“It’s okay,” Cole said, and he meant it. While thinking about his mother did upset him, things seemed just a little better with Jill here. “Don’t worry about it.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Would you like a drink?”
He’d offered her a drink last night, too, and look what that had led to.
She blushed as if having the same thought, ducking her head.
“I meant water, or maybe there’s still some soda left in the pantry.”
A quick smile flashed across her face and she looked back up at him. “Oh no, but thank you. I should probably get back. My business partner, Liz—she was with me last night at the bar—she’s with the kids, but I’m on duty until 5:30.”
“All right. Are most daycares open on Sunday?”
“No. Ours is a little different.”
“How so?”
“Some of the parents we cater to have special needs. They work on weekends. Or need odd times off because they’re going through a difficult time.”
“What kind of difficult time?”
“Um…we cater to families who are going through an illness of some sort.”
“Like with cancer?” The words came out of his mouth before he could think. Why had he gone there?
A slight wince formed around her mouth, but she said softly, “Sometimes. Illness doesn’t maintain a nine-to-five schedule. We aren’t open seven days a week, obviously, but we try to be as flexible as we can.”
“That’s really great. I’m sure it helps,” he said, wondering what he’d said to make her uncomfortable. “Is that how you met my mom? Did she know someone who was sick and in need of childcare?”
She hesitated a moment. “She didn’t introduce me to anyone. I just needed a place to run the daycare, and it can be difficult to rent and do all that, especially in a residential area. Insurance and county restrictions, things like that. But Stella was open to helping. She was wonderful.” In mentioning his mom’s name, her expression had lightened. She hadn’t exactly answered his question, but he saw no reason to give her the third degree about it. “Well, I’m glad you had a chance to know her.”
“Me, too. It was great seeing you again, Cole.”
He stifled the urge to ask her stay or to come back later. That wouldn’t be fair to her. What he’d told her last night had been the truth. He had too much going on, too many problems to offer anything to a woman. Besides, he was a protector; it was more than his job…it was his persona. She was attracted to the guy in the bar who’d stepped up when she needed help, not a simpering wuss who missed his mother and wanted to cry every time he thought about never seeing her again.
“Anyway,” Jill said, getting up from the stool.
“Anyway.” He followed her back to the front door, then opened it for her. “Thanks for coming in.” He tensed when Jill placed her hand on his arm. He stared at her hand for a moment.
Then into her pale green eyes.
Before he knew what was happening, Jill stepped closer and threw her arms around him. Instinctively, he returned the hug, pulling her against him. In that simple embrace, his worries ebbed away, his pulse rose, and his breathing sped up to keep up the pace. He smelled the sweet shampoo in her hair and remembered being wrapped in her scent while he explored every part of her body. His body hardened, and his stomach jolted in that way only Jill seemed to provoke lately.
And then just like that, Jill pulled away.
“Your mom talked about you all the time, Cole. She couldn’t have been prouder of you.”
He nodded, the sudden arousal leaching from his body, replaced by the now familiar heavy weight of sadness. And yet, he realized, the weight wasn’t as heavy as it had felt before. “Yeah?” He was glad to hear his mom had spoken well of him. He really was. But right now, his mother wasn’t on his mind. The breeze outside shifted, and Jill’s scent once again filled his nostrils. “Do you want to come by later? Tell me all the awesome things she told you about me?” he blurted out, teasing.
What happened to not getting involved, Cole?
He knew he should’ve just let her walk away, but his body burned with desire, and his brain was completely overruled.
“I—I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Jill said, looking down at her fidgety hands then up at him again. “Last night, the woman you met? She wasn’t me. Not the true me. You and I made a pact that we’d only have one night, so we should keep it that way. You’re great, Cole. You really are, and I’m sorry for your loss, but this thing between us wasn’t supposed to be more than a blip in time. Besides, I assume you’re not moving here for good…”
“I’m only here for a few days to pack up my mom’s things. Then I’m moving to northern California.”
Relief and sadness flickered across her face. “Right. So given our…er…chemistry…it’s probably best if we stay away from each other. Don’t you think?” She gave him a hopeful smile.
He hesitated briefly before nodding. “Sure.” He forced himself to smile broadly. “It’s great chemistry, though.”
“Yes, well…take care of yourself, Cole.” She gave him one last, lingering look.
“You too, Jill,” he said softly, as she turned and walked out of his life.
* * *
Jill forced herself to stay focused.
Look forward…even after he closes the door.
She made her way across the lawn between the two houses. She looked down the quiet street and thought about how much she liked it here. This place…a comfortable neighborhood in suburbia, was the kind of place that people like Jill were made for. She couldn’t imagine Cole watering the lawn or riding his bike around the neighborhood. Yet oddly enough, once the shock of seeing him had worn off, it seemed strangely natural to watch him moving around inside Stella’s house. Natural, though by no means insignificant.
She realized she was shaking inside.
Last night, he’d warned her he had stuff going on his life, and he’d obviously told her the truth. Just like he was obviously still grieving for his mother. Now that Stella was gone, even though the rent checks were collected by a property management company, was Cole her new landlord? Would their rental agreement change? It would suck if she had to move, but she could manage if she needed to. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel any guilt about kicking her out if that’s what he’d been planning to do.
When Jill got back to the daycare, Liz and the kids were sitting on the carpet having story time. Monica was getting ready to leave, and Jill took the opportunity to remind her she needed to keep a closer eye on the kids, especially Stanley. Monica apologized and promised she would.
“Thanks again for coming in on a Sunday,” Jill said as she walked Monica to the door. “Enjoy the next week off. Are you and Trevor still taking that trip to San Diego?”
Trevor was Monica’s boyfriend, and although Monica had talked of him constantly when they’d first begun dating, she seemed more reluctant to do so now. Jill suspected it was because they were having problems. She wasn’t surprised. Monica was a dedicated student with a perpetually chipper attitude. Jill had only met Trevor once, but he’d been sullen to the point of being rude, and as far as she knew, he didn’t have a job or any plans to continue his education.
Monica smiled. “Yes, we’re headed down to San Diego tomorrow. Thanks again for the time off.”
“Of course, sweetie. See you when you get back.”
Jill closed the door behind Monica. While Liz read
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
, Jill picked up toys and wiped down tables, but her mind remained on Cole.
Stella used to talk about her “sweet, beautiful boy” all the time. She never mentioned he was over six feet tall and built like a Mack truck, or that he had eyes that could melt a woman’s panties off. Okay, so that would have been weird if she
had
said that, but still… Stella
had
talked about how much he loved oatmeal cookies, board games, and Harry Potter books. But that was when he was younger. Now that Cole looked like a hot extra from the
Sons of Anarchy
set, she couldn’t help but smile. She pictured him with his tattoo sleeves and muscular physique playing Scrabble or reading
The Prisoner of Azkaban
.
Last night, he’d been a sex god. Today, he was just a man who’d suffered a great loss. That unnerved her. It made her want to turn around, march back over there, and take Cole in her arms. With no other purpose than to comfort him.
She had to remind herself more than once she’d turned down his invitation to go back over there for a reason. For several reasons, actually. One, given the strong pull she already felt toward Cole, it stood to reason the more time she spent with him the harder it would be for her when he left. And second, even if she gave free rein to her deepest fantasies—even if Cole stuck around for a while, and they somehow ended up exploring their relationship beyond a one-night stand—what was the point? He’d already spent most of his life sacrificing his dreams for someone he loved. He didn’t need the kind of burdens that getting involved long term with Jill might entail. Honestly, no man did, but especially not a man as vibrant as Cole.
“Miss Jill!” One of the children brought her out of her reverie. Story time was over, and Liz was getting a craft project out for later.
“Yes, Anaya?”
The little brunette tugged at her hand. “Who is the man next door?”
The question surprised Jill. Anaya wasn’t one of her more curious children. Before she could say anything, Stanley said, “He’s an evil giant. He was sent here from his land to spy on us. He eats kids!”
“Stanley!” Jill said, trying not to smile. She supposed that to someone who wasn’t quite four feet tall yet, Cole might look like a giant. “First of all, it’s not nice to try and frighten your friends, and second of all, we don’t say mean things about people before we get to know them. It’s not nice.”
“He seemed grumpy to me,” Stanley pouted.
Jill saw Liz out of the corner of her eye, holding back a chuckle, but she wouldn’t look at her. If she did, she would surely laugh. Besides, she had no idea what to tell Liz about her adventures with Stanley’s giant. So far, she’d managed to dodge Liz’s questions about what had happened after she’d left the bar last night, saying only that she and Cole had talked before she’d headed home. But Liz had given her that look that only a best friend can—like she knew Jill was withholding information. Jill wasn’t ready to talk about her night with Cole—maybe she’d never be—but she couldn’t keep to herself the fact that Cole was Stella’s son and was currently visiting the house next door.
She’d have to tell Liz.
But only when they had some privacy.
She crouched in front of Stanley. “Sometimes when you’re having a bad day, you seem grumpy too, right? You wouldn’t want us to think that was how you were all the time based only on one day, would you?”
Stanley’s eyes fell to the carpet. “No, Miss Jill.”
“Good. Now I’ll tell you what we’re going to do before play time. We’re going to go around the circle and say one thing that we like about each one of our friends. Do you all know what that means?” They mumbled and nodded and a couple of the smaller kids continued to stare at her, having no clue what she was talking about. “Stanley, you go first.”
Stanley made a grumpy face, but he seldom defied Jill. He stood up and said, “I like Michael’s blond hair. I like Anaya’s purple dress. I like Adam’s brown skin, and I like Chloe’s red hair bow. And I like the giant’s motorcycle…”
Jill smiled at the little boy. “Much better.”
They all took their turns, and when the last one finished, Jill told them they could get out their toys before they started on the craft project. Controlled havoc ensued, and thoughts of Cole finally seeped from her mind. At one point, though, she thought she sensed movement outside the living room window, but when she went over, no one was outside. Could it have been Cole? She hoped so, because the thought of a stranger loitering around the daycare worried her, made her all the more determined to get an upgraded security system for the house.
As the hours passed, the children’s parents came, one at a time, to pick them up and take them home. Eventually, only Stanley was left. He lived with his dad, a single father in his late thirties whose ex-wife had died several years ago. Jill had been impressed with Jason Baker, a hard-working man who seemed to adore his son. Lately, however, he’d begun to make her uncomfortable. There was nothing specific she could put her finger on, and it actually made her feel a little guilty, especially given how wonderful Stanley was.
Stanley sat on the floor playing with some blocks when Liz slipped her arm through Jill’s and whispered, “I know we can’t talk about it in front of our little one here, but I’m going to call you later, so we can dish about the giant next door.” She winked. “Right after you come clean about how long you and that guy from last night ‘talked.’”
Jill tried to hide her smile. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Liz shot her an “Oh please” look, and Jill bit her lip. “Okay,” she said softly so Stanley couldn’t hear. “There’s nothing to talk about other than the
huge
coincidence that the giant is the same guy who helped us out at the bar last night, Stella’s son, and probably our new landlord.”
“What?” Liz squeaked. “That’s…”
“A coincidence,” Jill warned with a raised eyebrow.
“You mean
lucky
coincidence. Holy moly.” Liz fanned herself. “Well, I have a feeling if there isn’t a story to tell now, there soon will be.” She elbowed Jill.
Jill glanced toward Stella’s house, feeling rattled, as if Cole could hear them. “It’s not like that. He’s grieving for his mother.”
“Then it’s too bad he’s grieving all alone,” Liz whispered. Before Jill could answer, she added, “Do you mind if I take off a few minutes early?”
“Not at all,” Jill told her. “I’ll bake a batch of cookies with Stanley while we wait for his dad.”
Five minutes later, Jill and Stanley went into the kitchen and mixed flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oatmeal, and spices, then indulged in the heavenly scent of baking cookies until Stanley’s father finally got there close to six. After packaging up a dozen cookies for Stanley and his dad and then sending the little boy on his way home, Jill went back inside. She walked into her bedroom and caught sight of herself in the floor-length mirror.