Page 18 of Single Mom's Undoing
5
CLARA
It’s a date.
For the kids, anyway. For Damon and me, it feels like a bit more, though neither of us has found the right moment to take it in that direction. At this point, we’re having too much fun watching Matty and Shiloh dip their hands in paint cups and doodle all over large sheets of paper that Lenora, Damon’s mother, was kind enough to lay out for them.
“Go easy, munchkins,” Lenora laughs, gently guiding them to keep the paint on the paper and not on the hardwood floor or the handwoven rustic carpets of Damon’s living room.
“You need more blue,” Matty gently tells Shiloh.
The girl thinks about it for a moment, then nods in agreement, proceeding to add more cerulean blue to her unique artwork.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Jackson Pollock would be proud,” I quip.
Damon chuckles. “They’re having a blast.”
“Who wouldn’t be, making such an artsy mess?” I pause and look around the living room, admiring the walnut paneling on the walls and the framed photos, the rustic furniture, and the homey fabrics covering the sofa and the armchairs. “You’ve got a wonderful home, by the way. It’s very warm and welcoming.”
“Thank you. My mother did most of the decorating, and she does most of the living here, as well. Shiloh and I spend a lot of our time at the mansion,” Damon replies.
“What mansion?” I ask.
“My son and his friends decided that working together wasn’t enough, so they chose to also live together,” Lenora sighs deeply, a tense smile settling on her plump face. “Shiloh loves it, though. It’s a huge place with gardens and plenty of open spaces for her to safely run around in.”
“We call it the Vanguard Manor,” Damon tells me. “It has three wings, gardens, and training grounds for our Oregon-based agents. One wing is dedicated to the living quarters for the three of us, one wing is for the operatives, and the third is where our offices and boardrooms are.”
“Wow, talk about taking your work home with you, huh?” I mutter, genuinely surprised. “When I was still living here, you guys had your own places, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I had and still have this,” Damon explains. “The mansion just seemed like the smart thing to do to move forward and take our business to the next level. It also meant spending more time with our staff, so we did it. It worked. And now, we’re rapidly expanding, so it was worth it. Besides, Shiloh loves it there. Our live-in babysitter, Marie, also has some military training of her own, which is a huge bonus. It’s the safest place for my kid.”
I blink. “Go figure. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the business boomed the way it did. I just never imagined such a way of living before.”
“Neither did we until we tried it.”
“He still comes home every other Sunday for my pot pie,” Lenora chuckles. “And Shiloh loves my peach cobbler too much to stay away for too long, don’t you, honey?”
“Yummy peach cobbler!”
“I remember that cobbler well,” I say with a smile. “I have to agree with Shiloh.”
“Look, Matty, more blue! Do you like it?” Shiloh asks.
My son nods and dips his finger into a yellow cup. “Yes, but you need a sun, right here.”
He doodles a yellow circle at the center of her sky. Shiloh watches his every movement with sincere fascination, turning her head every once in a while to look at me and smile. Every time, she makes me feel like I’m the center of her sky, too. I don’t know what it is about this little girl, but she disarms me entirely.
“I told you. She really likes you,” Damon says, inching closer to my ear.
A little too close, perhaps, based on my rapidly beating heart. We’re seated on the sofa, while the kids and Lenora are on the floor, art utensils spread at our feet. As startled as I am by the proximity of his body, I’m enticed by how much closer we could get, so I slowly let myself lean into him.
My shoulder presses his ever so slightly, my breath hitching at the heat of the contact.
“She’s so attentive and curious,” I tell Damon, trying to keep the conversation anchored in the moment.
“Matty is a very patient and kind boy,” he replies. “They play well together. Did he have any kids to play with back in Portland?”
“A few. We tried preschool for a while, and we met a couple of kiddos who later came over for playdates. He misses them, asks about them sometimes. I’m glad he’s got Shiloh here.”
