Chapter 3
THREE
SOPHIE
I try my best to follow the conversation Winter is having with one of her neighbors.
Really, I do. It’s something about the best fruits and vegetables to grow in this terrain. I’m sure it’s helpful, interesting even.
But every time I come remotely close to catching up with the topic, I get a fresh glimpse of the scene playing out across the yard. Winter’s brother and his band of kiddos seem to be having the time of their life.
Cliff rears and nays as the little boy riding his broad shoulders pulls on his ears. The rest of the Cliff Fan Club erupts in a chorus of belly laughs.
I instinctively grin. It’s impossible to ignore the way his dark eyes sparkle or the way his smile transforms his strong bearded jaw.
He’s not what I expected. Of course, Winter described Cliff as a reclusive grump.
I pictured a man who stood on the outskirts of a party grumbling and scowling at anyone who came close.
I suppose that’s kind of how he seemed when he first arrived.
Yet, he’s come nowhere close to fitting that description since she introduced us.
Not only did he show up to the party with ice—a truly thoughtful surprise delivery in the middle of a party—but he chatted me up and even offered to guide me around town during my stay.
That’s to say nothing about the way he’s immediately jumped into Uncle Cliff mode.
I swear, if my biological clock wasn’t already ticking, it would have started as soon as he scooped up his pint-sized friend.
Now, watching him play pony to half a dozen children, my ovaries are in serious danger of exploding.
Winter nudges me in the ribs. “You should get in on that.”
My brow furrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you should go play with Cliff and the kids.” She lowers her voice. “I know you wish you were over there instead of making small talk here.”
I pull a face. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to me.” She wraps an arm around my shoulder and gives me a light squeeze. “It’ll be good practice. Future Mom.”
My heart skips a beat at her new nickname for me. I turn my attention back to the play happening across the yard. She’s right. I would love to be over there joining in the fun. But I feel like I should say no. I’m here for her, not to act out any fantasies.
I start to make my excuse, but Cliff looks up at that moment. His dark gaze locks with mine, and his breathtaking smile softens. He winks, and my heart races.
“You’re right.” I press a hand to my chest, as if it will steady my pulse. “It would be good practice.”
“Exactly, and it looks like fun. Plus”—she wiggles her eyebrows at me—“if you decided to flirt with my brother in the process, that might be a good time too.”
I groan good-naturedly, but don’t make any argument, because she’s right. It would be fun to play with the kids.
And to flirt with her handsome brother.
“I’ll check in with you later,” I assure her.
“Just not too soon.”
I’m still shaking my head at my best friend’s blatant matchmaking efforts as I cross the yard. Cliff, who has moved on from being the kids’ horse to being their jungle gym gives me another one of those unexpected smiles of his.
“I was wondering when you’d finally get over here,” he says. His low, husky voice warms me from within. More loudly, he introduces me to his crew. “Alright, troops. At—ten—tion!”
Within seconds, the gaggle of children line up somewhat uniformly, from tallest to shortest. It’s almost like they’re doing their best impersonation of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music.
I stifle a laugh imagining each child marching forward and announcing their name at the call of a whistle.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Cliff does kind of have a Daddy Captain Von Trapp way about him.
“This is Sophie,” Cliff announces. “She’s joining us on the mission. Be nice, or I’ll make you do extra pushups.”
“Yes, Captain Cliff!” they chorus.
I catch his smirk. He’s definitely proud of himself. I shake my head again. Cliff and his sister really are something else.
A little girl with strawberry blonde curls steps forward. “Do you wanna play house with us?”
I blink. “House?”
She nods solemnly. “You can be the mommy.”
“And who gets to be the daddy?” Cliff asks.
“You,” says another kid, who’s missing their two front teeth. “Duh. You both look like the mommy and daddy.”
My cheeks flush, but the kids are already pulling us toward a cluster of lawn chairs and a plastic play kitchen someone has set up in the shade.
Before I know it, I’m “baking bread” and Cliff is holding a spatula flipping plastic burgers. All the while, I’m rocking a baby doll and Cliff is bouncing a six-year-old “baby” on his hip.
“I’m not cut out for this,” Cliff mutters under his breath as he pretends to eat a plastic hamburger.
“Actually you are.” I grin at him. “The kids love you.”
“That’s because I let them use me as a jungle gym.”
I watch as another one of the boys demands to be picked up. Once he’s hoisted up, he cuddles against Cliff’s chest, and sighs.
“That’s not the only reason.” I swallow past a lump in my throat. “It’s because they trust you.”
He glances at me, and something I can’t quite decipher flickers in his eyes. “Well, I try to be a safe person.”
I swear, I can practically feel my ovaries pinging. Forget IVF. I’m going to end up pregnant standing here watching Cliff in total Dad Mode. Not that I can say that.
One of the girls tugs on my arm, calling, “Mommy, mommy, mommy.”
“Yes, my darling?” I ask.
“Mommy, you and Daddy have to kiss now.”
My heart stutters. “What?”
“It’s the rules,” she insists. “Every mommy and daddy kisses when they play house.”
“Rules are rules,” Cliff says seriously. A twinkle in his eye gives away his real thoughts.
Fully committed now, the kids chant: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
We exchange a look. He lifts an eyebrow in silent challenge. Daring me to chicken out.
“Okay.” I try to sound though my heart is hammering out of my chest. “I can give Daddy a kiss. For the game.”
“Right.” Cliff nods. “For the game.”
Setting down the children in his arms, he steps closer to me. He flattens his palm against my lower back, pulling me close. My body thrums at his touch. And delicious shivers run up and down my spine.
He leans in slowly. Giving me time to pull away. I don’t.
His lips brush mine. Softly. Gently. Barely there.
It’s chaste and completely G-rated.
But holy hell, my toes curl in my tennis shoes.
I feel it in my knees. My spine. My scalp. My soul.
Cliff pulls back slowly, eyes lingering on mine.
Half of the kids cheer. The others making gagging sounds.
“Daddy!” One of the kids wedges between us and tugs on Cliff’s flannel shirt. “I want another hamburger.”
Cliff clears his throat, suddenly very interested in the toy ketchup bottle.
I force a laugh and start pass out invisible juice boxes.
But my pulse is still racing.
Later, while the kids are off chasing bubbles, I take a moment beside him on the grass.
“They really do love you,” I muse aloud. “You’re a natural.”
Cliff shrugs. “They’re just kids. Kids are easy”
“You’re still good with them.”
“I guess,” he mutters. “They’re fun to be around.”
“Do you want kids someday?” The question is out before I can stop it.
Cliff stiffens slightly, then shrugs again.
“Sure. Someday,” he says. My heart hitches again as I imagine mini Cliffs running around a wooded backyard not unlike this one. “But not for a long time.”
The words hit me like a splash of cold water.
“Oh.” I try to keep my voice neutral, but something in me deflates.
“Why?” he asks. “You thinking about it?”
“Something like that.” I smile, but it’s small. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom. I guess lately it’s felt more… pressing.”
I don’t bother mentioning that even with medical advancements, women tend to have more of a ticking time bomb when it comes to making babies.
“Well, you’d be great at it,” he says. “I mean it.”
“Thanks.”
The kids call us back before I can say anything else.
We spend another hour playing with them—me pretending everything is fine, and Cliff pretending he didn’t just kiss me like it mattered.
When we finally return to the adults, I’m exhausted, grass-stained, and somewhere between sexually frustrated and emotionally torn.
It’s a really conflicting mixture of emotions .
Winter eyes me curiously as I approach. “Did you have fun?”
“I did.”
But I also have a lot to think about.
Because I came to Alaska for her and one last adventure before my greatest adventure of all.
I didn’t expect Cliff.
Or that kiss.
And how much I suddenly wish that our little game of playing house wasn’t pretend at all.