Page 184 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
There’s a beat of silence before Marley says, “Perry, your boss?”
“Yes?”
“Girl, you better give me more of an explanation than that.”
I sigh. “I will. I promise, but I can’t do it right now. Perry will be here any minute to pick Jack up.”
“You cannot drop a bomb like that and expect me to be fine with you explaining sometime in the vague and distant future. At least tell me whether you’re dating.”
I drop onto my bed. “We’re dating.”
Marley squeals. “Oh my word. Lila! You’re dating Flint Hawthorne’s brother!”
“I met Flint, actually. He was at a family dinner a few weeks back.”
“Shut. Up.”
A knock sounds on my front door, and my heart jumps. “Listen, I really need to go. Was there a work thing you needed to talk to me about? I feel bad for monopolizing the conversation talking about ties.”
“No, no. It’s fine. It can wait. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay because you haven’t been logging in to the management software.”
“Oh. Right. I’ve mostly been working in person.”
“Understandably. If I were dating my boss, and he looked like Perry Hawthorne, I’d want to work in person too. Okay. Go be a mom. But Lila, you better call me and give me an update. And soon!”
“I will. I promise.”
I end the call and hurry toward the front door to let Perry inside, but I only make it around the corner before I stop dead in my tracks.
Perry is already inside, looking handsome as ever in a navy-blue suit. He’s standing in front of the entryway mirror, Jack perched on a chair in front of him. Perry’s arms encircle Jack from behind, his larger hands shadowing Jack’s smaller ones as he walks him through the steps of tying his tie.
“Like this?” Jack says, his little voice barely loud enough to reach my ears.
“Just like that,” Perry says patiently. “You’re doing great. Good. Now just loop it through that hole and slide the knot up.”
My heart in my throat, I watch Jack’s reflection in the mirror as Perry slides the tie into place. Jack’s eyes light up. “I did it!”
“Great job, kiddo,” Perry says gently. “Now let me see.” He takes Jack’s shoulders and turns him so they’re facing each other. He adjusts Jack’s tie, then smooths down his hair. “All right. Looking good. I think we’re ready to go.”
It’s hard to quantify what’s happening inside my heart right now. To see them together like this, to see Perry teaching Jack, guiding him, loving him like a father would. I resigned myself a long time ago to the possibility of muddling through all the parenting milestones on my own. I’m not the bestperson to teach Jack how to understand what’s happening to his bodywhen he’s going through puberty. I don’t have any personal experience shaving my face or working up the courage to talk to a pretty girl. But I was willing to try. To arm myself with videos on the internet and a whole lot of gumption to do the best I could.
But to see Perry stepping up, voluntarily taking this tiny piece from me?
Tears fill my eyes as an ache fills my chest.
I want this so much.
I want Jack to have a dad.
I want us to be a family.
“Mommy, look!” Jack says, jumping off the chair and running over. “Perry helped me tie my tie.”
“That’s really great, Jack,” I say, my hands smoothing over him. “Go grab your backpack, okay?”
Jack hurries toward his room, and I finally lift my gaze to Perry’s.
“Jack let me in,” he says, as if I need him to explain his presence. “And I hope it’s okay that I asked him to call me Perry. I just thought, at the breakfast, it might be weird if he’s still calling me Mr. Hawthorne.”
