Page 32 of False Start

Madelyn rolled her eyes, and then she frowned a little, her gaze on Sebastian.

“You ready?” I asked her.

She let out a long breath, and then turned to face me head on, her shoulders square. “To him, we are friends. Now, and after all this is done. Okay? This is serious, Kyle.”

“I know.”

“I mean it,” she echoed.

“I know, Mads.”

She paused, swallowing. “No matter what happens, we cannot hurt him. This is a big commitment and I understand if it’s too much to make. You can call this whole thing off. But you can’t meet him and then... and then...”

I stepped into her, careful not to push too close. I knew she was in a nervous state, and I only wanted to calm her — not agitate her more.

“I’m in this,” I said with absolution. “It was my idea, remember? If anyone is wanting out, it’s you. And considering the fact that you don’t want me to just say yes to the next house you show me — which I’d make sure was out of my budget just to up your commission — my guess is you’re not backing out, either.”

“You’re a real jerk for doing that, you know.”

“Well, I need a date to this wedding.”

“More like you need to insert yourself into a situation you should just leave alone.”

“Shut up and let me take care of you.”

Madelyn sighed, but the way her eyes held mine, the way the corner of her mouth lifted just slightly, I wondered if deep down, she liked the sound of that.

I wondered if as much as she fought me on it, she wanted someone to take care of her — even if just in this small way.

Sebastian came running toward us with his hands waving crazily over his head. He skidded to a stop at my feet, and Madelyn bent to his level, ruffling his hair.

“Did you see that?!” he asked, a bit breathless. “I went down the slide on my stomach!”

“I did see that,” she echoed, plucking wood chips out of his hair now. “And you set a new record for how fast you could dirty a new shirt.”

He looked down at the shirt in reference, one that said, “I’m a Book Dragon, Not A Worm.” It had a dragon blowing fire and sitting on top of a stack of books like it was golden treasure.

He was beaming when he looked back up at his mom. “Two for one!”

I chuckled a bit, especially at how Madelyn nodded like she had taught him what that phrase meant and now regretted it a little bit. When that little laugh left me, it drew Sebastian’s attention to where I stood.

Just like I’d predicted, I saw their similarities even more now that I was standing a foot away from him. His eyes were hazel, green and brown battling for dominance, but they were the same shape as Madelyn’s. There was something about his smile that mirrored hers, too.

My chest ached the longer I looked at him, and when I glanced at Madelyn, she offered me a small, understanding smile.

“Sebastian, this is my friend, Kyle.”

I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t for the kid’s eyes to go as wide as baseballs, nor would I have put “crush my legs in a fierce hug” on my bingo card. But that was exactly what he did. And when he pulled back, he jumped up and down excitedly.

“Mommy never has friends!”

Madelyn and I were silent for a beat, and then a loud laugh burst out of her, and she covered her red face with both hands before shaking her head and looking up at me.

I grinned, arching a brow at her before I bent to one knee so I could be on her son’s level.

“Well, good thing I moved to Seattle, then, huh?”

He nodded excitedly.