedule right after you surprised me with one of the best days of my life.”

“Today was one of the best days of your life?” Erin was sure Blair was just saying that to flatter her, but it worked. Erin wanted Blair to stay and tell her everything about the magical day she spent with Erin’s son.

“It really was. I had so much fun with that little rascal of yours. I can’t thank you enough for planning that for me.”

“And you’re willing to stay longer after spending the whole day chasing around that rascal of mine?”This whole not kissing thing isveryhard.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Blair tilted her head and creased her eyebrows as if she was truly confused, but the smile that had been on her face since she walked in the door remained.

“After my ex, yes. I swear she couldn’t even spend an hour with Nolan before claiming that she needed time to herself.” Erin shook her head as she thought back on that time. “There were so many signs I didn’t see. That Ishould’veseen.”

Blair took Erin’s hand and pulled her over to the loveseat, where they were forced to sit close together. “I think a lot of the time we only see the things we want to. That’s not your fault.”

That was nice of Blair to say, but Erin wasn’t so sure she agreed with her. “I don’t know. There were some pretty giant red flags.” Erin turned to face Blair more fully. Even though she told herself she shouldn’t make Blair listen to her drone on about Bianca again, she couldn’t help it. She felt comfortable with Blair in a way she didn’t with anyone else. “You know how I told you I’ve always hated my last name?”

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