Perfect

Chapter 9 ALEX

ALEX

“Still on to watch Miles tonight?” Bailey’s voice is excited, and she comes bearing a coffee and a croissant, which she dramatically presents to me, making me laugh.

“Yes, but you didn’t have to get me anything. You’re already paying me.”

“A spoiled babysitter is a babysitter who might consider showing up again. It’s nice to have some time to remember why I like my husband so much,” she says, winking at me, and I laugh at her as she heads upstairs.

I’m looking forward to babysitting. I liked spending time with Danny’s nieces and nephews because kids are easy. They don’t say one thing and mean another, and you always know where you stand with them. Plus, they can be silly and fun in a way adults aren’t.

When I return from lunch, there’s someone sitting in the reception area, a cup of coffee in his hand, his knee bouncing quickly.

He’s dressed in light grey pants and a thin, dark blue sweater, and his hair is pushed back from his face, and it takes me a second to realize it’s the guy from the sports bar.

It’s a small town, so I shouldn’t be surprised to see him, but I am.

He looks up from his phone, cocking his head a little as he recognizes me.

“Hi, Alex.” My stomach flips as he smiles at me, and I notice that one side of his mouth picks up more than the other.

God, he’s way cuter than I remember. My cheeks heat and I smile back at him as I walk over to my desk and lean against the edge of it, realizing with horror that I’ve forgotten his name.

“Hey,” I say in a sweet tone, trying to hide the fact that I’m panicking. Fuck, what was his name again? “Um, it’s Leo, maybe?” I ask slowly. His smile fades and my heart sinks. God, I’m so stupid.

“It’s Theo,” he says, frowning slightly. “Occasionally it’s Theodore if I’m in trouble with my grandmother,” he says with a tight smile and a quick roll of his eyes.

I flash him a quick, guilty smile. “I’m so sorry. I’m bad with names, but I really like yours,” I say, hoping I’m being flirty. I think I nail it, and relief floods through me as his face softens back into that cute smile. “Uh, did you get in trouble with your grandma often, Theodore?”

He laughs a little and rolls his eyes. “You have no idea.”

“What’d you do, steal all the hard candy from her purse?”

“Cigarettes, actually. They taste much worse than butterscotch, though.” I wrinkle my nose at him in disgust. I hope he’s not a smoker. Danny smoked, and I hated it.

“You know smoking’s bad for you, right?” Theo looks confused and a little concerned, and I kick myself for criticizing him.

“Alex, what are you talking about? Smoking is one of the healthiest things you can do.”

I gape at him. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m extremely serious,” he deadpans before flashing me a quick grin. “So, what’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon doing here?” I’m thrown off for a second. How did he remember that?

“Uh, I work here. This is the job I moved here for.”

“Nice. Catherine’s cool. Did you do this sort of thing in Maine?”

“No, I…uh,” I falter, trying to remember what I tell people I used to do. Something about how much eye contact we’re making is overwhelming. “I, uh, I temped, I think.”

I think? I’m so fucking stupid. I need to get away from him for a second, so I force a smile.

“Can I get you something while you wait for Catherine? Water? Coffee? I think we have muffins. Do you want a coffee?” He looks amused and shakes his head slowly, taking a sip of the coffee he has in his hand.

“Right, you have a coffee. Um, okay, uh, please excuse me,” I say quickly, heading towards the kitchen.

What is wrong with me? I’m so good at being polite and polished and social with strangers, but one cute guy smiles at me and I become an awkward teenage girl again.

I pour myself a cup of coffee, taking a deep breath before heading back into the reception area, keeping my head down.

I’ll just make an idiot out of myself if I keep talking to him, so I avoid looking at Theo as I sit at my desk.

I pull up a blank email, and type out the word stupid repeatedly, looking intently at the screen.

When I glance over at him, he’s smiling down at something on his phone.

I stare at him for a second, noticing his thin knit sweater is tight enough to show off his broad shoulders and the fact that he definitely works out.

He catches me looking at him, and I pointedly stare back at my computer.

After a few minutes, he stands up and approaches me, resting his hands on the edge of my desk and leaning over my computer to get my attention, and I look up at him immediately.

Up close, I can see that his eyes are the most startling hazel I’ve ever seen, pale green at the edges and a dark gold in the center, the transition nearly seamless.

“Do you know how long Catherine’s going to be?” It takes me a second to realize he’s asked me a question, and I blink quickly and jerk my gaze away from his to look at my computer.

“Oh, um, Catherine’s in the middle of a meeting right now,” I say, frowning. Was he even on the schedule before I went to lunch? Maybe she changed it at the last minute. “What’s your last name?”

“Anderson.”

“Mr. Anderson? Welcome back,” I say slowly as I flip through the calendar, realizing halfway through saying it that I’m saying it out loud. I’m hoping he doesn’t catch it, but he laughs, his expression bemused.

“Are you making a fucking Matrix reference?” I avoid looking at him, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry. I rewatched it a week ago, and that just came out of my mouth,” I say, cringing slightly. “Please ignore me, that was so stupid.” I bite my lip, focusing hard on my computer but not seeing anything in front of me.

“No, it was cute,” he says, his voice low and amused, “and I have no interest in ignoring you, Alex.” Butterflies explode upwards from my stomach into my throat as I look up at him, his warm, crooked smile making me blush.

I look away quickly, unused to this level of attention.

I suck in a sharp breath and refocus on the calendar on the computer screen again, and frown.

“Um, you’re not here. What time is your appointment?”

“I don't have one.” I raise my eyebrows at him.

“Most people make appointments to see their lawyer, unless they’re in trouble.” He shrugs, smirking a little.

“I’m definitely in trouble.” I frown at him, concerned, but he looks relaxed.

“You know Catherine doesn’t do criminal law, right?” He laughs.

“Oh, I’m aware, but I’m not in that kind of trouble.

I’m in Catherine has a pretty receptionist trouble.

” He flashes that cute smile again, and I can feel my face burning as I look down at my keyboard.

I don’t even know how to respond to that, so I don’t.

He’s flirting with me, and I’m making an idiot out of myself.

I shouldn’t even be flirting with him since I’m at work, so I put on my chipper receptionist voice and try not to look directly into his eyes.

“Um, Catherine will be done soon,” I say, my gaze landing on his mouth. His lips look soft. “Can I get you anything while you wait? We have muffins.” He laughs a little, and I realize I didn’t notice his faint dimples before. Those are so fucking cute.

I wonder what kissing him would feel like.

Okay, I can’t look at his mouth. I glance at his nose instead, flustered.

“You’re really pushing these muffins, huh? I’ll try one, but only if you made them.” I frown at him, meeting his eyes again.

“Why would that matter?” Theo frowns back at me, looking a little confused.

“Am I doing this wrong or something?” He asks with an almost nervous laugh.

“Doing what wrong?” I take a sip of coffee, and he looks at me incredulously.

“I’m hitting on you, Alex. You know that, right?” I choke on my coffee and look away from him as I struggle to catch my breath. He slips the coffee cup out of my hand, my nerves lighting up from where his fingers graze against mine. “Shit, you okay?”

“Wrong pipe,” I choke out, refusing to look at him. “Um, I have a lot of work to do. Excuse me,” I say, flashing a tight smile somewhere in his direction and grabbing a stack of paper off my desk, hurrying into the other room to pretend to file them.

After a few minutes of hiding in the other room, berating myself for being such a fucking idiot, I hear Catherine and her clients walk downstairs and listen as she starts speaking quietly with Theo.

I fix my face into a neutral expression and walk back to my desk, trying to ignore the amused smile he’s giving me.

I slump down in my chair once they’re upstairs, covering my face with my hands.

Fuck, that was embarrassing. I’m twenty-six and I’ve been married for almost a decade, so I haven’t been hit on much and I have no idea how to deal with that sort of attention. I’ve barely flirted with anyone, but I’m positive that’s not how you do it.

God, I’m so stupid.

When Catherine’s door opens half an hour later, I hurry to the kitchen to avoid having to see Theo again.

I hear the two of them chatting quietly in the front hallway and only head back into the reception area when I think he’s about to leave, but they’re waiting for me.

Theo’s standing behind Catherine with his arms crossed loosely, giving me that same amused, slightly crooked smile.

Catherine turns towards me, holding up a sheaf of paper and smiling.

“Hi, Alex. Are you a notary?” I force a smile back at her, hoping I’m not blushing.

“No, sorry. Bailey’s here, though, so I’ll go get her.” I set my coffee down and hurry up the stairs, popping my head into her office and bringing her back down. Bailey’s chatty with Catherine and Theo as she notarizes the documents, and I do my best to ignore them all and look busy.

Every time I glance up, Theo’s looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

When Bailey heads back upstairs, she catches my eye and points at Theo and back at me, her eyebrows jumping a few times. I shake my head quickly and look into my coffee as Theo tucks the papers into a large envelope.

“Thanks for squeezing me in, Catherine. I appreciate it.” I watch out of the corner of my eye as he turns towards me. “It was really nice to see you again, Alex.” I look up at him and feel myself blushing the second I meet his eyes.

“Uh, yeah, you too. Um, I’ll see you later?” I say, smiling a little. That’s probably wishful thinking on my part. His smile broadens, his dimples more visible.

“Looking forward to it.” I look down at my hands to hide that I’m blushing, and Catherine gives me a brief, appraising look after he walks out of the office.

“Do you know him? You two seemed friendly.”

“No, we just met at a bar the other night.” She frowns.

“Got it. Did he ask you out?” Her tone is a little odd. She probably thinks I shouldn’t be dating clients.

“No, he didn’t. I’m not dating right now, anyway.” I shouldn’t be, at least. I don’t know how I’d let someone in after Danny. That’s a sobering thought, and one that bothers me for most of the afternoon.

It’s good that Theo didn’t ask me out.

I would have said yes.

***

“No inviting boys over,” Bailey says with a wink as she slips on her coat, and I groan.

“It’s nothing. Please drop it.”

“Drop what?” Dylan walks downstairs with Miles, who is carrying a well-loved stuffed orange cat that looks identical to their cat, Biscuit.

“One of Catherine’s clients was seriously eyeing Alex today. He was cute, too,” she says in a teasing tone.

“Jesus, Bails, leave the poor girl alone.” Dylan shoots me an apologetic look. “Ignore her.” Bailey rolls her eyes and opens the door, shooing Dylan out.

“Alex, you have our numbers, and my sister-in-law’s contact info is on the fridge.

We’ll be back around eleven. Miles, give Mommy a kiss and be good for Alex, okay?

” She kisses Miles and hustles out the door, leaving Miles and I looking at each other.

He’s cute, with big blue eyes like Dylan and wild, curly black hair like Bailey, dressed in green dinosaur pajamas.

I crouch down to get on his eye level. “What do you want to do?”

He breaks into a shy smile. “Wanna play dinosaurs?”

I grin back at him. “I love dinosaurs.” His smile broadens, and he pulls me into the living room, chatting excitedly.

***

“I am Allie! Allie Saurus! Queen of Dinosaur Island!” I make a roaring sound and jump off the couch towards Miles, who screams in delight and runs for the kitchen, flapping his arms and jumping as he runs, making pterodactyl sounds while Biscuit looks on in annoyance from the windowsill.

We play until he gets hungry, and I make him dinosaur mac and cheese, which is just boxed mac and cheese with a bag of microwave-steamed broccoli mixed in, the way Danny’s youngest nephew liked.

It’s the most cooking I’ve done since moving here, but I don’t mind doing it for Miles.

I like Miles.

***

When Bailey and Dylan get home, I’m sitting on the couch with Miles’ head in my lap as he sleeps, Biscuit curled up at his feet, and a nature documentary playing on mute in the background. Dylan takes Miles up to bed, and Bailey pulls out some cash.

“Thanks so much for doing this, Alex. We haven’t had a real date since our old babysitter went to college,” she says, pulling an exasperated face.

“Yeah, anytime. Miles is great.”

She beams. “We like him. Let me drive you home, okay?” I shake my head quickly. I don’t want to walk home this late, but I do not want Bailey to see where I live. I suspect that the women at work pity me a little, and I have no interest in fostering that.

“It’s fine, I can walk.” She shoots me a shocked look.

“Alex, it’s eleven-thirty at night.”

I shrug. “I live close, don’t worry.” I don’t, but I’m not telling her that.

Bailey presses me for a while, talking about a true crime book she’s reading to scare me, but she finally relents when I promise to call her in ten minutes when I get home. I hug her goodbye and leave, putting my headphones on and starting my audiobook of Anna Karenina.

It’s dark out, with the moon barely a sliver and the streetlights in this part of town few and far between. I walk quickly, a little bothered by what Bailey was saying about the book she’s reading. I don’t know how she stands reading that stuff.

Real life is hard enough without focusing on the things that make it bad.