and Nicole didn’t hurry him, knowing this was important to him. They would leave when Jairus did. Tyler would want every second with his hero.
As she watched, Jairus said something to Tyler, then walked toward her.
“You look less hostile,” he said as he approached.
“I didn’t want to scare the kids.”
“You’re still mad.”
“No. I appreciate you did a good job here.” Man, that was hard to say.
“Thanks. I am sorry.”
She looked at him without speaking.
He shoved his hands into his jeans front pockets. “This is the part where you say it was pretty funny and no big deal.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Can I buy you a cup of coffee by way of an apology?”
His eyes were beautiful, she thought absently. He was obviously of mixed race—kind of a common thing in LA. She wondered about his heritage. A little something of everything, she would guess.
“Nicole?”
“What? No.” That sounded rude. “Um, no, thank you.”
“Can I get your number?”
She stared at him. “Why?”
He smiled. A sweet smile with just a hint of sexy. A smile that made her insides feel funny and her knees go just a little weak.
What? No! No way and no. She was not attracted to the evil, awful author of Brad the Dragon. She hated him. Hated. There was no way she was interested.
“To go out? I don’t know you and you have friends who send you hookers.”
“I only thought they did. There’s a difference.”
“Not much of one. The fact that you thought they did means they’re capable of it. Those are not people I want hanging around my son. You did good here today. That’s all I wanted. The rest of it doesn’t matter.”
“So that’s a no?”
“That’s a no.”
“You’re tempted, though. A little?”
“Don’t you have to be somewhere?”
“Not really. And you do know me. Through my work.”
She thought about the endless hours she’d spent reading his books aloud. “That doesn’t recommend you.”
He surprised her by chuckling. “Not a fan?”
“You have no idea.”
He leaned close. For a second she caught a scent of something woodsy and clean. Nice. “I get that from a lot of parents, but the kids love me and I love them.”
“Don’t try to be nice now.”
“I’m always nice.”
And highly verbal, she thought. “You’re a writer. I don’t like writers. Look, you really have to go.”
He studied her for a few seconds, then nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Nicole.”
While she was happy this was over, a teeny, tiny part of her was sorry he was giving up so easily. Was it a writer thing? Because Eric had sure given up on them. Not that her marriage could be compared with her five minutes with Jairus, but still.
He walked back over to Tyler. They talked for a few minutes, then hugged. Jairus whispered something to the boy before leaving.
Tyler held his new book tight. “This was the best day ever.”
Nicole brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I’m glad. He spent a lot of time with you.”
“I know. He said he had fun.”
“I’m sure he did. Want to get your stuff so we can go?”
Tyler nodded and ran back the room where he’d left his lunch bag. The camp counselor moved next to Nicole.
“He was asking about you.”
“Tyler?”
“No, Jairus. You know... Were you single? Did you have a boyfriend? I think he was interested.”
There was a distinct fluttering right below her rib cage. Nicole told herself it was because she’d missed lunch. She was hungry—nothing more.
“I hope you didn’t tell him anything.”
“Just where you worked.”
Nicole groaned. “Why?”
“Did you see his butt? Plus, he’s successful.”
“Nothing will come of it.”
“I don’t know. He seemed pretty interested to me.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
“Are you kidding? He’s so sexy.”
“Not what I’m looking for.”
“Uh-huh. Keeping telling yourself that and maybe it will be true.”
The waiting room was familiar. Hayley couldn’t guess how much time she and Rob had spent here. Talking. Hoping. There were also the appointments she’d had on her own. While it would never be a second home—no one would want that—it was familiar. Sometimes the news was good and sometimes it wasn’t. She’d cried here, hoped here.
She knew every painting on the walls. All landscapes. There were no pictures of families in this waiting room, no children. That would be too hard. The magazines were related to travel or cooking or sports. No smiling babies on parenting magazines.
Appointments tended to last a long time so it was rare to run into another couple. The process of having a baby when science had to get involved wasn’t easy.
Rob sat next to her, his left ankle rested on his right knee. His foot bounced as he stared unseeingly at the magazine he’d opened. She might be the one going through the procedures, but he’d always disliked Dr. Pearce’s office. Or maybe he disliked the reason they had to be here.
For the past four years, this place had defined their life. She’d been referred after her second miscarriage. There had been tests and discussions. It wasn’t that she couldn’t get pregnant, it was that she couldn’t stay pregnant. Her body rejected the fetus and while there were many explanations, there didn’t seem to be any solutions.
“It’s
