Page 44 of Forbidden Love

Then I cued up the video on my phone and propped it against her water bottle on the table so she could watch it. “You ready to watch?”

“Uh-huh.” Maggie nodded.

I hit the arrow to play the video, and the voice of the instructor filled the room. We followed the instructions, pressing pause here and there so she could complete the step before moving on to the next one. Her paper slowly filled with circles for the planets, then she colored the rest of the page a midnight blue to represent outer space.

“That looks amazing, Maggie,” Tyler said when she was done.

“Let’s leave it to dry,” I said, moving it to a higher countertop.

“Can we make s’mores?” Maggie asked, turning her pleading eyes on Tyler.

“Of course.”

I had a feeling Tyler said yes to whatever she wanted. I put the unused supplies back in the box and cleaned the tray in the sink. When I was finished, I followed the low voices to the patio, where Tyler had already started a fire and they were holding marshmallows on sticks over the smoke.

Once their marshmallows were roasted, I helped them make a sandwich of graham crackers and chocolate.

Tyler let Maggie have two before declaring it time for a bath. Maggie protested, but Tyler lifted her with a groan. “But you’re a sticky monster.”

Maggie giggled as he carried her up the stairs. I didn’t want to intrude on their one-on-one time, so I cleaned up and stayed by the fire to make sure it burned out. Twenty minutes or so later, Maggie bounded down the steps in her pajamas. “Will you read me a story?”

“Of course.” I couldn’t say no, not when she’d asked so sweetly.

I let her lead me upstairs, where Tyler was leaning against the headboard. His feet hung over the end of the bed. Even though he was too big for the twin bed, he looked comfortable, like he belonged.

Tyler patted the bed next to him.

“Will I fit?” I asked as Tyler tugged my arm, and I sat on the bed next to him. My back rested against his chest, and I felt warm all over.

Maggie handed me a book while she climbed under the covers next to us. I had no idea what the book was about as I read it to her. All I could think about was the heat behind me and the hand Tyler placed on my hip to hold me close.

I felt every inch of his body pressed against mine, and it was difficult to breathe. I worried he’d discover how he affected me.

When I finished reading the last page, Tyler said, “Time for bed.”

Maggie protested, but Tyler rolled so I could get up first, and then he followed. “We only had time for one book because you wanted to take a bubble bath.”

Maggie pouted, her lower lip protruding, but Tyler kissed her forehead, said sweet dreams, and turned off the lamp.

“Night, Maggie. Thanks for letting me hang out with you.”

We moved out of the room, and he closed the door so only a sliver of light shone through.

“She just falls asleep on her own?” I asked as I headed down the steps.

“That’s the idea. Sometimes she thinks she gets to stay up late because I’m here.”

“Like it’s a slumber party with Tyler?” I teased.

“Sometimes I indulge her, but Sam prefers her to sleep in her bed at her bedtime. He said it messes up her routine if I do something different.”

“That makes sense.” And it was sweet that he listened to Sam’s wishes. Sure, he was babysitting Maggie, but he could justify it by saying he was an uncle and got to do the fun stuff with her. I appreciated that he honored his wishes.

I was learning all sorts of things about him tonight, and I felt like I’d gotten a glimpse into who Tyler was—a family man who couldn’t resist his niece.

We settled on the couch, and Tyler flipped on the TV. “Let’s give her a few minutes to fall asleep before we get out our work. That way we’re not interrupted.”

We waited, but Maggie never got out of bed.

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