No One Else (The Ladies Who Brunch 2)

Chapter8

Amelia

By lunchtime the next day, my body is buzzing with anticipation of Ethan showing up for our afternoon rendezvous. But sadly, my lunch hour remains silent. I momentarily debate walking over to his office to see what he’s doing, but the risk of rejection keeps me inside my own office and safely behind my door.

I know that Ethan and I enjoyed each other yesterday, there’s no doubt about that. But now I’m wondering if I said or did something to allude to the fact that I didn’t want this to take off at rocket speed. Which, honestly, is probably a good thing. If we go too fast, we could crash and burn. But after that orgasm yesterday, I’m dying to feel that kind of pleasure again.

By four o’clock, I’m craving a cup of gelato, so I decide to break free from my office before I make the trip to the other end of the complex. But when I walk outside, I see the top of a black-haired little boy down by my feet in a crouched position, right next to my door.

“Oliver? Is that you?”

His head pops up, and I’m met with green eyes that look just like Ethan’s, the color so vibrant it steals my focus. “Why do you have people in your flowers?” he asks me, curiosity etched in all of his features.

Confused, I take a few steps around him before I realize he’s talking about my garden gnomes. And for a moment, I take note that he’s here alone, so I know I need to stay with him. I’m sure Ethan or his grandma is nearby, but I’ll wait here until I’m sure. “Oh, are you talking about my gnomes?”

“What’s a gnome?” His face twists with confusion as he falls back on his butt on the sidewalk and continues to stare up at me, genuinely interested.

I close the distance between us and then crouch down to his level. “A gnome is a legendary creature, a small man or woman that is thought to live underground and guard the plants around them, so people put statues of them in their garden as a form of protection. There’s also the thought that they have treasure underground they’re protecting, so they can be very defensive if they feel threatened. Having them in your garden is a way to make sure your plants are safe. And they look cute.”

“Treasure?” His eyes and smile widen with his question.

“That’s what people say.”

He looks back at the gnomes. “These don’t look real though. They look like my Iron Man doll.” He pulls a figure from the ground behind him, the classic superhero recognizable as soon as I take in the maroon-colored suit. And I’m going to be honest here—the only reason I know who Iron Man is, is because Penelope made us watch the movies because Robert Downey Jr. is the actor who plays him. And I mean, what self-respecting woman can resist Robert Downey Jr.?

“Well, they’re just statues, but some people think they come alive at night when everyone is sleeping.”

“Oh.” His eyes light up again. “I wanna see!”

“I don’t think they do if people are watching. That’s part of the magic.” Smiling down at this inquisitive little boy, I assume he can’t be more than five or six. I didn’t ask Ethan much about him the other day because our conversation derailed to other topics, and now that we’re doing whatever it is that we’re doing, I’m not sure if asking about his kid is allowed.

Nonetheless, I decide to do a little digging of my own.

“So, how old are you, Oliver?”

“Five. I’ll be six in December. My birthday is December 24th.”

“Oh, Christmas Eve? Does that mean you get double the presents?”

His eyes light up again. “Yes!”

Before I can ask another question, I hear a manly scream behind me, panic resonating in his voice. “Oliver!” And then heavy footsteps have me twisting to locate the owner of the voice, which almost makes me fall over and faceplant onto the ground.

God, he’s so fucking handsome. And I am so screwed now that I’ve seen his dick.

“That’s my dad.” Oliver rises from the ground and rushes toward Ethan, who is speeding toward us.

“Oliver! There you are!” Ethan jerks to a stop in front of his son, sinking to his knees as he pulls him into his chest. “Why on earth did you take off? I was freaking out! You know better! Fuck, I had no idea where you were. You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I saw the pretty flowers and wanted to smell them,” he says so earnestly that it melts my heart a little. “And you just said a bad word,” he declares confidently, which has me fighting a smile. “But then I saw the gnomes, and Amelia said they come to life at night. One of them looks like you, Daddy.”

Ethan releases his son and questions him with his gaze, his face relaxing a little now. “Is that right?”

“Yeah. He has a grumpy face like you do all the time.” I catch the side of Oliver’s face in what can only be described as a grimace. I stifle my laugh. Pretty sure I’ve seen that look a time or two in the past month.

Ethan gives him the same look back. “I don’t look like that.”

“You look like that right now, Daddy.”

Ethan rolls his eyes and stands, then directs his attention to me. “Thanks for staying with him. My mother dropped him off to me earlier, and we’re getting ready to leave for his first soccer practice today, but he ran out the door without telling me, and I was panicking.”

Oh, so Oliver was here? That might explain why he didn’t come over during lunch. My chest instantly deflates as all of the anxiousness I felt begins to dissipate. “No problem. It was lucky that I saw him anyway. I was going to go get a cup of gelato, and he was right outside my door.”

“Are you gonna get the lemon kind?” Oliver asks, peering up at me with wide eyes.

“Probably. It is my favorite after all.”

“Mine too.” Then he turns to his dad. “Can we get some too, Daddy? Please?”

“Not before soccer, bud. If you eat that and then start running around, you’ll probably puke.”

“That’s okay…”