Page 45 of Unexpected Kisses

Molly’s eyes are glued to Max. “You know, if things don’t work out with AJ, you should come down to Max’s Monday night soccer games. Some of his friends are pretty good-looking.”

I chuckle. “You don’t think I didn’t crush on some of his friends. Aaron, Finn, and Lincoln are h-o-t! But to them, I was always Max’s annoying little sister. I soon grew out of my infatuation.” I nudge Emma. “I always thought Lincoln had a crush on you.”

She laughs. “I don’t think so. Remember, I was single for a long time after my divorce. He never showed the slightest interest.”

“Yeah. I guess.” I sigh as I turn my gaze back to the men, particularly AJ. The way he moves so fluidly for a guy who spends hours behind a desk is impressive. I guess the climbing keeps him pretty agile and fit.

Kate sighs. “It’s so good for Oliver to have fun like this with other guys. His life revolves around work … and me. Which I am totally grateful for, don’t get me wrong, but I love seeing him having fun like this.”

“You guys should come over more often. We have regular family afternoons like this. You’re more than welcome to join in,” Mom says.

“Thanks, you’re so sweet.”

The afternoon wears on and the sun begins to drop below the horizon. The guys have cleaned up, so there’s really no excuse to linger any longer. I need to get home and plan my wardrobe for my work week and make my salad jars. I ran out of time this morning because I wanted to get here and help Emma set up everything. AJ and I say goodbye to everyone and walk out to our cars at the same time, his Jeep parked behind mine on the street. I guess he needs a Jeep when he goes out to climbing locations.

“Thanks for the invite. I had a great time.” He glances at Em and Theo’s house. “You’ve got a great family, Sarah. Really close.”

I follow his gaze and notice Em, Mom, Molly, and Kenny duck away from the living room window and roll my eyes. “Thanks for coming and yeah, I love my family and how close we are. Kenny loves to be surrounded by people, so the more people at her party the better.”

“She’s a little dynamo, that one.” He tugs on the back of his neck. “I think Colton would really have fun with Em and Theo’s kids. He doesn’t get to spend much time with other children.”

“Oh.” I don’t like the idea of Colton missing out on fun. “Maybe we could organize an outing with all of the kids. Molly found this great park near a lake on the outskirts of the city. Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do.”

And there I go making plans to combine our families. We’re not dating, Sarah! Get that through your thick skull.

“That’d be great. Thank you. He’ll love that.”

I widen my eyes and raise my brows. “So, Oliver Stone wants you to hack his company.”

“Hell, yeah. Never in a million years did I ever imagine I’d have his business card in my pocket.” He pats the pocket of his shorts. “Dylan’s gonna be ecstatic when I tell him tomorrow. Actually, he probably won’t believe me.” AJ chuckles.

“Well, good luck with it. I guess … I’d better be going. I’ve got stuff to do before work tomorrow.”

“Uh, yeah, sure, of course. Thanks again. I had a great time.” He leans forward and presses his lips to mine and I freeze. He usually pecks my cheek, but this is the second time he’s gone straight for my lips.

Does that mean something? Could the girls be right with their idea there’s more between us? He pulls back and opens my car door for me.

“Thanks. I’ll let you know when we can take the kids to the park. Bye, AJ.”

“Yeah, bye.” He closes my car door and stands in place as I pull out and drive away. I lose sight of him as I turn the corner and my mood immediately sinks. I hate that my relationship with him is contingent on my cycle and me getting pregnant. I sigh heavily into the silent car and contemplate how things might have been different if I hadn’t met AJ under the circumstances I did.

Would he even consider dating me if he wasn’t helping me to have a child? And while he’s helping me, he’s missing out on the opportunity to meet the woman of his dreams. Will he resent me if this goes on for too long? Will he want out?

* * *

Mel drops into the seat opposite me with a sigh.

“Hey, Mels Bells, what’s up?”

“Just tired. I worked a double yesterday and I was on nights last week. It always throws my body clock out of whack and my sleep schedule is all off.” Her eyes are glassy as it all comes tumbling out.

I reach across the table and lay my hand on hers. “Why on earth did you agree to meet for coffee if you’re so tired you’re almost in tears.” Mel has never coped well when she’s sleep deprived. I’m not sure why she went into nursing when nurses are possibly the most sleep-deprived people on the planet.

She pouts adorably. “I miss my best friend, Sare Bear.”

I giggle at her use of her childhood nickname for me. “Well, today is my treat. You deserve it.” I raise my brows. “The usual?”

She lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. “You’re an angel. Yes please.”

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