Page 10 of Play For Keeps

Shit. This is bad.

FOUR

ARE YOU EVEN THIRTY?

Jake

What are the chances?

For the third time in less than three weeks, Everly and I have ended up in the same place at the same time.

I don’t know if I believe in fate, but I can’t help but think that every planet and all the stars aligned for Everly and Birdie to be here tonight, and for me to end up in an ice cream shop, of all places.

I worked late at a job site today, spending an extra couple of hours finishing the moldings on a staircase. The contracting company I own has never been busier, so I’ve been working long hours. I was way too tired to cook dinner, so I stopped at Sushi Box on the way home. On the way back to the car, I passed the ice cream place and decided to pop in to grab a coffee.

I saw Birdie first at the counter. I immediately searched the room until my eyes landed on the woman who has been invading every one of my dreams lately. You can’t miss her, not a woman that looks like that.

I am so fucking attracted to her; it almost doesn’t make sense.

Everly’s eyes go wide when she looks up and spots me and I don’t miss the way her cheeks pinken.

“We need to stop running into each other. It’s becoming a habit.” She seems puzzled for a second before a small smile tips the corners of her lips.

Her long honey-brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail, showing off her pretty face. She’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt that ends halfway down her thighs and a pair of black bike shorts. Her legs are bronze from the sun. She’s petite, no taller than five-foot-three. I spot the sparrow pendant around her neck.

“A coincidence,” she answers. She isn’t going to make this easy.

Her citrus scent envelops me, and a memory of our time at the beach flashes through my mind. Since that day, I’ve thought about her sweet scent way more than could possibly be considered normal. I’ve thought about how she made me feel, desperate to get to know her and also filled with desire.

No one has ever made me feel like that. Ever. I didn’t think it was possible. But the way my pulse is racing is proving me wrong.

I’m breathing in that fucking scent, acutely aware of how close I am to her when, suddenly, her daughter is at her side, her eyes bright and full of excitement.

“Is this your friend from the beach, Mommy?” Her little voice is so damn cute as she looks up at me, eyes wide.

“He was just stopping in for coffee, baby,” Everly says, ruffling her daughter’s hair before looking at me with uncertainty. “You’ve got five more minutes then we need to get you home.”

Everly busies herself with tidying her table. She wipes a drop of ice cream from the tabletop, then crumples the napkin and tosses it into her empty cup.

“Do I have to go to sleep when I get home?” Birdie asks, resting her head against Everly’s shoulder.

“Straight to bed. It will be well past your bedtime.”

I stand beside them, disappearing into the background like wallpaper as I listen to them chat.

“Fine,” Birdie says with a pout, then looks from her mom to me. “But is he our new friend? Should he come to our house on the weekend and have dinner? And Franny too?”

Everly’s eyes fly to her daughter, sending her a warning glare to mind her manners. “We’re busy this weekend.”

“Are we going to Gramma and Grandpa’s?” Birdie asks.

Everly nods, sweeping her hand over her daughter’s curls. “They’re excited to see you.”

That seems to be a good enough answer for Birdie. She adjusts the cat ears on her head, then turns her attention back to me. “Do you like my cat ears? I wear them every single day. Cats are my favorite animal, but mom says I can’t have one because they take work.”

I crouch down so I can look Birdie in the eye. “Those are the coolest cat ears I’ve ever seen. And your mom is right. Cats do take a lot of work,” I say, looking up at Everly, who’s watching me with a look of surprise on her face.

“But they can catch mice and Mommy is really scared of mice. I told her if we got a cat, she would never have to be scared again.”

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