Page 16 of Fake To Forever

“I’m glad you like Miss Haven,” I reply, glancing her way.

She grins up at me, her cheeks slightly pink.

“She likes cars,” Oliver tells me.

“Hey, I like cars too,” I tease.

Oliver looks at me with a slight frown. “I know, Daddy.”

“I’m sorry, am I late in getting him?” I ask Haven, feeling slightly guilty considering there aren’t any other children around, which clearly means I’m late or missed something I should have known.

“Oh, no!” she assures me, pushing to her feet. “You’re fine. We let out a little early today, but it’s all right. You probably didn’t know. Are you on the calling tree with the other parents yet?”

“The what?”

She chuckles at my response, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll take that as a no. It’s just a phone line thing for the daycare. We use it to inform parents about stuff.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment fills me, realizing I must have missed that in all the paperwork I filled out. “I must have missed that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they get you on there.” Looking down at Oliver, she smiles, “All right, buddy! Time to go home. Can you pick up the cars?”

“Okay.” Oliver doesn’t hesitate to pick up the cars, taking them to the toy box.

“You’re really good with him.”

She glances up at me and smiles. “He makes it easy. You’d be surprised how many kids aren’t. But being surrounded by them all is why I love what I do.”

Gazing down at her, an idea suddenly pops into my head. It’s a little out there, but Haven is so good with Oliver, and I’ve begun to trust her. Not to mention her brother is a friend of mine, and I’ve known him for years now.

“Hey… I know we don’t know each other that well, but could I ask you for a possible favor?”

Her brow shoots up, clearly caught off guard by my question. “Um… sure. What’s up?”

“I have a bit of an emergency at work that I need to take care of… maintenance issues. And as much as I don’t want to leave Oliver alone right now, they really need me…”

“Do you need a sitter?” she asks, a smirk falling across her lips as she crosses her arms over her chest. Obviously amused by my questioning.

“Yeah—for tonight if possible.”

“Tonight?” she asks, her brown eyes widening.

“I know that it’s short notice, and usually this doesn’t happen, but unfortunately, I don’t have many other choices right now. I thought I’d ask you since he’s warmed up to you so quickly. Which also doesn’t usually happen.”

Not that I’ve let him around too many new people.

I gaze at her, tensing, worried that maybe I’m stepping over the line a bit.

To my surprise, though, she nods. “That’s fine. I can watch him.”

Really?

I blink, caught off guard by her easy response. “Are you sure? Because if not…”

“It’s fine,” she insists, smiling up at me.

“That, uh… that’s amazing,” I reply. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this. You’re a lifesaver.”

“It’s not a problem,” Haven assures me. “Don’t worry.” She turns to Oliver as he returns to us. “We’re gonna be a-okay, aren’t we, racer?”

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