Page 10 of One Little Kiss

“Well, hello there, handsome.”

My mother suffers the same affliction as Colton. A helpless flirt.

“Mom!”

“Oh, Winnie, I’m just teasing—”

She’s cut off by a wail of, “We-We.”

“Someone heard your voice.” My mom smiles and bobbles the phone as she bends down to scoop up my favorite person on the planet.

“We-We!”

“Hey, buddy!” I coo into the phone, and feel Colton’s questioning stare, but he stays silent, watching me interact with the cutest little one year old on the planet.

Weston babbles, and I decide he’s saying he loves me.

“Ah, I love you, too, Wessy. Be good for Momma, okay? I’ll be home soon.”

Before I can say anything else, he’s wiggling free, and it’s just my mom once again.

“Okay, sweetheart. I should get him a snack before he tries to climb the wall. Be good. Be safe, but have fun, sweet girl. That’s what this trip is all about, right?”

It’s not, actually. It’s about making bank for a week and a half, but she wants me to have fun, so I agree. “I will. You’re sure you’ll be okay while I’m gone? Mrs. Fraser said she’ll help out more while I’m away. We’ll figure out how to repay her when I get home.”

“Win. This isn’t your problem to solve. You forget that I’m the mother here. I raised you, didn’t I? Look how amazing you turned out. I can handle this. You worry about you for a few days.”

I know it’s not my place to problem solve, but I can’t help it. She hasn’t been herself lately, and I worry. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, Win. Call me when you land.” Leaning into the phone, she whispers, “Is your friend okay? Do we need to get security?” That’s my mom. It’s not that she doesn’t worry about safety, but it’s usually an afterthought.

I glance at Colton again. He’s the picture of innocence with a spark of trouble in those mesmerizing eyes of his.

“I think I’m okay. I’m not leaving the airport.”

Colton holds his hands up after I shoot him a pointed stare.

“Okay, good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Wes. Hold on … gotta go. Love you.”

“Bye, Mom.” I barely get the words out before the screen goes black.

“So,” Colton drawls beside me, “your mom seems fun, and Wes is cute.”

CHAPTER4

COLTON

Wes?Who the hell is that?

Glancing over Winnie’s shoulder, I see her mini-me.

Shit.

Does she have a son?

Does it matter?

What am I doing here?