Page 43 of Summer Heat
I wondered if she didn't like leaving her mother. Or didn't get excited about spending time with her father. "What are you doing with your father this weekend?"
She perked up a bit. "We usually hang around the house. He lets me watch as much TV as I want."
Kinsley sighed. "I can't control the rules at his house. You don't have to watch TV the whole time."
Maya shrugged. "There's nothing else to do. There's no one for me to play with."
She didn't have a sibling, and I assumed Derek didn't schedule playdates with her friends. But didn't he want to do things with her?
'"Ask Dad to play with you." When Maya didn't respond, Kinsley asked lightly, "Do you have your bag packed?"
"It's by the door."
Kinsley met my gaze. "We're going to get going. I can help you when I get back."
I grinned. "Does this mean the camera will be gone for a while?"
She waved her finger at me. "Don't do anything exciting while I'm gone."
"You don't have to worry about that. Nothing exciting happens when Maya's gone. It's going to be a boring weekend." I emphasized the word boring.
While we were walking toward the front door, I swung Maya into my arms, and she squealed, screaming for me to put her down. I slowly lowered her to her feet. "I'm going to miss you. I'm going to have to watch movies tonight by myself."
She gazed up at me with wide eyes. "You can watch with Mommy. She's going to be lonely too."
I wrapped an arm around a stiff Kinsley, pulling her into my side. "That's a great idea." I appreciated Maya's assist, even though I was positive she didn't have a clue that I was attracted to her mother.
Kinsley ducked out from my arm and grabbed Maya's bag. "We're going to get going. I'll see you in a bit."
I opened the door for them, and Maya turned and lifted her arms for another hug. I squatted down to her level and wrapped my arms around her, closing my eyes. I was going to miss her. I'd been dreading this weekend, wondering what I would do without my little assistant asking a billion questions while I worked.
It was going to be so quiet without her. I hated that she had to go, but her father should get to see her too.
Maya pulled back, and ran out the door and climbed into the back seat of Kinsley's car. I needed to buy a car seat so we didn't have to keep moving it back and forth. "How do you let her go?"
Kinsley sighed. "I tell myself that her father needs to see her too, and I use it as an opportunity to take some time for myself. I don't get that during the week when she's with me. I get caught up on laundry and things around the house."
I remembered that she'd said she was going to start dating. But after our dinner, she hadn't mentioned it again. Would she be going out this weekend?
"Will you be here for dinner?" Then I quickly added, "I wasn't sure if I should cook for one or two."
"I don't have any plans, but you don't have to cook for me."
I just gave her a look because it made no sense for us to cook separately.
"I'll be back soon," Kinsley said, and I waited for her to go through the gate before I headed back inside, resigned to a quiet weekend without Maya running through the house acting as a buffer between me and Kinsley.
At least I'd have Kinsley to myself this weekend. The thing was, I didn't want her dating other people. I needed to make a move if I wanted her to consider me as an option. It wasn't shocking to me that she didn't see me as a viable option. She only knew me as a guy who picked up women at the local bars. She didn't know that most of the time, I went home by myself, and I hadn't been out in months.
I had big plans for the weekend. I needed to finish the bathroom demos, then start tiling Maya's. I asked Hudson to help with that project since he was using my house for his wedding. And I wanted to get her bathroom done so Maya could enjoy it while she was here.
Hudson would be here any minute, so I needed to stop thinking about my weekend alone with Kinsley.
I was unscrewing the toilet in Maya's bedroom when Hudson rang the doorbell. He had the code to the gate. I texted for him to come in because I hadn't bothered to lock the door.
I heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs before he popped into the bathroom. I picked up the toilet to take it out to the dumpster.
His expression was one of awe. "The dumpster out front is full."
