He winces slightly. “I guess I deserve that, but no. I came to talk.”
“Talk?”
“Just talk.” He looks past me and into the apartment. “Can I come in?”
For a second, I wonder if I could tell him no. After everything today, I don't think I can handle another argument with him. But when I really think about it, I realize that talking is probably exactly what we need to do right now. So, instead of shutting the door in his face, I open it further and let him step inside.
Harland follows me through the kitchen and into the living room, where Mila looks up and smirks.
“Well, if it isn't Harland Storm,” she drawls.
He huffs out a small laugh. “Hey, Mila.”
“She was just leaving,” I tell him, hoping she’ll get the hint.
Of course, being the brat that my sister is, she's not letting me off that easy.
“I don't know,” she says as she comes toward us. “I might have to stay now.” Running her hand down Harland's arm, she smiles. “You look good, H.”
No part of me believes for a second that she's actually hitting on him. After all, she's been the only person who has known this whole time that Harland is Hollis's dad. No. She's just fucking with me. Trying to get under my skin. And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't working.
Harland looks over at me with a subtle plea for help, and I snicker. “Bye, Mila.”
She scoffs. “You're no fun.”
“I'm plenty fun,” I argue. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says and waves me off.
“It was good seeing you again,” Harland tells her.
Mila snorts. “Better to see my sister, I'm sure.”
He turns to me in surprise as Mila makes her way past him, but I'll deal with him later. Meanwhile, my sister is bouncing her brows at me and mouthing tell him. She can't leave soon enough. I roll my eyes and watch her head for the door.
“Love you.”
“Love you, too!” she calls back.
The second the door shuts behind her, Harland tilts his head to the side. “Does she know about...”
Looking away, I nod. “She's the only one I told.”
“Ah,” he says. “That makes sense.”
We both awkwardly make our way to the couch when Hollis looks up at Harland and his eyes widen. “You got me the car!”
Harland's smile stretches across his face. “I did, little man.”
He grins proudly and goes back to playing, while Harland turns his attention to me. I run my fingers through my hair, waiting for him to say something, but nothing seems to be coming out of his mouth. I guess it's on me.
“So, you wanted to talk?” I push.
Nodding, he looks over at Hollis, and I realize his hesitation.
“Hey, Hollis?” I say. “Can you go set up your action figures in your room? I'm sure they'd love to meet all your other ones.”
He beams, as if the idea is the most brilliant one he's ever heard. “Okay, Mommy.”
Once we're alone, I focus back on Harland.
“Thanks,” he breathes.
I lean back against the cushion. “No, thank you. Sometimes I forget how old he is and how much he understands at this age. I guess my mind is still locked on him being a baby.”
“Kids are sponges. I remember when Ashlyn was four. She heard my dad say fuck, and that became the only thing she would say for a whole week.”
Laughing at the thought of my best friend, I shake my head. “I doubt that had anything to do with her being a sponge. That's still her favorite word.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he quips.
We settle into an awkward silence, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not itching for him to leave or staring at the clock and watching the seconds tick by. We're just simply...here.
“Listen, I want to ap—”
His words are cut off as the sound of my phone ringing blasts through the room.
Great fucking timing.
I murmur an apology and grab my phone off the coffee table. When I see it's work, I throw my head back and groan. Harland watches me as I hit answer, bringing it to my ear.
“Hello?”
My boss’s voice comes through the other line. “Emery. Thank God you answered. I know you took the day off today, but I need you to log in for a bit.”
Fuck. “What? Why? Stephen, it's my son's birthday.”
“I know, and I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't urgent, but Mr. Garrison moved his deadline, cutting two weeks off the end. We need to finish this project ASAP.”
Mr. Garrison is our biggest client, and he's right. There is nothing we can do about it. The company could end up going under if we lose that contract.
Just my luck.
“Okay,” I tell him. “Give me like ten minutes and I'll be on.”
“Thanks, Em.”
I hang up the phone and run my hands over my face, for a second forgetting Harland is here at all. He watches me intently as I sigh.
“I have to work for a bit.” Then I realize my predicament. “Shit, Hollis! I have to call Mila. Maybe she's still close enough to come back and watch him for me.”
Dialing her number, I bring the phone back to my ear, but Harland takes it away and presses end. My brows furrow as I watch him.
“What are you doing?”
He shrugs. “I can watch him.”
Okay, what? “You don't have to do that. I'm sure Mila wouldn't mind coming back.”
“Em, it's fine,” he tells me honestly. “I think I can handle it.”
Hollis comes running out with every single action figure he owns wrapped in his little arms, clearly not understanding the concept of playing in his room. He drops them on the floor in front of Harland. Instead of just watching from a distance, Harland gets down on the floor with him and picks Batman up.
“Is this one your favorite?” he asks him. Hollis nods, making Harland smile. “He's my favorite, too.”
Hollis lights up like this is the best day of his life and goes about setting them all up in what looks like a battle. Meanwhile, Harland looks up at me and smirks.
“I've got this, Em. Go do what you need to do.”
I don't know what's more surprising—the way he seems so sure of himself, or how comfortable I feel about it. I mean, I've known him for most of my life, so I guess there is no reason for me to feel any other way, but I guess I just never expected this from him. Hell, even when their cousins were toddlers, he never wanted anything to do with them.
Running my fingers through my hair, I look around for a second and exhale. “Okay. Okay, thanks. I'll just be in my room. I shouldn't be too long.”
But neither one of them are listening. They're already off on their own conversation about which superheroes are the best and which ones are just okay.
Boy talk.
It ends up being well past Hollis's bedtime when I finally finish up what I needed to get done. I can only imagine how much of a nightmare getting him to sleep is going to be.
I look myself over in my bedroom mirror, realizing I look as tired as I feel, but there's not much I can do about it right now. Running my fingers through my hair, I throw a sweatshirt on and make my way back into the living room.