My laughter at his grouchy expression lodged in my throat when I turned onto their street and spotted a familiar black sedan sitting in the driveway.
“Dad’s home!” Eli cheered from the back seat. It warmed my heart that he’d be so excited, but at the same time, I felt a fizz of anxiety at the thought of seeing him again. Especially after my conversation that morning with Tali.
Just have fun. You deserve it.
Just have fun. You deserve it.
Those words were repeating in my head like a demented parrot that wouldn’t shut the hell up.
As soon as the car stopped and I threw it in park, Eli bolted out the door like he hadn’t seen his dad in a million years. It was a testament to what a good father Pierce was that his child was so excited to see him after only a few hours. If only he could cut himself some slack.
The front door opened before I reached the porch steps and my heart nearly fell out of my butt. Pierce in a suit made my mouth water. Pierce in sweats made me tingly everywhere. But Pierced in distressed jeans and a faded old concert tee made my lady parts stand up and sing the Hallelujah chorus, because dayum!
“Daddy! You’re home!”
“Yeah.” He smiled warmly at his son, returning his embrace before ruffling his hair. “Figured I’d shake things up a bit today and work from home.”
“Look what I made at school!” Eli shouted, jumping up and down with his picture held high above his head and his little backpack bouncing so hard I worried it would smack him in the back of the head.
“Wow, bud. This is awesome. Is that you?” He pointed to the little stick figure wearing a baseball hat, carrying a long sword. “Yep! And that’s you.” He indicated the figure that was wearing a tie. “And that’s Titan.”
Pierce’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. “What are those little swirls behind Titan?”
I slapped my hands over my mouth to keep my snort in, but it was too late. He looked at me with a quizzical arch to his brow until Eli explained, “Those are his farts!”
Just as I’d done when he explained the picture to me when I’d first picked him up, I fell into a fit of giggles so hard I worried I might pee my pants.
Pierce’s mouth quivered before he finally lost his battle and joined me in the hilarity. That laughter promptly stopped when Eli went on to explain the last remaining stick figure.
“And this one here, that’s Mar-Mar.”
My little figure was standing on the opposite side of the big, boxy house he’d drawn, away from him, his dad, and a farting Titan, but the fact I’d even made it onto that sheet of yellow construction paper had melted my heart into a puddle of goo. I could only hope Pierce didn’t have a problem with it. However, with his stony jaw and chilly eyes staring blankly, it was impossible to tell.
Until he spoke. “This is great, son. I love it. I’m going to hang it up right on the front of the fridge.”
And cue swoon.
Man, I was in trouble.
“Awesome! I’m gonna go put my swim trunks on!”
With that, he darted inside the house and charged up the stairs, sounding like a herd of elephants.
“Swim trunks?” Pierce queried.
“I told Eli I’d rig the water hose up to spray on him while he jumped on the trampoline. I can do that real quick, then I’ll be out of your hair.”
My heart actually sank at the thought of leaving. I loved these hours I got to spend with my little cool guy, and I was going to miss him this afternoon.
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to stay. I really have been working from home, and I still have a few hours of work left to do.”
“Oh. Okay. Yeah,” I said brightly, feeling a weight lift off my chest. “I can totally do that.”
The warmth he’d greeted his son with was long gone as he looked at me. The ice man was back, only this time I really only had myself to blame. I’d pushed him away, bringing that chilliness right back to the surface. “Thanks.”
He turned to move deeper into the house when I spoke, hopping quickly up the stairs and following after him almost frantically.
“Pierce, I’m sorry,” I blurted as the front door swung closed behind me. He stopped in the middle of the entryway and slowly turned to face me, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, an action that drew my gaze like a heat seeking missile to his crotch. Damn it, Marin. Get your shit together, I silently scolded myself, forcing my eyes up to his, only to find he’d caught me and was smirking in a way I’d never seen before.
“You were saying?” he said in a tone that I could have sworn was almost teasing.
“What? Oh! Right, yes. I was saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry I bolted out of here yesterday when you tried to talk to me and I’m sorry I ignored your messages. It was a shitty thing to do, and . . . well.” I lifted my hands at my sides before letting them flop back down. “I’m sorry.”
As far as apologies went, it certainly wasn’t my best, and the longer we stood there in a silent standoff, the twitchier I got.
“Well?” I finally snapped when I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Well what?” He was the picture of casual and I kind of wanted to punch him in his sexy face.
“Am I forgiven?”
“Depends,” he replied with a shrug. “If I tell you I want you to stick around this evening so we can talk after Eli goes to bed, are you going to freak the hell out and run away again?”
Maybe. Possibly, I thought, but to him I said, “No.”
Just have fun. You deserve it.
He nodded resolutely. “All right then. You’re forgiven. I’ll order dinner in an hour. What are you in the mood for?”
“Burgers!” Eli shouted as he raced down the stairs, jumping them like an Olympic hurdler, nearly giving me a heart attack in the process.
“Burgers it is. But what have we said about running down the stairs like that,” Pierce asked in a very commanding Dad voice.
“Not to, ’cause I’ll crack my skull open.”
“Right. Don’t do it again.”
I expected an argument, for Eli to offer a bullet-pointed explanation as to why flying down the stairs in a single jump was better than taking them carefully, one at a time. Over the past several days, I’d discovered the kid could argue like it was his profession. He’d find himself a hill and he was determined to die on top of it. By the time he finished talking circles around me I’d have caved and developed a twitch in my eyelid.
But he didn’t give his dad any of that just then. He simply nodded and said, “Okay, Daddy.” Then looked at me. “I’m ready, let’s go!”
He ran off in nothing but his little swim trunks that were covered in cartoon characters, and I could hear Titan’s nails clacking on the hardwood floors as he followed after his person.
“I guess I should . . .” I threw my thumb over my shoulder in the direction Eli had just taken off in.
“You guys have fun.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I felt awkward as hell all of a sudden. I knew it was because of what Tali had said earlier about me wanting him and my every emotion being written on my face. “You have fun . . . working.”
Lame.
I whipped around and started toward the back of the house, doing my best to suppress a delighted shiver as the sound of his chuckle followed after me.