Page 18 of Starcrossed Colorado

“Not yet, monkey. Be patient.”

“But time is moving too slow.”

“Really? To me, it’s always moving too fast.”

She huffed, the perfect picture of a mini teenager. “Can I have music lessons with Emma?”

“That’s too expensive for us right now.”

“But Ollie is going to learn piano. He’ll get to see Emma more than me.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

I wasn’t completely unaware of Emma’s charms. Like her lustrous dark hair and her seemingly flawless skin. The way her mouth quirked when she was being sarcastic. And she had curves in the exact places most likely to draw my eye.

She was justeverywhere. My daughter’s favorite new subject of conversation. An invisible presence in my workspace with her instruments and rhythm toys and flowers-mixed-with-vanilla scent.

I could smell her in my own damn apartment now. I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

Maybe Maisie had the right idea. Time slowed around Emma. It felt like a loooong time until the end of summer.

When it was finally a reasonable hour, we heard keys in the lock downstairs. Maisie popped up from her seat. “Can I?”

“Rinse your dishes first.” I watched her dash around, standing on her tiptoes by the sink, then added, “And put on shoes!”

She rushed down the stairs to meet Emma in the lobby.

I followed at a slower pace, sipping a second cup of coffee and double-checking my phone calendar for today’s schedule. The sounds of Maisie fussing over the dog rose up the stairs. Another battle I’d lost. Emma seemed to think this was a pet-friendly zone, and I guessed Dixie had confirmed it. Nobody cared whatIthought about it.

“Morning, Ashford.” Emma stood at the mouth of the hallway I’d just entered, looking casual in faded shorts and an over-sized button-down, her hair tied up in a knot.

A warm feeling simmered low in my belly as a wave of floral vanilla hit me.

“Hmmm,” I responded, taking another sip of coffee.

“Friendly as usual, I see.” She brushed past me on her way to the storage closet, while I headed for my office. When I reached the door, I found a note waiting there for me.

Don’t move my keyboard again. It was fine where it was.

-Emma

The hell? I grabbed the note from the door, crumpling it in my fingers. She couldn’t have just said it to me in person?

Okay, I had left her a note last night asking her to do a better job picking up the baby toys. I’d found a tiny noisemaker under a training mat. Or rather, Ollie had found it yesterday afternoon. It had caused a distraction in my five-to-ten-year-old class.

I glanced over my shoulder at the direction she’d gone. I assumed she was in the kitchenette. Brewing some of the weird, froo-froo tea that now occupied half the shelf in there.

I didn’t have time to deal with her right now. Or preferably, ever.

I got Maisie to her morning day-camp activity. They were meeting at the park, which was conveniently right down the street from the gym. I had two training appointments today. Clients I’d been working with for a while. It all went smoothly, and I was able to get in a workout of my own.

At leastsomethings went like they were supposed to.

When I got back home, I heard Emma’s class underway. I had no idea where the dog was. Seemed like Emma had arranged another place for her pet during her class times, which was good, because I certainly didn’t want to take care of her animal. Not my responsibility. I had enough of those already.

I squinted at the floor of the lobby, looking for dog hair, but didn’t spot any.

Taking a sip from my water bottle, I stopped in front of the one-way mirror. Emma was in there with a guitar on her lap, singing and swaying. Several moms and a dad sat in front of her, holding their squirming children in their laps. She did have a nice voice. High and clear.

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