Page 52 of Judge Me Not

"If it makes it easier to decide, Maribel and Cee Cee voted to come stay."

"They already know?"

"It kind of came up in conversation. My mom will probably come over, too. She, Cee Cee, and Maribel hit it off."

"I don't want you to feel obligated—"

He dips down and kisses me again. He murmurs in my ear, "If you come stay with me, I'm going to have a hard time keeping my hands off you. My bedroom is optional. And I'm officially firing you."

My pulse increases. I never thought I would be happy to be fired. "If you're sure you—"

He kisses me again. "You should learn I don't do anything I don't want to do. So tell me you'll stay, and let's get Abby out of here."

I finally agree. "All right."

He puts his arm around my shoulder, kisses the top of my head, and we go back to Abby's room.

I've never introduced any man to Abby. I've not dated anyone since Troy. My stomach flutters when we walk inside.

"Mommy, can we go home?" she says when I get to her bed.

"Soon, sweetie. Umm..."

"Who are you?" she asks.

Colton chuckles. "I'm your mommy's friend, Colton."

She tilts her head and smiles. "You dress fancy."

I laugh. "Colton was with me last night at an event."

"For work?"

Oh, crap. I told her I was going to work.

Colton clears his throat. "Yes. Your mommy was helping me raise money. Do you want to know what for?"

She nods. "Yes."

Colton holds out his hand. "Let me show you something."

She takes it, and he leads her to the window. He crouches down and points. "Do you see the grassy area and big orange sign?"

"Yes."

"Well, your mommy, my mommy, and I were raising money last night to build a new hospital for kids."

"Ones who are sick like me?"

He smiles. "Yeah. What do you think about it?"

"Will it be better than here?"

"Yes."

"That's cool. Can I go home now?"

"You could, but I heard you like popcorn and movies. Is that true?"