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He only glanced at the spot where we connected, and I nervously pulled my hand back.
“Sorry,” I whispered, taking a drink to hide my embarrassment.
“Don’t be.” His eyes stayed on mine for a moment before he looked away. “I’m planning on having Rhett over tomorrow night, but I wanted to run it by you too.”
“Oh, do you need me to watch Maya?” I asked, already giving myself a mental pep talk to work an extra day this week.
He shook his head. “It’s your home too. You have a say in who comes over.”
The thoughtfulness of it took me off guard. “That’s nice of you. It’s totally fine with me. Do you want me to shop for food or drinks or anything?”
“I’ve got it.”
I chewed my bottom lip, in awe of this man. I was exhausted after five days when he worked full timeandcared for his daughter at night. When was the last time he’d had a proper break? A night off?
“Why don’t I take Maya after supper with Rhett?” I offered. “We can watch a movie over here and put on monster skin and braid each other’s hair. It could be fun.” Emphasis oncould.
He seemed tempted, but quickly shook his head. “It’s too much, Liv.”
“Let me do this for you,” I said. “For all you’ve done for me.”
He set his glass down and gave me a hug. God, he smelled good. And his arms wrapped around me, strong but soft at the same time? I swear it felt like heaven. “You’re the best, Liv.”
And just like that, I’d fallen all over again. And he’d never even asked me to.
10
Fletcher
While I grilled steaks and jalapeño poppers, Liv and Maya decided that we should make the evening’s get-together a “pool party.”
I didn’t have a pool—had no desire for one as a doctor who’d seen too many accidents with at-home pools—but we did have a Slip ‘N Slide and a splash pad in a storage tote in the garage.
The girls dug them out and set them up in the backyard, a little bit away from the picnic area, while I was grilling. Liv told Maya to change into her swimsuit, and then Liv disappeared into her house for a few moments.
I stood at the grill, tending to the food and sipping from a beer as I took in my surroundings. I’d always meant to come back to Cottonwood Falls after med school. Having grown up here, I knew there was nowhere better to raise a family. But Regina would never leave the city.
We’d had a decently sized house with a maid and a nanny and a landscaper and... never enough money, no matter how much I made at the hospital. I’d been on a hamster wheel. And after Regina left, I didn’t want to stay on it anymore.
Now, with the fresh country air mixed with the smell of grilling meat and vegetables, I felt refreshed in a way I never had in Dallas. From here, I had a panoramic view of the countryside, waving green grass, dimming blue sky, and puffy clouds in the air. It was picture perfect—the exact kind of place I’d always dreamed of Maya growing up.
The problem with dreams is that they almost never turn out exactly like you pictured them. I always thought Maya would have a mom, siblings. But our life seemed so small. Just her and me against the world.
The door to the house opened, and Maya came running out in her cute pink swimsuit. “Where’s Liv?” she asked, jogging up to me.
I pointed toward the guesthouse. “Why don’t you turn on the hose, test it out?”
Maya seemed happy with that idea and ran to the spigot. Within a few moments, water sprayed out of the Slip ‘N Slide and splash pad. She danced through the spray, giggling. It warmed my heart, seeing her act playful like a girl her age should. Maybe this moment was a sign of things to come.
I heard the door to the guest cottage open, and my eyes connected with Liv. More specifically, the way she looked in her swimsuit.
I was supposed to be focusing on the food.
I was supposed to be watching my daughter.
But god, if I couldn’t keep my eyes off her body in the one-piece swimsuit and cut-off denim shorts that hugged her thick thighs and showed off her ample chest. I swallowed, hard.
Get your eyes off the nanny, I said to myself.Get your eyes off Rhett’s sister.