“Sorry, kid. It’s time for you and your brother to get showered and into bed.”

“Ugh,” he groans, flopping back against the couch. “I wish I could do homeschool.”

“You’d still have to go to bed at nine and be up early.”

“Okay then, I wish I was an adult,” he counters, and December laughs softly.

“Come on, dude.” Mitchell gets up off the couch and tugs Max up with him. “Night, Dad. Night, December.”

“Yeah… night.” Max pouts.

“Good night, guys,” December says, laughing.

“I’ll be in to check on you in a few,” I tell them, and they both nod before heading down the hall.

Once they are gone, December turns to look at me. “You have great kids.”

“Yeah.” I touch the side of her face and her eyes warm. “Tonight, wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, it was actually really nice. Thank you for inviting me over.” She starts to get up.

Not wanting her to leave, I capture her thigh with my hand to keep her in place. “Stay the night with me,” I say quietly, and her eyes widen.

“What?”

“Stay the night,” I repeat then lean forward, brushing my lips across hers.

She shakes her head then looks past my shoulder and down the hall. “I can’t. We…. The boys—”

I cut her off, “They’re going to bed. They won’t even know you’re here.”

“I have work tomorrow,” she whispers, and I can tell by the look in her eyes she’s torn.

“I’ll wake you up early so you can go home in time to get ready for work,” I assure her.

“I don’t think…. I mean, I don’t even have pajamas or my toothbrush.”

“You can borrow a T-shirt from me, and I’m sure I have an extra toothbrush. If not, you can use mine.”

“Use your toothbrush?” Her nose scrunches.

“I’ve had my tongue in your mouth,” I remind her with a grin. “I’m not going to take no for an answer. You might as well just agree to stay.”

“You’re very persistent,” she murmurs, and I squeeze her thigh, which causes her pupils to dilate. “Okay.”

“Okay? You’ll stay?”

“Yes, but I… I don’t want the boys to know. I don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”

“What idea would that be?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not seemly for me to be staying the night with you, especially with your boys here.”

“Seemly?” I chuckle, and her eyes narrow. “Don’t be pissed that I’m laughing, babe. No one uses the word seemly.”

“Obviously, they do, since it’s included in the dictionary, honey.”

Fuck, but I kinda like her calling me honey. “Okay, no one under the age of ninety uses the word then.”

“You’re very annoying.”

“Yeah, and you’re seriously fucking adorable.” I lean in and kiss the tip of her nose then move back. “I’m gonna get the kitchen cleaned up. Feel free to watch what you want.” I pick up the remote and hand it to her.

“I can help.” She starts to stand when I do.

“You can.” I hold her back with my hand on her shoulder. “But you’re not going to. Hang here and watch TV. After the boys go to bed, we’ll do the same.”

“If you’re forcing me to sit here, can I at least get my Kindle from my purse so I can read?”

“I’ll get it for you.” I go to the kitchen and grab her bag.

After I take it to her, I go back to the kitchen and put away the leftover pizza then shove the plates and bowls we used for the cupcakes and ice cream into the dishwasher. I start to wipe down the counters and glance into the living room, feeling the space where my heart is twitch. Seeing her comfortable, tucked into the corner of the couch with her shoes off, her feet on the cushion, and her legs tucked close to her chest, while her Kindle propped up on her knees.

I don’t know what it is about seeing her like that, but I do know I like it a whole fuck of a lot. If I’m honest, I just fucking like her. There is something about her that puts me at ease, and not surprisingly, she has the same effect on my boys. From the time she walked into the house, there was no nervousness from either of them. If anything, they acted as if they had known her for years. Mitchell might have had something to do with his brother’s easy acceptance of December, but I have a feeling she just has that kind of effect on people.

With a deep breath, I finish wiping down the counters and cleaning up the kitchen then go down the hall and knock on Max’s door.

“Yeah,” he calls.

I push the door open, finding him lying on his bed with his Switch. “You good, kid?”

“Yep.” He glances at me quickly before going back to his game.

“Twenty minutes and lights out.”

“I know.”

“Love you,” I say, and he finally stops what he’s doing to look at me. “Always.”

“Love you too, Dad,” he replies quietly.

I lift my chin, back out of the room, and close the door, then head down to Mitchell’s room and knock. “Come in,” he grunts, and I frown as I push the door in.

“What are you doing?”

“Rearranging my room.”

“I see that. Can I ask why?”

“In feng shui, it says your bed shouldn’t be under the window.”

“Feng shui?”

“Yeah, my friend Kim’s family is big into it, and she told me about the whole window thing.”

“Kim’s a girl?” I question, and he looks at me and shrugs. I smile. “Do you need my help?”

“Nope.”

“All right, yell out if you do.”

“I will,” he says then asks, “Is December still here?”

“She is.”

“Cool.” His smirk makes him look older than he is.

“Don’t forget about bedtime.”

“I know.” He rolls his eyes.

I leave him to finish moving his bed then go back to the living room. As soon as I take a seat on the couch and pull December’s feet onto my lap, she asks, “Are the boys okay?”

Fuck but that question shouldn’t make my chest warm, but it does. “They’re good. Mitchell’s rearranging his bed, and Max is playing a video game.”

“Rearranging his bed?”

“Feng shui.”

“Awww.” She nods. “Kim.”

“You know her?”

“She’s one of the kids who comes every week to help mentor, and I’ve overheard her talking about feng shui a few times. I think Mitch has a crush on her. Most of the boys do.” She presses her lips together for a moment. “Not that she seems to notice. She’s a little bit of a nerd.”

“I see,” I mutter then dip my head toward her book. “Are you still reading or do you want to watch something?”

“I’ll watch something.” She sets her Kindle on the coffee table and moves her feet off my lap, turning so we’re sitting much like we were earlier, with her resting against my side. “Wait, go back one channel,” she says as I’m flipping through the stations. “I’ve been waiting for the new season of this to start. Do you mind if we watch this?”