Page 24 of Stay for Me
He came, met Sebastian, and took him out for a day. That alone probably made my son’s year. He doesn’t have to do anything more, but he is. He’s going to direct the middle school play, and . . . I don’t know that I can hold back the emotions.
“I’ll do it! I’ll supervise,” I say quickly and then want to clap my hand over my mouth.
“You will?”
I guess I just declared that and have to now. “Yeah, of course. I work for the school, so I can help, and it would be great to spend time with Sebastian.”
It also means I get to look at you a bit.
Jacob’s smile makes my insides melt. I really need to get over this. I do not crush on men who are famous. I don’t crush on any man because I’m a widow who is still grieving. This is stupid and reckless. But then I look into his green eyes and logic and rationale cease to exist.
“That makes things easier. Ellie has the baby, and I wasn’t sure I could really get her to do it.”
“No, I’m happy to. I’ll let Ellie know she’s off the hook this weekend.”
He laughs. “Yeah, Devney texted me that she stopped by and mentioned you might be coming to the family dinner this weekend.”
Did he just sayfamilydinner? “You’ll be there?”
He smiles and shrugs. “Well, I am part of the family.”
Oh, how in the world did I get forced into this? I should’ve said no. If it were just the girls, I could handle it, but being around the whole family is too much.
“Of course. She just made it sound like a girls’ night not a family dinner.”
“Don’t worry, the guys normally get thrown out of the house after a few minutes. Then it becomes more of a girls’ night than a family dinner. Not that they ever allow me to stay anywhere.”
We start to walk toward the house. “Do your sisters-in-law throw you out of a lot of places?”
“No, but I like to give them shit.” Jacob leans in, his voice conspiratorially low. “I’m still a little pissed that they’re not impressed with who I am. They’re making me sleep in a trailer that has a composting toilet.”
I laugh. “Are you serious?”
“Yup.”
“That seems more like hell than teenagers.”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow since tonight is my first night in it. But with the way Declan and Sean complained about it, it’s going to be a long five-ish months.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“It’s a tiny house that has a generator, propane, and no hot water unless you go outside the night before and turn on the pump. And remember what I said about the toilet? I promise that it’s horrible.”
I smile, trying to imagine whatever this trailer thing looks like. “I’ll take your word for it.” We’re now at the top of the stairs, and I’m not sure what to do. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later?”
Jacob nods slowly. He reaches out, touching my wrist for just a second. One touch is all it takes to light a fire inside my heart that has been cold and filled with ash.
I stare down at where his hand was, wondering if I imagined it.
“I look forward to it.” He flashes a grin and then heads back down to where the quad is.
Jacob looks totally unfazed while I’m desperately pushing aside my thoughts about the touch. He’s a great guy. He’s funny, easy to be around, and did something incredibly sweet for Sebastian. The touch was innocent, and I’m making it into something that it wasn’t.
Jacob waves, and I lift my hand, returning the gesture as he drives off, wishing I didn’t look forward to seeing him again as much as I do.
* * *
Mrs. Symonds, the school principal, enters my office with a warm smile. “Hello, Mrs. Allen, you look lovely today.”
