Ellie thought she'd never find love again, especially after having her son, Noah, and the love of her life leaving her to raise their child alone. Ellie found contentment in being a single mother until she meets Daniel on a night out.
He's charming...
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Craig looks out of place standing in my living room. I can still count the number of times he's been inside my house on my hand. His gaze carefully takes in every detail, just as I observe him. Craig's gaze lingers on the various photo frames, which I should have taken down. I don't want to give him the wrong idea. I hadn't thought about that until now. Clara asked to meet for coffee this morning, which is the opposite direction of Craig's house, so I asked him to pick Noah up.
My phone rings and I see Daniel's name on the screen. I silence the call and slide the phone into my back pocket. I'm not ready to talk to Daniel and I refuse to do this in front of Craig.
"Trouble in paradise?" Craig raises his eyebrow.
I shove my hands into the front pocket of my jeans, then shake my head.
Noah appears at the entrance of the hallway with an arm full of toys. I raise an eyebrow and point to his room. He bunches the toys closer and frowns back. I raise the other eyebrow and shake my head.
"Three toys, Noah, we made a deal."
If this is how he acts at three, I fear what sixteen will bring.
Noah stomps down to the bedroom, and we fall back into our awkward silence.
Craig clears his throat and catches my gaze. I much preferred the awkward silence to this.
"I was thinking about taking Noah to the aquarium today. Would you like to join us?" He shoves his hands into his front pockets and rolls onto the back of his heels.
"Thanks for the invite, but I have a few errands today."
"Oh, okay."
We dip back into that silence and I'm thankful for it.
Noah shortly returns with three toys. We glance at each other and I nod my approval. He wanders over to his Dad while I grab the backpack off the kitchen counter. I help Noah into the back of Craig's car and kiss his cheek.
"Be good," I whisper. "And have fun!"
I wave goodbye before heading to my own car. I pull my phone out and glance at the missed call, then at the time.
"Shit, I'm late."
* * * * *
The clank of the coffee machine, the fresh brew, and the chatter of customers fill the small cafe. I wind through the closely knit tables in search of Clara. I spot her nestled in the back corner booth. I drop onto the faux leather seat and slide across.
"Sorry, I'm late." I bite my lower lip. "I asked Noah's father to pick him up and Noah tried to take an arm full of toys with him. If he loses one, he'll have a meltdown, so I have to limit the amount of toys he lugs anywhere."
"Kids." Clara giggles.
My phone rings again and I pull it out and look at Daniel's name on the screen. I wait for the call to ring out before messaging Daniel.
