Our Time (7 page)

I looked over my shoulder and
grinned, enjoying the sight of him squirming and pleading me for some help. He
noticed and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Yes, Olivia, I do think
your mommy is very nice. But I also think she is pretty."

I don't know what I tripped over,
but my feet stumbled a bit after hearing what he said. He chuckled and I looked
back over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes right back at him while Olivia asked
him another gibberish question, obviously milking the attention he was giving
her. He just shrugged.

"Oh, I would love to take
you out to dinner, Olivia, but only if your mommy comes with us."

I stopped walking then and Monty
ran into the back of my legs. I turned quickly and glared at him, but couldn't
keep the amusement off of my face. He was good.

"Oh sorry, Jocelyn. She is
just too sweet, how can I say no to her asking me to take her out?" His
lips twitched when I didn't say anything and Olivia was still talking, but her
focus had shifted to Monty.

Our eyes were locked for an
endless moment before he took a step closer and the air between us sizzled.
"If it's okay with you, I would really like to take the both of you out to
dinner tonight. We all have to eat, right? Plus, I wanted to pay you back for
feeding me last night, but I'm not a good cook so I figured going to a
restaurant would be better."

"But… I fed you to pay
you
back for helping me."

He took yet another step closer,
close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off of him. "Please?"

The sun must have only been on
dim until that point because it suddenly was very hot and I felt a bead of
sweat make a path between my shoulder blades. I wanted to refuse. I wanted to
hold off on getting too close to anyone just yet.

But I couldn't.

His ocean blue eyes searched mine
and were prepared for any excuse I would have given. I took a deep breath and
exhaled slowly. "Okay. We'll let you take us to dinner." Of course, I
said that with the intention of paying for mine and Olivia's meals, but I
didn't need to tell him that.

His eyes flickered with…
something, but it disappeared so fast, I thought I had imagined it.
"Great!" He started walking again and made his way in front of me
with Monty at his side.

Great! No big deal. Just dinner
with a neighbor, or friend,
I
thought. Then I looked ahead of me and my eyes drifted down to his butt.
Crap.

Andrew

I had so much energy after
Jocelyn agreed to go to dinner with me that Monty became my new best friend. He
ran around catching the Frisbee for an hour straight and only stopped because
Olivia pulled his treats out of Jocelyn's purse and started handing them over
to him. He followed her closely for a while after that while Jocelyn passed
Olivia different snacks, just waiting for her to drop pieces for him. It was
pretty amusing and we broke out in laughter every time Olivia offered him a
piece and snatched it away just before he could grab it from her. The look on
his face was priceless.

"She is such a tease,"
I said with a chuckle.

"Yeah she is, she always
keeps me laughing and I never know what she is going to do next," she
replied with an obvious pride for her little girl.

For the next 2 hours, Olivia
played in the sand and on the slides and Jocelyn pushed her on the swing a few
times. We sat by the small pond in the middle of the park and fed the baby
ducklings. Monty was surprisingly calm after Jocelyn scolded him for getting to
close. I could tell he was itching to chase the ducks, but he sat behind us
very still with his ears perked high, just watching.

"Hmmm, I guess you were
right about you being the alpha. He hasn't moved."

"Yeah, he is a good boy.
I've spent a lot of time training him," she said and patted him on the
head. He glanced over at her for just a moment in acknowledgement before
returning his stare to the ducks.

When Olivia started getting a
little cranky, Jocelyn sighed, "Guess we are done, it's about time for her
nap. We better head back before she gets too upset."

I helped her gather her things
and was putting Monty's leash on when Olivia tugged at my pant leg.

"Up."

I looked down at her for a few
stunned seconds, not quite sure what to do. I think she wanted me to pick her
up and I looked to Jocelyn for an answer.

"Up," she said again a
little more determined and stretched her arms up to me.

"If you don't mind, I think
she wants
you
to carry her." Jocelyn's quiet voice made me a little
worried. She looked confused and didn't say anything else after that, just took
Monty's leash from my hands and turned back to her things.

I lifted Olivia up into my arms,
"Hey, pretty girl. I'll carry you, no problem. You want to ride on my
shoulders?"

She just looked at me with a
smile, not exactly sure what I was asking her. I twisted her around and lifted
her above my head. She grabbed a couple handfuls of my hair, "Careful,"
she exclaimed in a shaky voice, but it sounded more like 'cawfoo'.

"It's okay, Liv." I sat
her on the back of my neck and wrapped her little hands around my forehead,
then held onto her legs when she was steady.

She giggled and shouted,
"Mommy, Mommy, Adoo!"

I turned to Jocelyn and saw the
look on her face. She looked pale and terrified, like she wanted to rip Olivia
off my shoulders and make a run for it. "I won't let her fall, I
promise," I reassured her, but she didn't seem to be focusing on that. She
was staring at
me
.

She shut her eyes tightly for
just a second and bent to pick up her bag, "I'm not worried about
that."

Olivia was still talking
gibberish and laughing as I bounced her up and down a little bit. I couldn't
take my eyes away from Jocelyn and she locked hers with mine. They reminded me
of warm chocolate and I noticed that one of them had a dark spot cutting
through half of her iris. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed.
"I'm good. Let's get going."

I walked in front of her and
bounced Olivia up and down and spun around. She loved it and was laughing so
hard she could stay upright. When I started getting a little tired, we walked
slowly like that for a while until I felt her chin on the top of my head.

"She is about to pass
out," Jocelyn said from right behind me.

I reached up for her and turned
her in my arms. She snuggled into my shoulder and closed her eyes and my breath
caught in my chest. Is this what it is like? To have such a tiny person trust
you and rely on you so much?

"Isn't that the best?"
Jocelyn whispered beside me and put a hand on her little girl's back. She must
have noticed the look on my face and I smiled down at her. She had to tilt onto
her toes to reach, but she leaned in and kissed Liv's cheek and I was surrounded
by the smell of lavender.

"Yeah… yeah it is."

We walked the rest of the way in
silence with Monty dragging his feet and Jocelyn staying close to my side. I
wanted to wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer, but I kept my
arms where they were and held her little girl tightly.

When we got to our houses, she
headed straight for her door and unlocked it. I followed her up the stairs and
into Olivia's room and she gestured to the crib. I wasn't quite sure how to lay
her in it without waking her up and I looked to Jocelyn. She stifled a giggle and
reached for her daughter. We both laid her down and I stepped back into the
doorway when Jocelyn pulled a blanket over her and flipped on the monitor. She
stood there looking down at her little girl with so much love and devotion it
tugged at something in my chest. I had never seen a more dedicated mother aside
from my own.

I turned away and made my way
down the stairs. Monty was pushing his water bowl around trying to get the last
few drops out. I picked it up and was filling it at the sink when Jocelyn
entered the kitchen with her arms folded in front of her, studying me closely.

"What do you want from me,
Andrew?" she asked sternly.

I took a step back, unsure how to
respond to that and puzzled at the anger on her face. "What do you
mean?"

"You know exactly what I
mean," she narrowed her eyes. "Helping me with my stuff, the park,
asking to take us to dinner. What are you hoping for?"

I gaped at her, registering the
words she was speaking and trying to go back and figure out what I had done to
make her so upset. I set the water bowl down in front of Monty who started
gulping it down. Then it hit me. Madison was right. I have probably scared her
and she is trying to protect her little girl from getting hurt. She doesn't
know me that well, but that is what I was trying to do, get her to know me and
get to know her and Olivia.

"Jocelyn, I don't know what
to say. I just want to get to know you better." I took a few steps toward
her and she put her hand up to stop me.

"Please, Andrew. I don't
want Olivia to get hurt. She is everything to me and I can already see that she
is getting attached to you and it has only been a day." She exhaled loudly
and ran a hand through her long, thick hair and I craved for that to be my hand
feeling the silky strands between my fingers. "I'm not trying to be rude,
but I have been through a lot and I will
never
choose anything before
her. She is my life and if you can't accept that
right now
, then I don't
think we should pursue anything here."

I stepped quickly, ignoring the
hand she had put up again and grasped her shoulders gently. Every word she said
only made me want her more. "Jocelyn, I would
never
expect you to
choose
anything
before Olivia. I accepted that from the first moment I
laid eyes on you. You are an incredible mother and I can see that you have
already done so much to make a good life for that girl. I'm not hoping for
anything but a friendship." I tilted her chin with my finger to keep her
eyes on mine so she could see the sincerity of my words, "At least for
now."

Her breath hitched and her eyes
darkened, the one with the dark spot going almost black. I know I affected her,
but I couldn't push her to do something she would regret.

"I understand that it may
take a long time," I muttered. "But I'm only trying to be your
friend. I can see that you need one, hell, I need one."

It took all the strength I had
not to trace her plump bottom lip with my thumb. My mouth was dry and my heart
was racing. This was the moment that would change everything, the moment that
would either open the door for something that could be incredible or shut it
forever. So I didn't move.

She kept her gaze locked with
mine and her lips parted slightly to accommodate the breaths that had suddenly
quickened. "Okay," she whispered. "We can be friends. I just
want you to know that a child's heart is involved and I swear to God I will
protect her in every way."

I exhaled the breath I had been
holding and felt a heady warmth spread through me. "I wouldn't want it any
other way."

***

"Hey man, how was your
break?" Chris greeted me when I walked into the office with a smile and
wave.

"Not bad."

"Not bad? Did you do
anything fun?"

I thought of the last couple days
and my lips curled up into a smile.
Had the best time of my life.

"Oooh, looks like maybe you
did. You are in a good mood. What's her name?" Chris said as he leaned his
elbows on the desk and wiggled his eyebrows.

I scoffed, "Why do you think
a girl had anything to do with me being in a good mood?" I walked over to
the table full of coffee, donuts, and fruit and started to load up a plate,
ignoring his menacing glare. He hated when I didn't fill him in on everything I
did. He loved his life with Jenny, but he liked hearing about all of our single
lives. Living vicariously through all the rest of us.

Chris stood and made his way
over, poured himself a cup of coffee, and eyed me carefully. I kept my eyes on
the food and tried not to smile.

"Maybe because I know you
better than you think
and
I had the exact same look plastered all over
my face after I met Jenny. Amazing what a woman can do, huh?"

I chuckled and took a moment to
decide how much I actually wanted to tell him. He had been my friend as well as
my boss for a long time and was a good guy. Jenny and him had always taken good
care of me and Madison. I took a deep breath and grinned, "Jocelyn."

His eyebrows shot up his forehead
and his jaw dropped, "Wow."

"Yeah."

"How did you meet?" he
asked and took a sip of his coffee.

"She's my neighbor."

"No shit?"

"Yeah."

He set his mug down and picked up
a donut, studying it carefully before taking a mouthful. "What does she
look like?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and
saw her standing in her doorway, in the park, and at the restaurant. "Dark
brown long hair, chocolate eyes, a smile that kills, and the most beautiful
body. She's perfect."