Page 102 of Just One Kiss

The doctor returned and Carly swiped Jaden into her arms. Josh took a step back and before he knew it, he was in the hallway, not a part of the picture at all.

He walked toward the waiting room and he didn’t stop walking until he was back home, packing his things into a big duffel bag and leaving her a note.

Carly, I love you, but I can’t do this anymore.

—Josh

He left the note on the counter, got into his car and drove out of Harbor Pointe, certain that this was not only what Carly wanted, but what was best for her and Jaden.

Now, standing in her kitchen, he battled those same feelings of insecurity. He hated the way he still doubted his abilities as a dad. He and Jaden had a good relationship now. And yet, here, in Carly’s presence, the memory of the past taunting him once again, he had that same strong feeling everyone would be better off if he just left.

He could go home and get back to work. Dive into a new app or figure out new ways to market the old ones. He could help other companies get their apps up and running. Carly could give him updates by text or phone. He could call every night. Maybe it was what was best.

“I’m going to get going,” he said abruptly.

Carly stood, years and canyons between them. “Okay.”

An invisible thread of electricity connected them, and Josh wished he had the right to go to her, to pull her into his arms, to let her fall apart, because he could see her strong façade faltering behind a mask of strength.

Instead, he turned and walked away.

26

It had been a week and a half since Jaden’s surgery, and in that time, Josh had spent nearly every day (and most evenings) with their son—which meant he’d also spent nearly every day (and most evenings) with her.

What did she expect when he said he was staying until Jaden was recovered?

Truthfully, she’d half expected him to change his mind.

So far, he hadn’t. And here he was.

Sometimes, she’d stand just outside the living room, watching the two of them—her son and his father—and their quiet, easy-going relationship. Josh brought out a side of Jaden most people didn’t see. And on the days he acted depressed and moody over being laid up, it was Josh who got him out of the funk.

And while she’d never say so, some days, he got her out of her funk too. More than once he’d noticed her mood was foul, and somehow, miraculously, he found a way to turn it around. It was as if he still held the key to a secret door to her soul. Like he still knew her better than anyone else.

Twice, he’d caught her crying in the kitchen, and both times he’d comforted her with exactly the right words. “He’s going to be just fine.” As if he had the power to make it so.

These brief encounters were working her over. Something had to be done. Put more time, more space, more distance between them. Josh wasn’t her husband, and he shouldn’t act like it. That meant the schedule they had in place needed to be followed.

As it was, he’d all but ignored it. Instead of working during his designated work times, he hung out with Jaden. Instead of giving her space in the evenings, he’d made them dinner.

Bits of him were beginning to show up around the house—his shoes by the front door. His newly purchased rain jacket hanging by the back door. His piney scent lingering in the hallway.

It messed with her resolve.

Maybe she’d simply remind him of their schedule? Ask him to honor it a little better?

The coffeemaker had just beeped when she heard Josh coming in the back door. She reminded herself that he had been kind. She didn’t need to injure him. She would be kind, but firm.

Set boundaries. Stick to them.

It sounded easy enough.

His footfalls grew closer until he walked through the kitchen door, dressed in jeans, a faded red T-shirt and a baseball cap she swore he’d had since eighth grade. He leaned against the doorjamb and smiled that lazy, sexy smile at her.

“Morning,” he said.

His skin had miraculously turned bronze, probably on his walks to and from his truck, considering he browned right up in a literal minute. Carly, on the other hand, still looked translucent in certain light.

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