Natalie turned as we reached her SUV. “It’s just, she’s been disappointed enough the last year with her father leaving and never showing up for his visitation.”
“Where did her father go? I thought you lived in South Carolina?” I frowned; she made it sound like he was gone.
Something passed over her face. “He moved in with his girlfriend in Texas.”
“Are you serious?” Every thought of her in this outfit and what it would be like to peel her out of it vanished.
Natalie looked away from me. “He said he’s in love. I guess he can’t be bothered to worry about the daughter he left behind.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry.” I reached out to tuck a strand of silky hair behind her ear, and her breath hitched.
Her gaze met mine. “We don’t need him. We’re fine.”
“I’m glad you have your friends and now my family.”
Natalie shook her head. “Your mom’s just helping out.”
“I’m pretty sure she just adopted you, so there’s that.”
An adorable crease appeared between her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“Before you know it, you’ll be invited to family dinners.”
Natalie looked away. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be.” She’d fit easily into my family. She was strong enough to take my brothers’ antics and sweet enough to bond with my mother and Alice. She was the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. She was exactly my type. “I’m sorry about your ex. He sounds like an asshole.”
She chuckled, and her whole body relaxed. “He is.”
“I wouldn’t waste any time worrying about him. We’ve got you.” I opened the driver’s-side door for her.
“Thanks,” Natalie said. “Don’t feel like you have to stick around long. I know you have work to do.”
“I have a game to play.” There was zero chance I was letting that little girl down. If I made a promise, I was sticking with it.
Natalie settled into the seat, and before I could ask if she planned on drinking or taking a car service home, she’d said, “Thanks,” and closed the door. As the engine rumbled to life, I stepped back, watching as she backed up and drove off.
I pulled out my phone and texted Alice.
Mac: Take care of Natalie.
Alice: Don’t worry. I’ll watch out for her.
Mac: Call me if any of you need a ride home.
Alice: Will do.
Alice had Sam looking out for her, but who was looking out for Natalie? It didn’t sit right with me that she drove herself.
I went back inside, where Delaney already had several boxes of games on the table. “Which one do you want to play?”
Delaney’s eyes lit up as she described what she liked about each one.
When she looked at me expectantly, I said, “Pick your favorite.”
I didn’t care what we played as long as she was happy. Now I knew why I’d steered clear of Natalie’s daughter. She was sweet, and I could easily get attached to her.
She explained the complicated rules of some exploding card game, and we played, stopping occasionally to check the rules, while Mom baked cookies. When the dough was ready, Delaney put down her cards and helped Mom scoop the dough into balls on the parchment paper.
I stood at the counter, wondering if it was time for me to leave. “I should probably clean up the bathroom.”
“You aren’t doing any more work tonight?”
Between Natalie’s outfit and playing with Delaney, my motivation was gone. “I don’t think so.”
“Wait for the cookies to be done. You know you want one,” Delaney said as Mom put the tray into the oven.
“I guess I could stick around.”
Delaney smiled at me. “Besides, we haven’t finished our game.”
We played several rounds with me pulling an exploding card and then Delaney picking one. It was nothing like how my brothers and I played. We cheated, hid cards, and made up rules, and it inevitably ended up with us wrestling around on the ground and fighting. It got so bad when we were little that Mom hid the cards and games and told us to play outside.
That was worse because we would have sword fights with wooden sticks and made whips with string we found in the garage. We climbed trees way too high for our parents’ comfort, and, despite their warnings, no one ever fell and broke a limb. We were resourceful and not afraid of getting hurt. We probably aged our parents by ten years.
The suite smelled like fresh-baked cookies, reminding me of my parents’ house. My mom was always baking for us. It was like her way of saying she loved us, and it wasn’t different here with Delaney.
When the cookies were cooling, I grabbed one, burning my hand, and threw it into my mouth. “Whew, that was hot.”
“You could never wait for them to cool,” Mom said with a smile as she poured two glasses of milk and slid them across the counter toward us.
“Cookies and milk. The best combination.”
Delaney nodded as she chewed her first cookie. “You always bake when you babysit?”
“I only babysit for Maggie, but now I have you.”
“Oh?” Delaney asked, and I was sure she was wondering what made her special.
Mom smiled. “You’re a joy. I’m happy to watch you anytime.”
“Really?” Delaney asked, her gaze flitting from me to Mom. Was she insecure because her father left her? Did she think it was her fault or that she wasn’t worthy of his attention? I hated that for her.
Maggie’s mom had done something similar. She’d moved to Maryland for a job and never returned. She rarely visited. I was sure there would be some residual abandonment issues, but we worked hard to make Maggie feel wanted and loved. She had Sam and now Alice, my family, and Alice’s family.
“You’re fun,” I said to her. “My brothers wouldn’t have handled losing as well as you did.”
“It’s a little crazy when the boys get together. You’ll see,” Mom said as she wiped the flour from the counter.
It warmed me that Mom had already included Delaney in future family gatherings and that she still called us “boys.” “You know we’re grown men now, right?”
Mom finished spooning out another tray of cookies and put them into the oven. When the oven door was shut, she set the timer and waved a hand at me. “You’ll always be my boys.”
“I’d love a little brother or sister,” Delaney said, popping another cookie into her mouth.
“Be careful what you ask for. My brothers are—”
Mom shook the wooden spoon at me. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”
“Mean. That’s all I was going to say.” If she were older, I might have said the devil or evil. “I know how to talk around kids.”
Mom gave me a look that said she didn’t believe me.
“I control my language around Maggie,” I insisted, although I wasn’t so sure about that.
Mom shook the wooden spoon at me. “That’s not what I hear.”
“Is Sam telling on me again?” I whined.
Delaney giggled. “You sound like a kid.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling them since they supposedly became adults and moved out. They’re overgrown children.”