Saturday
Sophie went home last night.
I’d be a liar if I said a part of me hadn’t wanted her to stay, but she’d mumbled something about Jamey getting confused as she cleaned herself up and that was the reality check. I’d gathered her clothes for her, waited as she got dressed, then walked her to her front door.
I didn’t know where to go from there. It felt as though a massive, boulder-sized rock had been lifted from my shoulders. The pent-up attraction had found an outlet, and I could breathe again. I’d crossed boundaries, yes, but so had she. We could easily sneak around behind Jamey’s back if we decided to do it again. We could use condoms when she started the drugs.
I tried not to think about how bad of an idea that could be in the long run.
Jamey sat in front of the television with his bowl of cereal, some rerun of a show he didn’t watch often playing. Something about a pig and her little brother. I didn’t like it as much as PAW Patrol.
“Daddy?”
I looked up from my phone, meeting big eyes on a small body. “Yeah, bud?”
“Can Sophie come with us to the fair?”
My brows knit together as I stared down at him. He blinked at me, that little, puffy lower lip sticking out. As much as I wanted her to go with us, and as much as I wished I didn’t, I really didn’t want to bother her. “Oh, bud, she probably has plans today.”
“Why?”
I chuckled as I placed his empty cereal bowl on the coffee table. Gently, I pulled him into my lap, tucking him in against my chest. “Because today is Saturday. Adults like to make plans on Saturdays.”
“Why?”
Oh, god, not this game again. “Because many of them don’t have work. You know how sometimes you go to birthday parties on Saturdays? It’s because your friends don’t have to go to school on those days. Same thing.”
“Why?”
Don’t. Don’t get annoyed. “How about this,” I offered, placing a little kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll call her and ask if she wants to come with us.”
His face lit up as he looked up at me.
“That doesn’t mean she’ll say yes.” I didn’t want to get his hopes up, but good god that kid knew how to sway me. It didn’t help that I wanted to call her, too.
————
With thirty minutes until the fair actually began, Jamey managed to blow off some energy by running circles around a family of ducks in the Boston Public Garden, far too close to the water’s edge for my comfort.
“Jamey! Can you play a little further away from the water?”
I turned toward Sophie, surprised that she was thinking the same thing as me. I hadn’t expected her to be on Jamey-watch when she’d agreed to come with us, but there she was, worrying about him the same way I was. We sat beneath the shade of the George Washington statue that sat in the middle of the park, likely appearing in tourist’s photos as they snapped away at the image behind us.
From the moment she’d walked across our adjoining lawns to hop into my Range Rover, she’d stolen my breath. The weather was warm, and she’d chosen her outfit perfectly—high-waisted denim shorts that hugged every curve of her lower half, paired with a white, tight-fitting crop top. It made her freckles stand out more than normal, and with her deep brown hair tied up in a ponytail and a pair of sunglasses resting on her nose, I found myself wanting to see everything I knew lay beneath her clothes.
She’d made a passing comment on the way to the park about my car, asking me if I’d had custom work done on it. I assumed by that point she realized I had money, more than the average doctor, so I’d told her outright that I’d ordered it fully customized from the manufacturer, with all the bells and whistles. She’d seemed afraid that she might spill the iced coffee clutched in her hand by that point.
She was doing a really good job acting as if last night hadn’t happened.
Jamey clung to her side instead of mine as we maneuvered our way around the fair. He was too small for every ride apart from the merry-go-round, and Sophie offered to ride it with him since he was nervous about going alone. I didn’t get the chance to offer before she did, and Jamey practically screamed with excitement that Sophie was joining him.
In one hand, I held the massive bear Sophie had insisted upon winning for Jamey. She’d gotten so competitive. I was worried she’d end up cursing out the poor kid running the booth if she didn’t get her fifth basketball in the hoop, but she’d looked so adorable frustrated that I probably would have just laughed.
Jamey waved at me with every pass he made on the merry-go-round. Sophie, bless her, was mounted on a metal horse next to him, one of his hands in hers. I hated how much it made my heart swell to see how well they got along, how much Jamey liked her and vice versa, but deep down I knew it was a good thing. Jamey hadn’t liked any of his previous nannies as much as he liked Sophie, and I wanted so desperately for him to have fun, to be looked after by someone that cared about him while I was at work. If only his new nanny wasn’t pure sin wrapped up with a bow.
When the ride was done, Jamey ran from the exit, his arms outstretched toward me as he cut through the sea of people. I picked him up as he got to me, settling him on my hip, and his smile was enough to break my heart in two. “Daddy, that was so fun.”
“Merry-go-rounds are definitely top-tier rides,” Sophie grinned as she saddled up to us.
“Well, I’m glad you two had fun.” I lifted Jamey higher, placing his legs on either side of my neck, his hips pressed to the back of my head. He loved being up on my shoulders. “I think some cotton candy is in order.”
“Cotton Candy!”
Sophie’s expression dropped as she looked at me. “You better pray they have cotton candy. This is the p-word all over again.”
————
Jamey had eaten the entirety of his cotton candy before begging us for ice cream. We’d got him a single scoop and taken him back to the park, away from the crowd of people and to the open field where he could run off every ounce of sugar he’d consumed so I wouldn’t be up all night with a sugared-up toddler.
He’d finished his scoop and gone back to herding the ducks, leaving me and Sophie alone as we sat under one of the biggest trees in the park, the view overlooking the entirety of the small green space in the heart of the city.
“I’ve been thinking about the fake engagement thing,” Sophie said quietly, almost as if she didn’t want Jamey to hear, but there was no way he could hear anything over the sound of his own excited shrieking.
“Yeah?”
“I’m thinking it might be worth it.” She looked up at me, her blue eyes latching onto mine like they had last night. For fucks sake, don’t think about that now.
“So does that mean you want to do it?”
Blush spread beneath her freckles as she playfully hit me in the chest. “Yes. But don’t say it like that.”
I laughed as I leaned back against the tree. Would this mean I needed to get her an engagement ring? I wondered to myself. Considering my background, I’d have to splurge and make it look convincing if her family decided to look me up. I couldn’t have them thinking I’d gone out and bought a ring from Walmart.
“I guess that means you’re my fiancée now.” I joked, bouncing my shoulder against hers. “We should probably start planning the wedding.”
“Oh shut up.” She giggled as she stood up, brushing the dirt and grass from her shorts. “What we should do is rescue those poor ducks from Jamey’s torment.”
