Page 105 of Truth or Dare: A Second Chance Single-Mom Romance

She’s being nice. She’s only trying to help. But my heart feels like one of those lionfish we saw inside—full of spikes. I try to compromise with “Sorry. I’m just a little on edge—”

“Hey,” Maria says, and she puts her hand on my arm. “You don’t need to apologize to anyone. Okay? It’s okay.”

She squeezes my arm, and I feel like I can breathe again.

53

Jason

It clicks now. I see Maria and Kenzi hang out together, and I think to myself—

Holy shit, what is the one way to a single mom’s heart?

Her son. Obviously.

If there’s anything I know anything about, it’s Hannsett Island. So it’s easy to walk Otto and Diego through the aquarium. And they’re cool kids—I remember what it was like at that age, a bundle of energy and excitement.

Otto, I think, is warming up to me. When we’re outside, hanging out by the boats, I show him and Diego how to tie a cleat knot with one of the loose lines hanging on the dock. Otto is a smart kid and gets it right on the first try.

“You’re a rock star, buddy. Up top.”

I hold up my palm. He squints at me.

“Not falling for that again.”

Okay. So maybe I still have an uphill battle to climb. I sit down beside him. “What’s in the backpack? Hit me with a juice box.”

He’s got a pink-and-purple backpack, and he pulls it into his lap, unzipping it. “I don’t have a juice box.”

“What do you have?”

“Mineral water.” He pulls the bottle out, holding it out to me.

“Mineral water? What are you, ninety?” I take the bottle and chuck it toward the trash can by the aquarium. It bounces off the rim and nearly hits a woman rolling a stroller.

“Fucking asshole!” she snaps at me.

I cover Otto’s ears. “Hey! There are kids here!”

She flips me off.

Whatever. I glance down at Otto. “Hey, you want some ice cream?”

“It’s winter.”

“Yeah. Best time for ice cream.” I walk over to where Kenzi, Maria, and Donovan are standing. They look deep in conversation. “Hey, the boys and I are going to get ice cream. Is that cool?”

Maria shrugs. “That’s fine with me.”

Kenzi lifts her eyebrows. “Ice cream? It’s freezing.”

“Never too cold for ice cream.”

Inside, I’m saying, Look at how cool I am with your kid. Wouldn’t we be a good pair?

She hesitates, but then she finally says, “Yeah…okay.”

I turn back to the boys. “Onward!” I say, pumping my fist in the air, and they get hyped.

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