Page 75 of Sneak Attack

A quick peek told me Suzie was tryingrealhard not to pay attention to us and I stiffened as his breath skated across my cheek. “Still thinking of the other night too and making plans for the next time I have you like that. Know now, that’ll involve a lot less clothes, for both of us.”

Oh…well…my eyes fluttered closed, and an image flashed, bright and hot and vivid in behind my lids. Of Cole…shirtless.

“Bye, Eden,” he said, and this time his voice was louder. When I opened my eyes, he’d taken two steps back and was fighting back a laugh.

Jerk.

“Bye, Cole,” I said grumpily and bent down and smiled at Bongo. “Bye. See you soon, good boy.”

Cole left and I stared after them.

“Eden?”

“Yeah, Suzie?”

She wiped her index finger against the corner of her mouth. “You’ve got drool…”

“What?”

The girl laughed and shook her head. “Just kidding.”

“You’re grounded.”

“You’re not my mom, so you can’t do that, and the owners love me so you can’t even fire me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I pushed through the doors and headed to the back.

It was time to go home and find some way to cool down. I suspected BarkTown employees wouldn’t like seeing their volunteers fling themselves into one of the dog pools.

CHAPTER24

COLE

It was the fourth quarter of our game, and we were once again up. The lead wasn’t nearly as big as I would have wanted but a win was a win. I was taken out at the end of the first quarter again and was now currently cheering on our backup quarterback with every pass and a few great runs of his own. But now that the game was winding down, for the one-hundredth time, I scoped out where Selma and Jasper’s seats were in the stands. Like every other time, I did it, smiled.

Thankfully, she didn’t come to the game and so my parents were sitting on either side of Jasper, their seats behind them empty. My heart ached not seeing Marley there, cheering me on, knowing the likelihood of her ever sitting in another one of those again was slim. Somehow, some way, this season I’d make it happen—and fill Selma’s seat with Eden, too while I was at it.

Selma, fortunately, hadn’t called at all this week. The morning after her drunken insanity on my front porch, I’d woken up to find her car already gone. By the time I got to the police station, one of the officers on duty said they’d seen Kyleigh picking her up and driving her my way.

Didn’t thrill me that she and Kyleigh were on my property while I was sleeping, but the car was gone, which meant when Jasper woke up, I’d had less to explain to him.

He didn’t ask me about Eden, so I didn’t mention that topic, but it had reminded me of how badly I wanted them to get to know each other.

After Jasper was born, I promised myself that if I ever did find a woman I wanted to date, she and I would be serious, months of dating, before I’d bring her around my son, and despite the risk of Eden leaving in the dark of night—or after Christmas—whichever came first, I didn’t want to hold back.

Eden had to know I was in this for the long haul, and we could be discreet around Jasper. He’d see her around town or with Marley eventually anyway.

After a quick talk with Jasper explaining sometimes moms and dads fight but we both loved him very much, I’d sent Selma a text saying she could pick him up from my parents. I loaded both him and Bongo into the truck and took them over there, giving her plenty of time.

Mom had called me later and said Selma showed up around ten, tired, but sweet as pie to everyone.

We hadn’t talked since outside the text I sent her saying I’d be picking up Jasper at the diner and taking him to my parents or hers in the morning and she’d responded with aFine.Whateverresponse.

If she thought her rudeness bothered me, she was wrong. The less I spoke to her right now, the better.

I was hopeful that night woke her up and she was trying to put her bullshit ideas to bed once and for all, but the past being the perfect indicator of future predictions meant it was more likely she was licking her wounds and forging her next plan of attack.

No way would Selma back down with Eden still being in town, which was why I also had a note to call a family attorney to talk about how I could protect myself and custody with Jasper since we’d never put anything official on paper or filed with the courts.

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