He stands up and brushes himself off. “What’s so complicated about it?”

“I…” I can’t think of anything to say.

“Is this because of Riley?” he asks. “Is he the reason you won’t say yes?”

I can’t look him in the eyes. “Jackson, you’re such a good man. But I’m just not ready.”

He tilts my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “I notice you’re not denying it. What’s going on, Devyn? Do you still have feelings for him?”

“I…I don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe.”

Jackson tucks the ring back in his pocket. “I see. Well, that certainly does complicate things.”

“Do you hate me?”

He shakes his head and kisses my forehead. “No. Of course not. You need time to digest everything; that’s all. I know we’re right for each other, Devyn. And I’m confident you’ll see that too. Maybe I just need to do a better job convincing you.”

I sniff. “Jackson, you’re too good to me.”

“Nonsense,” he says. “I love you. And you love me. Let’s just focus on that.” He leans over the table to sign the credit card receipt then grabs my purse, handing it to me. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to drop you off at home. I just remembered that I need to get up early to meet my mother for breakfast tomorrow.”

“You didn’t mention anything about breakfast with your mom.”

He shrugs. “It slipped my mind.” He offers his arm. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Okay,” I say.

DEVYN

“HI, DEAR. I’M AFRAID I have some bad news,” Rose, Nathan’s sitter, says in a hoarse voice.

“What’s wrong?” I hold the phone up with my shoulder as I’m pulling Nate’s shirt over his head.

“I won’t be able to sit with your boy today. I’m afraid I’ve come down with food poisoning.”

“Really?” Ugh! My big pitch is today. This couldn’t happen on a worse day. I clear my throat. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Rose. Thanks for letting me know.”

She coughs. “I’m sorry, dear.”

“Feel better,” I say. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Devyn. You’re a sweet girl.”

I end the call and glance at the time. I only have an hour before I have to leave and no clue what to do. Nate’s preschool isn’t in session on Tuesdays, Drew can’t just walk away from his shift, and Rainey is in some training thing for work. I suppose I could call Jackson.

“Crap!” I say.

“What’s wrong, Momma?”

I brush Nathan’s hair down. “Rose is sick, honey. She’s not going to be able to watch you today.”

Nathan pumps his little fist in the air. “Yes! That means you get to stay home and play with me today!”

A knot of guilt settles in my stomach from his excitement. “No, baby, I can’t. I have a really important meeting at work today. I’m going to call Jackson and see if he can come over.”

“Moooooommm,” Nathan whines. “I don’t wanna play with Jackson all day. He doesn’t like my Legos or my dinosaurs! He’s boooor-ing!”

Jackson is really kind to Nathan but he’s definitely not into playtime. “I’m sorry, buddy, but I don’t really have a choice.”

“What about Riley?” he asks.

“What about him?”

“He can come over and play with me!” Nathan says excitedly.

I bite my lip. “Oh, I don’t know. Riley’s probably really busy with work.”

He tugs on my suit jacket. “Pweaaase, Momma! Just call him!”

I think about it for a moment. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I kiss Nathan on the forehead. “Go brush your teeth and I’ll give him a call.”

“Sweet!” he says.

I laugh as I walk down the hall. I scroll through my contacts until I reach Riley’s number, hit the call button, and take a deep breath.

He answers after two rings. “Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until tonight.”

“Hi,” I say. “I have a huge favor to ask.”

I hear him moving around. “Anything. What’s up?”

“Rose, Nate’s sitter, has food poisoning so she can’t watch him. He only has preschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Drew is on shift at the firehouse until Thursday and Rainey has an annual training thing at work. I’d hate to ask so last minute, but would you by chance be able to take the day off? As you know, my pitch is today. I can’t miss it. If it’s too much for you, I can call—”

“I’ll do it,” he interrupts.

“Really? You don’t mind babysitting a crazy four-year-old all day?”

“Devyn, he’s my son. It’s not called babysitting when it’s your own kid. I’d be happy to stay with him. It will be nice to finally have one on one time with him.”

I smile. “Are you sure it’s not too much?”

“I’m positive. I’m looking forward to it. When do you need me?”

I look at the clock. “I need to leave by eight at the latest. Do you think you can make it in time?”

“I can be there by quarter till.”

“That’s perfect, Rye. Thank you so much. You’re really saving my butt here.”

“Devyn, I mean it. It’s my pleasure. I just got out of the shower so I can leave as soon as I throw some clothes on.”

“You’re naked right now?” I squeak.

I swear I can see his smile through the phone. “Well, technically I’m wearing a towel but I can lose it if you need me to improve the visual.”

I gulp. “Nope. The towel’s good.”

He laughs. “I’ll see you soon, Dev.”

“See you soon,” I echo.

RILEY

“OKAY, ALL THE IMPORTANT phone numbers are on the fridge. Pediatrician, Poison Control, my office, etcetera.” Devyn’s been rattling off instructions for the past ten minutes. “Plus you can always call my cell if there’s an emergency.”

I smirk. “We’ll be fine, Dev.”

She offers me a small smile. “Thank you again, Riley.”

“Again, it’s my pleasure. Now go kick ass with your presentation.” I give her a little scoot towards the door.

She looks over her shoulder. “Okay, his booster seat is in the office if you need it, and—”

“I got it the first two times,” I say. “Now go. Don’t worry about us.”

She pauses at the threshold. “I’ll try to be home by five. I’ll text you if I’m running late.”

I can’t help myself. I pull her into me and kiss the little crinkle between her brows. “Go. To. Work. And good luck.”

She pulls back and blinks a few times. “Uh…okay. Thanks.”

I shake my head and close the door behind her. I turn around to find Nathan bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Hey, buddy,” I say. “Are you ready to have a fun day?”

He gestures to the toys in his hands. “You wanna play Transformers?”

I nod. “Sure. But only if I get to be Optimus Prime.”

He frowns. “SUCK MY BALLS! I get to be Optimus Pwime!”

I hold my hands up and laugh. “Okay, okay. No need to get so testy.” Yep, I went there. “I’ll be Bumble Bee.”

After Transformers, we moved on to G.I. Joe and now we’re building with Legos. I almost forgot how fun playing with the stuff is.

“Hey, Riley?”

“Yeah, dude?”

“Are you my daddy?”

I raise my eyebrows, impressed by his intuitiveness. “Why would you think that?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Aunt Wainey was telling Momma that I look just like you.”

Shit, how am I supposed to answer this? I don’t want to lie to the kid but I don’t think Devyn would be happy with me if I told him without her. “How would you feel if I was your daddy?”

He scrunches his nose in concentration. “I think you’d be a good daddy.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask. “Why’s that?”

He shrugs. “You’re funner than Jackson. I think he has a stick up his ath-hole.”

I bark in laughter before composing myself. “That’s not nice, buddy. And don’t say asshole.”

“Put a dollar in the jar!”

“What?” I ask. “I was just repeating what you said!”

“Doesn’t matter. Momma says you have to put a dollar in the jar when you say a bad word.”

I stand up and offer my hand. “Come on, bud. Why don’t you show me where the jar is and then I’ll make you some lunch.”