Page 15 of Blame It On the Lattes

Iwas never leavingSam’s house.

Correction—I was never leaving his guest room.

Not only were the rooms big compared to the guestroom at Cassidy’s apartment but they were also joined by a Jack and Jill bathroom, which allowed me to keep an eye on Kennedy with the doors open. And if that wasn’t enough, Sam had gone out and purchased a baby monitor with a camera so I could keep an eye on her while she was sick.

We had stayed up to watchThe Grinch, but she fell asleep during the last twenty minutes of it. Sam graciously carried her to bed for me, and I almost cried when I saw the handful of new stuffed animals he had added when I wasn’t looking.

He had gone above and beyond for us without anyone asking. It wasn’t just him giving us a safe place to stay; it was him making sure we had all of the little extras that would make us feel special and comfortable.

When I got to my room, I found five different pillows waiting on the bed with a note about how he didn’t know what level of firmness I liked, so he bought them all. I was pretty sure he was certifiably crazy for doing all of this, but that didn’t make my heart love him any less—as a friend—because deep down, I knew that’s all we could ever be.

I laid down and felt my body melt into the plush pillowtop mattress and closed my eyes. Not only had he bought me new pillows, but he’d also gotten me the softest throw blanket, a warm robe, and some cute house slippers that he insisted I needed because the hardwood floors got cold at night.

I hadn’t felt this pampered or cared for in so long that I allowed myself to relish in it for the night before facing reality in the morning.

Knowing that Kennedy was safely asleep in the room next to me, I closed my eyes and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep I’d had in years.

The next morning, I was woken up by the heavenly aroma of coffee and bacon floating through the air. There was a chill in the room, so I grabbed the robe he’d left out for me and slipped on the house slippers.

When I got to the kitchen, I found Kennedy sitting at the island, laughing as Sam flipped a pancake in the air before catching it in the pan.

“Again! Again!” she squealed, pure happiness on her face.

I stood beside her and grinned as I watched Sam repeat his trick for her. I bent down and kissed the top of her head, gently touching my hand against her forehead to check for a fever. Thankfully, she didn’t feel warm, and the color on her face made it look like she was feeling a lot better.

“Sam flips pancakes high in the air, Mom!” she exclaimed, her blue eyes wide as they looked up at me.

“I see that,” I replied happily. “He’s really good at it.”

“You don’t want to see how many are in the pile for Jake,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as he placed the pancake on top of the stack on the plate.

“Who’s Jake?”

“The neighbor’s dog.”

“You feed your neighbor’s dog?” I asked with a giggle as I sat down beside Kennedy.

“Yeah, I bribe him with treats every now and then. He’s old and crotchety, just like his owner. I’ve found that sweets tend to keep me on both of their good sides.”

“Good to know.” I nodded my head, wondering what kind of dog it was and whether I needed to keep Kennedy away from it. She wasobsessedwith dogs, which meant she would now be obsessed with this one.

“What kind of dog is it?” she asked around a mouthful of pancake.Called it.

“He’s a pug. Ugly little thing that likes to drool all over, but cute once you get to know him.”

He winked to let her know he was playing.

“I checked her temperature this morning, and she was fever-free. I hope you don’t mind that I started breakfast. We didn’t want to wake you, and she promised me that you give her pancakes and bacon for breakfast every day.”

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at my daughter as she looked up at me with the cutest grin.

“You’re such a sucker, Sam,” I said with a laugh. “She loves pancakes and bacon, but we limit it to like once a week.” I reached over and gently tickled her sides, loving how she giggled.

“You tricked me?” he asked with his hand over his heart as if he’d been shot. “The betrayal.”

“Sorry,” Kennedy sang as she happily chewed the piece of bacon hanging from her mouth.

“I don’t think you are. You just use me for pancakes and bacon,” he whined, pretending to cry. “Then convince me that your mom said it was okay to have hot chocolate for breakfast while watching cartoons!”

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