“As happy as I am to hear you say that, part of me thinks that this change of heart had little to do with me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” I said evasively.
“How’s Noah?”
“He fell sick a few days ago,” I said. “I had to leave work to go and pick him up.”
“Nothing serious, right?”
“Nah,” I said. “He recovered a day later.”
“Do you have a picture on you?” he asked. “I haven’t seen the little tyke in ages.”
I got out my phone and scrolled through my picture library. There were a few recent pictures that I’d taken of him only yesterday.
“Wow,” Luis said, as he scrolled through the pictures. “The kid’s gorgeous.”
“Right?” I said proudly.
“He looks just like you.”
“Well, you did say he was gorgeous,” I said jokingly.
Luis gave me a light punch on the arm. “He’s cooking?”
“He wanted to make waffles yesterday.”
“Who’s that in the background?” Luis asked.
I glanced at the picture and realized Kristen was in the background. Her back was to the camera, but part of her face could be seen. She had a slight smile on her face and her auburn hair cascaded down to her back.
“Uh, that’s Kristen.”
“The name sounds familiar,” Luis said, wrinkling his brows together.
“Um…she’s my secretary.”
“That’s right,” he nodded, and then he frowned again. “What’s she doing in your kitchen making waffles with your son?”
“Well…she babysits Noah for me when I’m stuck and have no other choice,” I admitted.
“Really?”
“They get along swimmingly,” I said. “They’re the best of friends. I think he may actually prefer Kristen to me.”
Luis raised his eyebrows. “Is there something else you’re not telling me?”I should have known better than to sneak anything past Luis. He was too damn intuitive for his own good. “Well… I’m sort of…kind of…seeing her.”
“As in, you’re dating your secretary?”
I smiled guiltily. “Yeah.”
“Fuck, dude,” Luis said immediately. “I knew it. I knew something was different about you. Your new attitude is because of her, isn’t it?”
“Uh…maybe that’s been a contributing factor.”
“Fuck off,” he said, punching me in the arm again. “This has everything to do with her. When did this start?”
“A few weeks ago,” I admitted. “She was babysitting Noah, and I was having a small meltdown. She showed up and…comforted me.”