Page 93 of Before and After

“It doesn’t hurt, Ol-ster.”

“I don’t like the bad guy who did this.” His gray gaze shifted to Caden. “You’ll catch him?”

“Yeah, I will.”

God, they were both killing me.

Ollie’s fingers brushed mine, and my chest hitched. For a second, I thought he was going to take my hand. Instead, he patted it, then headed toward our building.

Before I knew it, we were all in my kitchen, which quickly turned into a sugar-dusted mess. But I was grinning. I was happy.

Ollie was giggling as he helped Caden. Caden was smiling. Not a full-blown smile, but it was definitely a smile.

God. Careful, Allie. Don’t like this too much. Don’t get used to it.

I knew he’d leave eventually. I was prepared.

But for now, I was going to enjoy it.

Soon, we were seated around the island, eating syrup-soaked French toast. Ollie was eating enthusiastically.

“So, the Halloween Spooktacular is tonight at the hotel,” I said. “You have to decide on a costume, Ollie.”

He finished chewing and licked his lips. “I decided. I want to be Peter Pan.”

It was a story I often read to him. “Good choice.”

“I picked it because you like fairies, Allie.” He smiled. “You can be Tinkerbell.”

Oh. Tinkerbell was tiny and blonde, I was tall and brunette. But staring at his little face, all I could do was nod. “Sure thing. That’ll be fun.”

Large gray eyes settled on Caden. “Are you going to the Spooktacular, Caden?”

“I am, but I’ll be working.”

“Will you wear a costume?”

I leaned back in my chair. “He will. It’s the rule. All the hotel workers will be in costume.”

Caden’s gaze narrowed on me, and I gave him an amused smile.

Ollie bounced in his chair. “You could match with us. You could be Captain Hook!”

Biting back my laugh was hard. A small sound escaped me. “I think he’d make an excellent pirate captain, Ol-ster.”

Caden’s look promised retribution. “I’ll talk with Tessa. She ordered a bunch of costumes.”

With the happiness bubbling inside me, my abduction and the ESG were the furthest things from my mind.

Clearing this throat, Caden started stacking plates. “What time does school start?”

I glanced at the clock and let out a squeak. I leaped up. “Ollie, we need to move.”

Ollie got a stubborn look on his face. “I don’t want to go to school. I want to stay with you and Caden.”

“You have to go to school, little man.”

“No!”