Page 9 of Holiday Hookup

I get down on my knees, our eyes level. “Sweetie, I need you to listen to me right now. I need you to go play in your room for a minute.”

He slowly nods his head, taking my face in the palms of his small hands and giving me that look that is identical to his father’s.

“It’ll be okay, Mommy.”

God, what did I do on this earth to deserve a son like him?

“Thank you, sweetie.” I kiss the top of his head, right before he runs down the hall and into his room.

I check the clock on the wall beside the front door and silently curse the passage of time. Of course, Jaxon will be late for school, again. I guess I’m not getting that mom of the year award this year either.

Before I start to unravel around the mom guilt that threatens to surround me, that heavy weight pressing on my chest reminds me that I need to call the landlord, which I do… multiple times before grunting in frustration when he doesn’t pick up. My grasp is white-knuckled around my phone as I lean against the counter, fighting the tears that threaten to fall.

Suddenly there’s a knock at the door. I wipe away the wetness beneath my eyes as I open the door, only to be met with Dane’s handsome face.

“Well, that’s a sight I didn’t expect this early in the morning. Not that I’m complaining,” he mutters, his eyes never leaving my chest and that’s the moment I realize I never actually finished doing up my blouse.

“Shoot,” I murmur. Of course, this would happen today. First, he sees me in my lazy Sunday outfit, looking like I didn’t care about anything, especially my appearance, and now he sees me with my black lace bra on full display.

“What do you want, Dane?” I ask, doing up the tiny buttons as the heat of his stare follows every pass of my fingers.

“Well, hello to you too,” he says, stepping through the door and stopping dead when he sees the water coming from the ceiling. “Holy shit.”

“Yes, as you can see, I’m a little busy at the moment, so if you could tell me what you wanted so I can get back to the small lake forming in my kitchen, that would be great.”

My breath starts to come in pants as I lean against the counter, feeling the panic settle into the center of my chest. But before it crests, Dane’s strong arms surround me, his cologne overcoming every other sense and causing my breath to catch. Every thought leaves my brain, focusing on how good he feels against me, and I don’t think, I just turn, wrapping my arms around his waist, bringing him closer.

I’ve missed this.

I’ve missed this feeling of someone else taking charge, someone else having my back instead of me shouldering everything until I almost collapse.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he murmurs into the top of my hair, but when I start to shake my head, he squeezes tighter. “I know it might seem overwhelming right now, but we’ll figure it out.”

I take a deep breath as his words sink in.

“We?” I question, untangling myself from his arms, wondering when we became a “we.”

“Nel, I’m here, so there’s no reason I can’t help.”

I’m speechless. Utterly without words. Since when do men offer to help out women they barely know?

“Well, I’d say we know each other a little considering I know what those lips feel like and how good you feel pressed against my chest.”

Shoot. I must have said that out loud and now he’s laughing and all I can do is remember what his kisses felt like, and how much I wish I could experience them again.

“Mommy! I’m going to be late for school!” Jaxon yells, his feet pattering down the hall as I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Hi, Dane!” The smile that lights up my son’s face mirrors the one on Dane’s face as he comes to stand beside my leg. “Did you see all the water?” he questions innocently as his eyes keep darting between the pool that’s forming and Dane.

“I did, little man.” Dane crouches down so he’s the same height as my son and I don’t know what about that move causes my insides to flip, but my heart starts to beat just a little bit faster. “Why don’t you go get dressed and ready for school as fast as you can so your mom can drop you off, okay?”

Jaxon smiles right before darting back down the hall toward his bedroom.

“Dane, I still have to get a hold of the landlord, stop this water somehow, and get it cleaned up. Then I’ll need to figure out where we’re going to stay while they fix this mess, I need to call work, and—”

He must see the alarm on my face because he places his palms on either side of my face, cutting me off, as he instructs me to take a deep breath.

“Sweetheart, calm down.” I shake myself out of the internal panic attack and look into his eyes. “I will call the landlord for you. You take Jax to school, come back here when you’re done, and we’ll figure the rest out from there.”

I don’t know if it’s the fog his touch put me under or the fact that he just put my son’s well-being before his own, but either way, I’m struck dumb.

---