“Oh, my hell,” Palmer whispered, and I turned down the speaker low. “That has got to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, Em. Not to mention my ovaries are pulsating from the sight. My lord, woman, he is a hunk.”

  I lowered the phone and turned off the camera, changing it back to a normal phone call. “What are the chances that I end up here at the same time as him? And that Ethan wandered right up to him, of all people?”

  “Fate.”

  “Knock it off with the fate shit.” It was my turn to bark at her. “I’m being serious, Palmer, this is bad.”

  “Why is it so bad? He likes kids, your kid to be exact, and he likes you.”

  “You are not helping,” I said, almost in a plea.

  “You want my help, fine,” she said, and suddenly I felt confident until she spoke again. “Stop being a wuss, stop hiding behind the damn washers, and go join them. For once, stop analyzing every damn second and instead enjoy the moment.”

  I heard a click and pulled the phone from my ear, only to find she’d ended the call.

  “What the hell?” I mumbled to myself.

  I took in a deep breath and looked back toward Clayton and Ethan, unable to hold back my smile. Ethan had his head tilted back, looking up at Clayton. Clayton’s mouth was moving, his head shifting around, I imagined to the beat of the music, and I swear my knees almost buckled beneath me. Was he actually singing to my son?

  Tears sprung to my eyes and for a moment, I couldn’t register how to take my next breath. Before the moment passed, I lifted my phone once more and hit the camera, snapping a couple of pictures. I felt like some type of creeper but I didn’t care.

  I tucked my phone back in my pocket, and picked up my bag that contained all Ethan’s and my things. I hurried to gather my dry clothes into the large, rolling basket and moved in the direction of my son. As I got closer, I could hear Clayton’s soothing voice and I swear, in that second, my heart melted. I paused in the center of the aisle, my hands resting on the basket, I think more to hold myself upright than anything else.

  Just then, Clayton looked up and saw me standing there. I’m sure I had a lost expression on my face. I saw his lips move, saying the word “mommy” just before Ethan looked toward me too. Both of them smiled back at me, and I found that my chest heaved as I did my very best to hold myself together.

  With one foot in front of the other, I began to walk in their direction, forcing a smile. “You boys look like you’re grooving along nicely.”

  “Just introducing little man to my favorite tunes.” I arched my brow and Clayton chuckled. “Hey bud, let Momma hear.” He pulled the earbud from his ear and passed it to me. I took it, kneeling and lifting it to my ear. I attempted to swallow past the lump that formed in my throat.

  The tone was mellow, not the kind that made your ears hurt, it was soothing. It wasn’t what I had pictured when I thought of Clayton, not even close. When Ethan started to move his head from side to side, much like I’d seen the two of them do a few minutes ago, I joined him without a second thought. He giggled loudly and reached out to touch my cheek, and I leaned in closer to his touch. Of course, this only brought me even closer to Clayton and closer to his piercing eyes.

  “What do you think, am I a bad influence?” The question was a loaded one and I wasn’t sure if he meant was he bad for me or my son.

  “I’m still trying to decide,” I told him, trying to keep a straight face, only the moment he flashed that boyish grin of his I couldn’t fight it. “I imagine that grin gets you a lot of attention.”

  “Are you trying to say, Emelie, that you like my grin?”

  “I’m not answering that.” I stood once more and moved toward the table at his side, folding laundry and ignoring the way he watched me from the side. I was careful to keep my undergarments hidden as I didn’t need comments about my less than sexy panties and mismatching bras. Those weren’t a necessity; diapers were.

  “Mommy can’t admit that I’m not such a bad guy, Ethan.” I heard him talking to my son, though he was talking much louder than he needed to. “She thought I was such a self-centered frat boy, but I think she’s starting to realize I’m not. Maybe you can help a fellow guy out here and later when you two are alone, put in a good word for me. What do ya think, bud, can you do that?”

  I looked over just as Clayton leaned in closer to Ethan with his fist out and grabbed his little fist, bumping them together. “Thanks, little dude.” Ethan looked up at Clayton, completely oblivious to what he was saying to him or even what it meant.

  Then Ethan did something that almost broke me. He reached up and touched Clayton’s cheek much like he did mine and Palmer’s, then he giggled. My chest heaved, my heart raced, and I felt like I would literally burst from the emotions. My hands shook as I continued to fold one item after the next.

  When folding was done and I had nothing left to do with my hands, I dug through my bag to find the snacks I’d brought to keep Ethan happy. Teddy Grahams, fruit gummies, and a juice.

  I took in a deep breath, bit the bullet, and sat down at Clayton’s side. Trying to ignore the way his arm pressed against mine was hard considering he only managed to lean in closer when he noticed me next to him. And when I say he leaned in closer, I don’t mean just his shoulder. He turned toward me, letting his head tilt my way. I swear each breath he took echoed in my mind.

  “Ethan,” I said, holding a tiny bear between my fingers. “Buddy, are you hungry?” I was practically begging my son to pay attention to me and stop idolizing the man who held him.

  I held the bear closer and kind of shook it in between him and Clayton where he was still staring. Please just eat the thing and give us all something new to focus on.

  “Ethan,” I said his name once more, and before I could register what was happening, Clayton wrapped his lips around the tips of my fingers and consumed the teddy graham. “Num num,” he said to Ethan, yet he was looking at me. “That’s yummy.”

  Again I felt my body grow weak, only this time for an entirely different reason.

  Chapter Six

  Clayton

  It was Friday night which meant one thing—party at the house. Xavier was assigned as sober brother and I wasn’t really in the mood to drink. I was still recovering from the shock that Emelie was a mom.

  Did I ever see myself in a relationship with a girl who had a kid? No, but the fact that she had one didn’t make me want to run in the opposite direction. She still refused to accept that I might possibly be into her though, and that damned wall she had built around her seemed unbreakable.

  “Why do you look so perplexed?” Morgan sat down at my side, holding a bottle of water in her hand. She never drank; all the parties she’d come to along with X and I’d only ever seen her drink water. “You over here, out of the chaos, is so unlike you. So, what gives?”

  “Just thinking.”

  “Oh no,” she slid away just a small fraction, “are you going to detonate? Like explode from the pressure it’s causing?”

  “You and Blake, with all your smartass comments.” I nudged her knee and she laughed, repositioning herself.

  “Really though, what’s going on in that head of yours?”

  Just then Xavier joined us as he picked Morgan up and planted her in his lap, taking the seat she was in. “What are we talking about over here, girls?”

  “Hair appointments and massages,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe a pedicure or facial.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me, Clay, you are a bit on the girl side of shit.”

  I ignored the way Morgan pushed against his chest as it led to him pulling her closer. The sounds of kissing and laughter explained all I needed to know. It all only made me think of Emelie and that I might never get the chance to prove I’m not the guy she thinks I am.

  “We were having a conversation.” Morgan pulled away from him, sounding breathless. “Now leave us to it.”

  “I’m not leaving you anywhere.” Xavier had been glued to her side from the moment they got together. Well, I take that back; he almost lost her once. Since then, he’d been lost in the world of Morgan, and I swear in his thoughts, nothing else mattered to him but her. It was hard to imagine being in that frame of mind, wanting and needing someone so desperately that the idea of being without them was crippling.

  “Okay, Clayton, just ignore him and tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “Really, Morgan, I am fine.” All I needed was to give any of these guys around here ammo to use against me later.

  “Xavier,” Morgan stood from his lap, “you need to go find something to do.”

  “Excuse me?” I almost laughed when I looked at him and found he looked like a scorned toddler.

  “Go play with the boys.” She grabbed his arm and attempted to heave him from the chair. He didn’t even budge. “I need to talk to Clayton and you need to go chaperone.”

  “I can chaperone from here,” he insisted, glaring at me like I’d actually done something wrong. I could have ignored him, but that just wasn’t me.

  “You need to go, dude, your girl likes me better.”

  “Do you enjoy your head where it’s placed?” I arched a brow in question. “Because I’m about ready to rip the fucker off your shoulders.”

  “Feisty.” I snickered as I lifted my beer to my lips and took a sip.

  I could hear Morgan talking to him as she leaned in closer to his ear, and when his grin grew wide and satisfied, I could only imagine what she was offering. The guy was a lucky guy.

  A few minutes later he was standing, looking down at me with a serious expression. “You watch her close.” I wagged my brows and he practically growled. “I mean it, asshole, if any one of these drunk dicks—”

  “I got it,” I said, waving him off.

  After he was a few feet away, I looked at Morgan and we both started to laugh. “He’s a caveman.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she agreed, but the smile on her face was the sure sign she loved it. “So now that he’s gone, don’t lie to me. What’s going on?”

  “Why do you think something’s going on?”

  “Because the rest of the guys are running around this place like they’ve lost their minds and usually you’re right in the middle of the mess. I’ve never known you to miss out on a good party where you have the option to drink. So again, I ask, what’s up?”

  “There’s this girl—”

  “Uh oh,” she slid closer, “do I know her?”

  Girls and their need for gossip. I was just about to continue when Blake rushed over and sat on the floor in front of us, looking up at me anxiously. “Is it story time?”

  “Yeah, the big bad wolf is about to huff, puff, and blow.” She wrinkled her forehead in confusion and I pointed over her shoulder toward Eli. He stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips, staring at the three of us.

  “Oh, he’s fine, he’s just pouting.” She offered him a little wave and he appeared less than amused before she turned back to face me. “So, what are we talking about?”

  “Clayton has a girl,” Morgan says, and Blake’s eyes grew wide.

  “Since when?”

  “I don’t have a girl,” I corrected.

  “But you said—”

  “I said there’s this girl,” I looked at Morgan pointedly, “but I never got to finish because squealer here interrupted.”

  “Hey.” Blake punched my knee and I laughed. “I’ve gotten much quieter.”

  “No, you haven’t,” Morgan and I said in unison, and it was Blake’s turn to pout.

  “Okay, so you don’t have the girl, but you want the girl.” Morgan redirected the conversation. “So, what’s the hold up?”

  “It’s complicated.” I wasn’t even sure how to explain it to them. I like a girl and she doesn’t trust me, oh, and by the way, she has a kid but I don’t know where the father is.

  “Nothing worth your time is ever simple,” Blake added as she smiled up at me. Her own story wasn’t an easy one. “Does she know you like her?” I nod. “Okay then, that’s a start. You just have to woo her.”

  What the fuck?

  Blake knew me more than I thought and picked up immediately on my confusion. “Woo her as in do the little things. Leave a chocolate on her desk, a flower under her wiper, or leave a cute note taped to her dorm room door.”

  “Yeah, and walk her to class, maybe open the door for her, and tell her she looks pretty.” Morgan was getting into it now.

  “Wait,” Blake tilted her head to the side, “is this the mocha girl from the other day?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, wooing her has already begun,” she grinned almost proudly.

  “I don’t think she’s the kind of girl that’s gonna fall for wooing.” Yeah, I said wooing. I needed to go crush some beers cans on my forehead or something. I felt my manhood slipping away already.

  “Every girl loves to be wooed.”

  “Can we stop saying woo, wooed, or even wooing?” I shook my head to clear the fog that had started to make me feel cross-eyed. These girls were something else. They both just laughed at me and continued. “Okay, damn, you two are exhausting. She has a kid.”

  Both Blake and Morgan froze, staring back at me, mirroring the same things I think I felt when I first found out. “Wow,” Morgan spoke, and Blake only nodded. “How old?”

  “About two.” I leaned back in the chair and ran my hand over my face. “And before you ask, I’m not sure about the dad, but from her reactions toward me, I’d say it can’t be good.”

  “What do you mean?” Blake looked completely invested now, and so did Morgan. There was no more crazy talk about grabbing her and kissing her like I meant it or buying her chocolates. This shit was real life grown up stuff.

  “She’s in one of my classes, and all year she’s treated me like I’m some frat boy asshole who thinks with his dick all the time.” Blake tilted her head knowingly and I found Morgan with her eyebrow arched in question. “Not you two, also? Geesh!”

  “Maybe not all the time.” Blake shrugged.

  “Anyway,” I shook my head at the two of them, “she won’t even give me a chance to show her otherwise. Then last week when I brought her that coffee, I thought for sure I was making some progress, but she shot me down when I asked her to lunch. The next day was when I saw her and her little boy, Ethan, at the laundromat. He climbed right up in my lap and we sat there, sharing my earbuds for the next couple of hours.”

  “Awww, that sounds so cute,” Blake said.

  “And promising.” Morgan shrugged as the girls shared a nod and some secret girly look.

  “I thought that too, but every day this week when I’ve attempted to talk to her, she hurries off with an excuse of needing to be somewhere else. Then yesterday and today she wasn’t in class.” Again, the girls shared some type of look that I didn’t understand because I didn’t fucking speak girl. “So?” I pushed for one of them to speak and ease this knot in my chest that had been there for days.

  “Okay.” Morgan leaned forward and looked me in the eyes, a serious expression on her face. “I’m just gonna say it.” I waved my hand, motioning for her to continue. “Are you sure you want to get involved with a girl that has a child? Before you answer, I want you to think really hard about that. Because, though I may not have a child of my own, I have Toby. You know how hard it was for me to share him with anyone, Xavier and you guys.” She was so protective of him that one slip up from Xavier and it almost ended them. “Being with her means being with him. Little hearts get attached easily and I can see her side of this too. Plus, we don’t know her past with the father. It could be so messy that it’s left her with her guard up.”

  “Her having a son doesn’t make me want to give up.” Not even a little. “At first it was a shock, but even then, I didn’t find myself backpedaling. I’m just as interested in her now as I was before I met Ethan.” I didn’t have even the smallest of doubts in my mind.

  “Okay then, now we need to figure out how to get you the girl,” Morgan said with a smile.

  “And the boy,” Blake tossed in with excitement. “I love little people, they’re so fun.”

  I had somehow recruited these two without even meaning to. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “Okay, I’ve had enough of the serious for one night.” I stood up and downed the rest of my beer. “What do you girls say we go find Jay, get him loaded, and Saran wrap him to the couch when he passes out?”

  “Okay. Can we stream it when we do?” Blake asked. “Live stream, from the point we’re done until he wakes up squealing like a pig when he realizes he can’t move or get loose. Oh my god, yes, then we can—” She paused when she found both Morgan and I just staring at her with our mouths hanging open slightly.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my quiet coworker and roommate?” Morgan asked. “You used to be so timid and kind, now you are insane and—”

  “Scary,” I finished for her, and she nodded in agreement, pointing toward me.

  “He happened,” Blake said, “and the rest of the idiots in this house. I found my calling,” she widened her eyes in excitement, “torturing the not so innocent. Now let’s go before someone else does it first.” Then she was off.

  “Remind me to get a deadbolt for my bedroom door at home,” Morgan whispered near my side.

  “I’m surprised you’ve waited this long.”

  Chapter Seven

  Emelie

  “How’s his fever?” Palmer asked in a hushed tone as she peeked her head inside my room.

  “It’s down for now,” I replied as I tried to reposition my pillow behind my back. I’d been lying in the same position for close to two hours, holding Ethan against my chest. He wore only a diaper as I’d stripped him when his fever spiked about two in the morning. He felt like a furnace against me but refused to sleep any other place. “This is the first time he’s slept longer than five minutes.”