Page 51 of Single Mom's Guide to Love

“You’re welcome.”

That’s all I can muster to say. I need to get out of here. My head is spinning, and I feel off my axis.

“Jayce! I’m taking off!” I call out. My baby comes running out of his room—action figure in hand—as he crashes into my arms for a hug.

“Bye, Mommy!”

“I love you,” I say, hugging him tighter. “If you need anything, or if you want to talk about anything, please call me, okay?”

“Okay,” he says, still oblivious to the tension in the air.

I start to walk out before Josh stops me. “He won’t need to call you. I can handle this.”

“I’m sure you can,” I say. “But that’s a big change, and kids don’t always handle change great.”

“I know my kid, Maeve.”

“I’m not saying you don’t. Just…be gentle.”

“I will,” he says. “See you tomorrow.”

I look over to Jayce one more time, who’s sitting in front of Vivian playing with his toy and her not paying one bit of attention to him because she’s pecking away at her phone. I straighten my shoulders and walk out the door.

As soon as I get to my car and crank it up I head for home, forcing myself not to peel out of Josh’s driveway.

Holy shit…he’s married? Like, what the hell? I don’t know what to think. I’m baffled and confused and need something to focus on so I don’t drive myself crazy.

I look at the clock and see that it’s just about one o’clock. My family is doing our formal Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but for those of us who didn’t have plans, my mom is hosting dinner at six. But I know I can’t sit and stew at my house for the next five hours.

Which is how I end up pulling onto the freeway and driving south. Logan might not be the person I want to see today, with my mind going in all different directions, but working on his house might be just the trick.

“Maeve? What are you doing here?”

When I got the idea to come and work on Logan’s house, it was simply to keep my mind focused on something other than the fact my son now has a stepmother who can’t spell stepmother. I never thought I should call and announce myself. I have a gate code now to let myself in, and I have keys.

Except the keys he gave me are at my house, which I haven’t returned to. Which is why I needed to knock. And because Kat or one of the other members of the building crew have let me in every time I’m here, I never thought he’d be the one opening the door. Which is why I wasn’t prepared to be greeted by a shirtless Logan who’s wearing criminally low sweatpants.

Holy fuck that V….

“Hi,” I say, though I almost choke on the word. “I was…I thought I could come over and do some work.”

“Isn’t today a holiday?”

“It is. But I don’t have anything going on until this evening. And even that isn’t a formal thing. My family is doing Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I thought I could get some things done around here. That is, if it’s okay. I’m sorry. I should’vecalled. It’s just that I’ve had a weird day, and I could use the distraction…”

I realize I’m rambling, which is a very not-like-me thing to do. I also notice Logan is smiling, which is never a good thing.

“Can I come in?” I ask. “It’s cold, and those curtains aren’t going to hang themselves. Unless you’re busy and you don’t want me around, then I can absolutely leave.”

“Come in,” he says, stepping out of the way so I can walk past. I try not to breathe in his woodsy body wash when I walk past him, but to no avail. “And you can work, but you need to promise me something first.”

I turn back to him as I slip off my jacket. “What’s that?”

“That you let me help you hang the curtains. And then after you’re done, you let me treat you to lunch.”

I shake my head. “You don’t need to do either of those things. One, buying me lunch is not in our contract. And I’m perfectly cap?—”

He holds his finger to my lip, which not only makes me stop talking, it makes me stop breathing.

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