Page 27 of Scoop Me Up
Her eyes lit up. “You are? Does that mean I can come over and play with Mix whenever I want?”
I laughed a little and ruffled her hair. “Probably notwheneveryou want, but I’m sure we can arrange something.”
“Are you leaving because Mommy’s home?”
I sighed softly and nodded. “Yeah. But not because I’m mad at Mommy or anything. It’s just best if I don’t stay here. I don’t want to be in her way. You know how she is—she likes things a certain way.” It was true. Jennifer had always been a stickler for having things done her way and her type-A personality and my laid-back one had been part of the reason we’d split. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” she murmured, focus already back on her trucks.
And that was that. I went out to the car and pulled onto the street, heading in the direction of Sam’s house. They only lived a little ways off of Maple Street. By the time I’d found a good song to play on my phone, I was there. I pulled into the driveway and sat there for a long moment, nerves tingling inside of me.
Calm down,I told myself.You’re just crashing with a friend for a few weeks. It’s no big deal.
Eventually, I gathered the courage to get out of the car, and just as I did, Sam stepped out on their porch, waving and smiling brightly.
Chapter 11
Sam
I waved at Gabe as he stepped out of the car, a shiny red sedan that looked brand-new, a forced smile on my face that I hoped looked genuine. I didn’t mind having him stay with me, but the idea of having the hot single dad under my roof, the hot single dad I had an irrevocable crush on,thatseemed like it was almost too much to handle.
I watched him haul a suitcase, a messenger bag, and a duffel bag out of the trunk of his car. After pulling the messenger bag’s strap over his head and securing it on one side of his body, he looked at both of the pieces of luggage for a second before finally dipping down to pick up the duffel, in a valiant attempt to bring all of them inside at once.
Hurrying down the front steps, I called out to Gabe. “Here, let me help you.” I reached for the duffel on his shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’ve got it—” he protested, less than a second before the bag slid off his shoulder and down his arm, hitting the ground with a soft thump.
“It’s fine. I can help.” Before he could protest further, I scooped up the bag by the straps and hauled it to my own shoulder.
Gabe gave a defeated sigh. “Thanks. I appreciate it. All of it. Really.”
Leading the way into the house, I shook my head. “No problem. Your room is right this way.” Once inside, we turned to the left, following the hall that led to the three bedrooms and the single bathroom. The guest room was on one side, with what I’d turned into a home office, and my bedroom was on the opposite side of the hall, along with the bathroom.
I placed the duffel on the bed and stepped back. “Home sweet home.”
He rolled his suitcase next to the bed and took off his messenger bag. “I wish I knew how to thank you. Is thereanythingI can do?”
“You can help out around the house. Keep your things tidy. We can even take turns cooking dinner if you want.”
“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “Anything else?”
Eyebrows raised, I fixed him with a look. “If you’re serious…”
“I am.”
“We need a few parent volunteers for the end-of-camp read-and-math-a-thon.”
“I’m there.”
“Great,” I said. “I’ll hold you to that.” After a second, I gestured to his luggage. “How about I let you get settled in and we can discuss dinner when you’re done.”
He looked at his luggage and nodded. “That sounds like an awesome plan.”
I left Gabe to unpack, making my way to the living room and taking a seat on my favorite spot of the couch, an old, overstuffed denim-blue thing that was probably on its way out, but was still hanging on for now.
