Margo and I have dinner together, then she goes upstairs to take her bath. While she’s cleaning up, I clean up the mess in the kitchen again and make a plate for Carson. I add some spaghetti, a piece of the garlic bread, and a small side salad. I wrap it up and put it all in the fridge.
I move to the living room to pick up our mess from the day and then to Margo’s room to put away all the toys we dragged out. When she gets out of the bath, I brush out her hair for her and braid it so it doesn’t get tangled in her sleep. Then we go back downstairs for a snack, juice, and story before bed.
Margo is the sweetest child, and she seems to want to please me. I never have to get on her for acting up or making an unnecessary mess. She’s the perfect little girl, and Carson couldn’t have done a better job with raising her. At eight, she claims that it’s bedtime, so I tuck her in and turn off the light. I turn the baby monitor on, planning on taking the other end to the garage so I can leave for the night.
I walk into the garage, and Carson is back at work. I set the monitor down. “Margo has been fed, bathed, and is in bed.”
“What?” he asks, looking at his watch. “Oh man. I lost track of time. I’m so sorry for keeping you here for so long.”
I wave him off. “It’s not a problem. I had fun today. She’s a great kid.”
“She really is. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have her to keep me sane.”
“I made spaghetti, garlic bread, and a salad. I cleaned up, but I left you a plate in the fridge. You need to eat.”
His eyes go wide. “Wow. You cooked a whole meal? I feel bad now. I would’ve come in to eat with you guys, had I known.”
“It’s okay. Really, it’s no problem,” I assure him.
“Well, at least sit and have a drink with me. It’s the least I could do. You have time?” he asks, freezing on his way to the fridge.
I look at my watch. I’m usually in bed by now—bad side of owning a bakery, you have to get up before dawn—but why not? “Sure.”
He pulls two beers out of the fridge in the garage, opens them both, then he hands me one.
I take a long drink as my eyes find what looks to be the start of a boat. “What are you building here?”
“A sailboat,” he replies.
My brows raise in surprise. “Wow, you know how to do that?”
He laughs and nods. “Yeah, I grew up sailing. In the summers, my dad and I would build and repair boats. It’s sort of my fallback career—the whole point of moving here. I thought, if I still enjoyed doing it, I would open my own company.”
“And? Do you still enjoy doing it?”
He purses his lips together a moment before answering, “I do, actually. I’ve completely lost track of time today.”
“Well, that’s good. I’m glad you found something to keep you busy that’s also something that makes you happy. Not everyone gets that, you know?”
“I know,” he agrees. “I’ve gotten lucky many times in my life, more than I deserve, I’ll tell ya that much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I found the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with early. We were only in college. She married me and gave me the best daughter I could ever imagine. I landed an amazing job in the city, and it’s provided me with enough money to live the rest of my life comfortably if I choose to. And now, I have this. Another shot at being happy with my work.”
I smile. “It sounds like you have been happy. That’s good.”
I can’t help but to think of the luck I’ve had. It’s nowhere near as good as his. I was born to a poor family, my mother died, and then my dad started using drugs, which eventually led to his death. At the age of nineteen, I was completely alone, left to fend for myself and walk this world alone. I still haven’t found the man I want to spend my life with, and I don’t have the family I’ve always dreamed of, but I did get lucky enough that I was able to buy myself a home, and I own a pretty successful business, so I guess I’ve made out better than some too.
“So is Margo going to start school here this fall?”
He nods. “That’s the plan. She went to pre-school in the city, but this will be her first year in kindergarten. She’s looking forward to making friends her own age.”
“I bet. It’s probably hard on her being the only kid around. I know she didn’t hold back with me today. We had a tea party, played dress up, and played with dolls and every other toy in her room. But don’t worry, I picked it all up.”
He smiles. “That’s the least of my worries. I’m glad she had fun today.” He pauses and nods. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself as well. She’s just clung to you for some reason. She’s never done that with anyone before.”
I laugh. “Well, I kind of bribed her with baked goods.”
His laughter mixes in with mine. “That always help, I’m sure.”
I nod in agreement. “In my experience.”
I take another drink and look up to meet his eyes. They’re already on me, looking at me like he did earlier in the shop. They’re moving up and down my body, taking me in fully. His jaw is cocked, making it appear even more sharp, like he’s trying to hold something back.
I can feel the air between us grow thick. It feels heavy like it’s been charged, with tension or emotion, I’m not sure. I guess it could be either given our talks today.
I’m not sure what to say or do at this point, so I finish off my beer and set it on the table. I stand up. “I guess I should probably get going.”
“Oh.” That snaps him out of his trance, and he stands with me. “Of course. I guess it is getting late. I should probably shut the garage down for the night.” He follows me to the open garage door and turns off the light, leaving us in darkness. He hits a button, and the door starts to lower once we’re on the other side of it.
He turns and nearly bumps into me. “Thanks for coming over today. I know I’ve said it already, but it really did mean a lot to Margo.”
I smile as I look up at him in the darkness. “Anytime.”
I don’t know why my feet won’t move, but I suddenly find myself locked in place. I don’t move and neither does he, but that heavy feeling seems to form between us again as he looks down at me with his smoldering eyes. His tongue comes out, wetting his lips, and they part like he’s going to say something, but no words come out.
The next thing I know, he’s bending down, pressing his lips to mine. I’m frozen in shock, unsure if I should pull away for Margo’s sake or if I should keep going for my own desire. Every last thought falls from my head the moment his hand lands on the small of my back, pulling me closer. The dam built up inside of me breaks, and emotion comes pouring out. My lips begin to move against his, and my arms raise to wrap around his neck. I pull him closer and he pulls me closer. He turns me around and walks me backward until my back is pressed against the side of the garage. There, our kiss deepens.
His tongue comes out, tangling with my own, and my heart starts racing inside my chest. My breathing picks up as our kiss grows in urgency. My fingers lace into his dark hair, tugging slightly, and one of his hands moves up to cup my jaw. The kiss slows and he pulls back, his eyes finding mine.