Page 13 of Milk & Cookie

I lift my chin. “And how do you feel about me now that you’ve done your research?” I ask. “Curious? Angry? Disgusted? Is that why you didn’t come and find me sooner?”

His dark eyebrows draw downward and stay there. “I intended to find you once I was done here, and I’d describe myself as more curious than ever. Why would I be angry or disgusted?”

I pick at my short nails and give him a half-shrug. “I know what people say about me — especially the drunk ones from the bar. I know what you may think of me.”

“You have no idea what I’ve been thinking.” His deep, firm tone makes me look up. “If you did, maybe you’d run the other way,” he says, his eyes serious and imploring.

It’s my turn to frown, because despite his words of warning, his size, and his obvious strength, he gives off the warmest, kindest energy I’ve ever felt. “Why would you say that?”

“Our size difference for one. My romantic batting average for another. Maybe you should do some research on me.” He gets to his feet. His size makes him tower over me, and my insides do excited flippity-things in response, but he quickly puts some space between us. “Maybe you’ll figure out what I’ve been doing wrong, so I don’t do that with you.”

He glances at the door and firms his strong jaw beneath his thick beard. I can feel him teetering on the verge of leaving, but he takes a single step back. “I’m sorry my prying pissed you off,” he says. “I like you, but I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t really have the time to make bad relationship choices. I’ll get out of your hair soon, but I said I’d do something, so I need to go do that first. Excuse me.”

Morrisey seems to have forgotten her mission to find Vince a book, but he walks over to the children’s area, flips through a few books, and pulls one out before lowering himself into a beanbag. He clears his throat, opens The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and says, “Once upon a time…”

It’s a family favorite of ours, and that’s not how the book starts, but Morrissey and Luna hear the magic words and get pulled in by their magnetism. They climb onto the sides of the beanbag and lean in close, to see the pictures.

Vince reads aloud in his deep, rumbly voice, but makes hilarious changes in tone for the mother character, which sets the girls giggling and crowding closer. Like me, they don’t seem to mind that this big, flannel-shirt-wearing mountain man is still a stranger. I’m sure they’re simply drawn to the comforting, benevolent energy that radiates from him, same as I am.

His voice for the tiger is very impressive, and when he finishes the story, the girls demand he start over. He looks to me. Eyebrows raised, he waits for approval, and when I nod, he opens the book and starts again.

The girls snuggle in. Morrissey turns the pages for him, and Luna rests her head on his big shoulder and strokes his sleeve. Vince pauses and turns to watch her. She looks up to meet his gaze, they smile at each other, and then she nestles her head back where it was and points to the book. “Peas.”

“She means please,” Morrissey translates. “More, please.”

Still smiling, Vince continues with the story, and Luna continues to pat his arm, but by the end of the story, both she and Morrissey are climbing on his shoulders and hanging from his neck, like he’s a jungle-gym.

And he lets them. Sits there and takes it, like a huge teddy bear.

This man is so fucking sweet, he may even be able to convince Mom to reconsider her opinion of men. Maybe then I could ask him to stick around, so I can climb on him too. In a much less wholesome way.

Would he let me? He said he’s been hurt, and he was in a hurry to get away from me earlier. I need to talk to him without worrying about little ears hearing what I’ll say.

By the time he gets to his feet, he’s wearing a kid on each leg, and they’re cackling their heads off as he carefully plods over to me and pretends to shake them off. “I appear to have gained some passengers for the trip over here.”

“I’m not surprised. You look like you’d be a fun ride.”

His jaw drops, and I don’t suppress my smirk.

“I’d ask if you have room for two more” — I twist a little, to include Raven — “but you look near capacity. I’m also curious where we’d go if I tried it solo. But I’m only really alone when I work in the early hours at the?—”

“Is the bakery open tomorrow?” he asks.

I shouldn’t be surprised he knows what I do. If he’s been looking into me, people probably mentioned my baking — after informing him that I’m a scandalous baby factory, of course. In a way, it is flattering that he’s tried to find out more about me, but he isn’t going to learn anything important until he asks me for himself.

“I’ll be there from four.”

Vince takes out his phone. “That’s a.m. Right?”

I nod, and he mirrors the action. “Alarm’s set.” He slides his phone into his back pocket. “Time for me to go, team,” he says, looking down at the girls. He holds his hands out and claps at his palms until the girls take his hands, and then he lifts them off his legs — with sound effects — and sets them onto the floor. “When we meet again, I’d love to see some pictures you’ve made. Can you paint a tiger? Like in the book?”

“Yes,” Morrissey says, jumping on the spot until she looks at Luna who’s just staring at Vince like he’s a freaking god.

“Awesome. I’ll do some too and show you mine,” he says, sweetening the deal, even though he’s clearly made the sale.

Morrissey turns to me, her eyes wide with excitement as she slides her hand into mine. “We’re going to need to make more orange.”

Vince sucks his lower lip into his mouth, as he looks me over. “What do you need, to make orange?”

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