“You’re very thoughtful for a Sunday morning,” he said, sinking onto the couch next to me.
I pulled my mind out of the gutter. “Just looking forward to the day. Kayden has never been to the zoo.”
Alex frowned. “Why not?”
I shouldn’t have shared that particular piece of information but I was excited about seeing Kayden’s reactions when he saw the animals. It wasn’t just the zoo either that he hadn’t been to. It was also swimming and other activities that required my vision to be a hundred percent.
Going to the grocery with him was the best I did and I was comfortable with that because I knew the route like the back of my hand. Plus it was within walking distance from home.
“Chaz?” Alex prompted.
I had no choice but to tell him the truth. “I’m frightened I might drop him or lose him. My vision is worse than I told you.” The admission left me feeling as if I had stripped off all my clothes in a busy supermarket and everyone was staring at me.
“And yet you won’t get glasses?” he asked.
I had no response for that. I’d rather he thought I was vain than that I was close to blind. I’d hate to hear the sympathy in his voice.
“What time do you think we should go?” I hoped that he would go along and not pursue the issue of glasses. If he pressed, I would bow under pressure and tell him everything. I wasn’t ready yet.
“I think its better we go in the morning before it gets too hot and crowded. I’ll go to the B&B for a shower and change of clothes after this coffee.” He yawned and stretched his long legs.
I shifted my gaze to his very muscular thighs. While he had been pretty fit when we were together, now he had become buff. He obviously spent a lot of time in the gym back in New York.
A pang of exclusion came over me when I remembered that Alex had a whole new life back home. Maybe even a lover. I’d seen him huddled over his phone several times and I must admit the thought that he had someone in his life, left me with burning jealousy.
A feeling I had no right to. I had given up any rights to Alex when I signed the divorce papers. I wondered how long it had taken for him to sign them.
He drained the last of his coffee and stood up.
An idea popped into my mind. “Hey, do you want to move into the spare room? It seems silly for you to stay at the B&B when I have a spare room.” I held my breath and fisted a hand.
I wanted him to say yes so badly.
He grinned and my heart melted. “I feel as if I passed a test.”
I let my gaze move over his body to settle on the bulge in front of his shorts. I liked that I affected him the same way that he affected me. “You did.”
“God Chaz,” he said, sounding tortured. The swell in his pants increased in size. My thighs trembled and heat whipped across my body.
“Why do you do this to me?” he asked.
I giggled. “It’s mutual. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Yes, and thank you. It’ll be easier for all of us,” he said and blew a kiss at me and kissed Kayden.
That was it. I had offered him the spare room because it would save Alex time, plus I owed it to him after how much he was helping me. Who was I kidding? I liked having Alex in the same house even if it was going to only be for a short time.
I could even pretend that we were a real family.
Alex
“What’s all that?” I said to Charlotte as she carried the bags from the house to the car trunk.
“Going anywhere with a baby is like moving houses. Trust me, everything I’ve brought will come in handy. Where’s Kayden?”
I held the back door open. “Come and see.”
Kayden was secured in a brand-new car seat I’d picked up the previous week. He was happily kicking the air.
“Hey baby,” Chaz said and then faced me. “You shouldn’t have. You can’t spend that kind of money on us. Besides, we won’t use it again after you leave. We don’t have a car, remember?”
“I can leave you mine,” I said.
Chaz stared at me. “You’re too generous but no thank you. I won’t take advantage of your generosity.”
“I would give you and Kayden everything I had to make your lives comfortable.”
Her eyes filled up. “Thanks.”
“Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” I said and opened the front passenger door for Chaz.
“I’m so excited,” Chaz said as we drove onto the highway. “Did your parents do such things with you?”
“Not all families spend a lot of time together,” I said. “My dad was always at the office and Mom; well you know how she is.” My mom’s interest has always been charity work and when Mary and I were younger, we were left under the care of nannies.