Page 14 of The Opposite of Romance
“Of course.”
Asher slams the car door like he always does, making me wince.
“Sorry, Mom,” he says.
“It’s fine. Until the doors fall off.” We both laugh at that while Olivia does a little eyeroll, her signature move.
“Guess what, Liv? Kayla will come to our house on Friday.”
Her eyes widen with glee, and suddenly, she’s the ten-year-old she sometimes forgets she is.
“You want us to do something special? Have a movie night or something? I can make us sushi,” I continue.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
My face contorts with pride. Getting Liv excited about something isn’t easy, but damn, it’s rewarding.
“Who’s that?” Asher asks as he exits the car. Logan’s van is parked in our driveway, and he’s packing some things into it.
“That’s the nice man building us a deck at the last minute,” I say as we walk by him.
“Hello.” He does an awkward wave. “Sorry to take up the driveway. I just needed to get some stuff to head onto my next site.”
A pang of guilt hits my stomach. He’s not done after he finishes here. He probably has to work doubles because I made a last-minute decision to build a deck.
“Mr. Builder, when will your work be done? My mom says I can’t use the pool until the deck is done.” Asher joins the conversation.
“It’s Builder, just Builder. Mr. Builder was my father.” I chuckle at Logan’s ridiculous joke, though Asher doesn’t have a clue what he meant. “There’s a lot of work to be done. I might even need an extra set of hands.”
“I could help you.” Asher brightens. “But I have school.” His eyes drop, making this an Oscar-worthy performance.
“You’re right.” Logan’s shoulders drop dramatically.
“Maybe I could skip school for a few days? This seems really important.”
Logan laughs out loud, the sound hitting me straight in the stomach.
“I don’t think so, Ash. But nice try.” I pat his head, and he exhales with disappointment.
“How about this?” Logan adds. “I was thinking of asking your mom to come in the afternoons, too.” He glances at me. “Not every day, but I’m not sure I’ll finish it unless I work around the clock.” That pang turns into a full-on wave of guilt.
“Yes! That would be great.” Asher screams before running inside.
“Of course, you can come whenever you want to. And I’m sorry for making you work so hard,” I respond, doing my best to look apologetic, but I’m not about to tell him he’s not needed. I really need to get my life together, and that deck is somehow an essential part of it.
“Don’t worry. I’m used to hard work.” He smirks.
I follow the kids, frazzled like every time I’m on the receiving end of that smirk. Logan and his van are gone the next time I check the driveway.
He and I get into a comfortable rhythm. I make us coffee in the morning, and we both throw ourselves into work afterwards. He sometimes drops by in the afternoon to deliver some materials, but he doesn’t stick around long.
The kids and I are on a roll, too. They seem at home in our new house, and it’s all I could’ve asked for.
When Friday rolls around, Will and I arranged for me to pick up Kayla with Liv after school. Butterflies stir in my stomach as the girls enter the car. It feels childish, but I really want this to go well. I want my Liv to be accepted and loved, not only by us, but by her peers, as well.
“Hi, girls!” Liv shoots me a pointed look straight away, so I tone down my excitement. “Had a good day at school?”
“Yeah, it was great,” Kayla responds cheerfully, and Liv smiles.
