Page 10 of Falling Together

Blair gritted her teeth. “Seriously?”

“Please.” Nolan pushed out his bottom lip, and it really looked like he might start to cry. Not a tantrum cry, but a real tears cry. Blair couldn’t handle real tears, so she pushed the box of fries in front of Nolan.

His face immediately lit up. “Thanks! You can have the apples.”

“Gee. Thanks. It’s all I ever wanted.”

“You’re welcome,” Nolan said, completely oblivious to her sarcasm.

After fighting with Nolan until she finally got him to eat two chicken nuggets, it was time to go to the pool.

As soon as they walked out the door, Nolan held his arms up toward her. “Shoulders!”

With how today was going so far, Blair had no doubt he would run into traffic if she didn’t do what he wanted, so she bent down and lifted him onto her shoulders.

“Yay! Go, car, go.” Nolan grabbed ahold of Blair’s head and pretended it was a steering wheel, moving it in all sorts of odd directions throughout the whole walk.

Blair was relieved when he begged to get down as soon as they arrived at the pool. She was even more relieved when they made it through their time there without any more tantrums. Nolan surprisingly didn’t even complain when Blair told him they had to leave so they could be home when his mom got back from work.

She had just finished getting him changed into dry clothes when she heard a car pull into the driveway. “Remember what I told you—McDonald’s is our little secret.”

“Yep. I won’t tell Mommy.”

A minute later, Erin walked through the front door and Nolan ran to meet her. “Mommy! Bear got me McDonald’s.” He put a finger up to his mouth. “But it’s a secret.”

“Is that so?” Erin stood from giving Nolan a hug and stared at Blair.

Blair could feel those eyes burning into her. She was a literal dead woman. “Uh, yeah, so… he really wanted chicken nuggets.”

“So, you decided to ignore my directions and get them for him without even asking me?” Yep. If looks could kill, Blair would be bleeding out on the floor right now. Erin tapped her high-heeled foot and crossed her arms as she stared her down. If Blair wasn’t so scared, she’d be very turned on, because it was honestly one of the sexiest things she had ever seen.

“I… uh…”

Before Blair could figure out what the hell to say to try to save her ass, Erin burst into laughter. “Oh my god. You should see your face right now. Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

What the hell?“You mean… you’re not actually mad?”

Erin shook her head and continued to laugh. “If this kid getssomethingin his stomach every day, I’m happy. I’m not the one you should be scared of though.” She nodded toward Nolan. “You showed him that you’re weak. Now you’re screwed. He’s going to use that against you. Trust me. Toddlers are like sharks. When they smell blood, they attack.”

Blair swallowed hard. Erin’s words did send a chill down her spine. She wasn’t sure if that was because she was actually afraid of a three-year-old, or because she couldn’t handle how sexy Erin looked in her black suit and white heels that she had been too tired to notice that morning. It was most likely the second one, which was exactly why sheshouldn’tstick around. She couldn’t have herself doing anything that might be considered unprofessional, like pushing Erin up against the door and making out with her while she unbuttoned those pants and…

“I have to go,” Blair said much louder than she meant to. She cleared her throat as she tried to calm her beating heart. Why did this woman have this effect on her? Sure, she was hot, but shit. It’s not like this was the first hot woman Blair ever had contact with. “I have plans with my friend tonight.”

Erin’s smile dropped as she studied Blair’s face. “I didn’t upset you, did I? I was completely messing with you. I’d prefer if he didn’t have chicken nuggetseverysingle day, but I’m happy with whatever you want to give him. I only made that list and had the sandwiches ready because I wanted to make your job easier.”

Blair shook her head. She really needed to snap out of this trance Erin had her in. “No. Seriously. It was funny. I just remembered I have these plans and my friendhateswhen I’m late.”

“Don’t let us keep you.” Erin reached into her purse and pulled out two twenties and one ten-dollar bill, then handed them to Blair. “Thank you so much. I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble today.”

Blair wanted to make a joke about how he just about killed her, but she saw the bags underneath Erin’s tired eyes and decided not to go there. “Nah. He was awesome. Don’t worry. I’ll be back tomorrow. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She winked at Erin then bent down and held out her arms toward Nolan. “Can I have a hug?”

Nolan shook his head and burrowed into his mom’s side. “I don’t want you. I want my mommy.”

“Nolan Patrick! That wasn’t very nice,” Erin scolded.

Blair squeezed his shoulder and stood up. “Don’t worry. We’ll get there. I’m like a new puppy—misbehaved, can’t follow directions—but I’m so cute people can’t help but love me eventually.”

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