Page 26 of Room 1003

“Here it is!” he yipped in excitement, snatching up a short plank. “Now what?”

“What do you think we need to do with it?” Ben asked, tapping the picture.

Kit’s cute face scrunched up, and after a moment, he guessed, “Attach it to that one with that little wooden peg?”

“You got it!” Ben cheered, ruffling his curls. “So, let’s do that. I’ll hold the pieces together while you use the Allen key.”

My son giggled. “The key’s name is Allen? That’s silly.” I leaned against the doorframe, watching them, and something settled in my chest. This. This was what had been missing. For the past three years, I’d been juggling too much—my career, parenting, cooking and cleaning. As a single dad, I was playing the role of both parents, and I was doing it all half-assed because there was only so much of me to go around. Everything was a struggle, and there was no end in sight. Until now. As I watched Kit get some quality one-on-one time with Ben, I felt the pieces click together. Ben didn’t look anything like Embry, but seeing the two of them, it was like watching Kit with his father, and my heart melted.

This whole time, I’d been holding back. Part of me had believed that trying to keep Ben in my life was a selfish desire, but in this moment, I realized it wasn’t just for me. He madeallour lives better. He was kind and patient, smart and goofy. He was perfect.

“And if this is a key, where’s the lock?” Ben asked Kit, holding up the weirdly shaped tool. “Is it here?” he asked, pretending to unlock Kit’s ear. This set Kit off again, his laugh filling the room. Ben noticed me from the corner of his eye and gave me a wink, filling me with a new kind of warmth, something far less innocent.

I moved closer and sat down beside him, my arm brushing his. “What are you still doing here? I thought you went home.”

“I forgot something…” he said cryptically, peeking at me shyly.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“You,” he said softly, while Kit was distracted sorting the nuts and bolts into little piles. “I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” His brown eyes were warm and deep, radiating with comfort and contentment. He felt like home to me, just as much as this house did.

I’d told him I would be ready soon, but I was done waiting. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?” I asked.

“Really?” He seemed hesitant to accept the offer. Even now, he was trying to give me time and space to make my decision about us.

I brushed my fingertips over his knuckles. “Let me rephrase that. Stay for dinner,” I said more firmly, and it made him grin, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Mm, so bossy. Well, when you put it that way,” he said. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

My breath left my lungs when Kit launched himself at me, and I barely caught myself from being bowled over. I felt Ben’s hand on my back, keeping me upright. “Papa! Did you see what I made?” He held up the two pieces now attached together.

“I do see. You’ve officially made more progress than I did for the last half-hour.” I turned Kit around so he was sitting in the crook of my crossed legs. “What’s the next step?”

Ben held up the instructions for Kit. “Let’s see…” Then he turned to me. “Do you want to help?” he asked, and I shook my head sharply, pulling a face.

“Please, gods, no,” I said emphatically. “I make a better spectator, trust me.”

He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. “Phew! I was worried we would have to share the job. Putting together furniture is my most favorite thing in the world.” He had to be exaggerating.

“Are you serious?”

“Oh yeah, it’s just like Lego! This is my happy place. You’ve just given me the best gift ever. Right, Kit?”

“Yeah!” my son shouted, giving him a high-five.

For the next twenty minutes, I sat back and watched them build a bed, and it was nothing short of magic. There was zero stress, only joy. Ben did the heavy lifting, and he was there to supervise in case anything went wrong, but he really let Kit take point. I truly believed if my husband had lived, this was the kind of father he would’ve been. Patient and caring.

I smiled softly. This time, when I felt Embry’s presence, I found it didn’t hurt so much.

16

Ben

“Thiswasdelicious,”Isaid earnestly, wiping the corner of my mouth with the paper towel that served as a napkin. “I really appreciate the invite. I was just planning on having frozen pizza tonight. Your homemade pasta sauce is way better.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Zack said, smiling warmly at me. “It’s been nice having the company.”

Zack was sitting across from me, which was a good thing, because that meant he didn’t have a direct line of sight to what was going on under the table. Shane was sitting to my right, and all through dinner, I kept feeling his knee bump mine. At first, I thought it was an accident, due to the limited space around the table, but now, he’d made it more than clear that it very,veryintentional.

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