Page 16 of A Simple Regret

Theo nods emphatically. “Funny.”

“Let me help,” she says as she steps forward.

I move out of the way, yet still catch a hint of her familiar lotion hanging in the air. It’s like a punch to the gut every time I smell it.

“Stay right next to my car,” Maren tells her son.

He immediately moves over to where I stand and shoves his gloved hand inside of mine.

“You going to daycare?” I ask.

“Yep! You come too?”

I crack a smile. “I’m afraid I have to go to work.”

“Mama work.”

Maren removes the seat and stands up. “Yep, Mama gotta go to work. She’s gonna be late though,” she mutters, closing the back passenger seat door.

“Come on, Theo. Let’s get you situated in my truck.”

“Yay!” he cries out, taking off to the short jaunt to where my Chevy is parked and warm.

Maren has to climb inside the back seat of my truck to secure the car seat into place. I do everything I can to keep my focus on Theo and answering his onslaught of questions, but my eyes stray. They zero in on her ass as she’s bent over, ensuring her son will be secure. She’s a bit fuller since I last saw her at eighteen, with curves in all the right places, including her ass.

I should look away.

I don’t.

I should feel guilty for checking her out.

Again…I don’t.

Dammit.

“Okay, Theo, let’s get going,” she says, climbing from my truck and turning her attention to the little boy standing beside me.

He hoots with excitement as she lifts him into the truck. He instantly starts to take it in, eager to get strapped into the seat, but not exactly holding still either. “Theo, I need to buckle you in,” Maren says, her voice laced with frustration.

“Let’s get you buckled and to daycare, little dude,” I blurt out, trying to help any way I can.

“’Kay!” He holds still while Maren secures the harness, and finally, after a solid fifteen minutes from the time I walked out of my house to get in my truck to now, we’re settling in the truck and ready to get on the road.

I try to ignore the way her sweet scent tickles my nose, but it’s fucking hard. Like me. I’m growing hard with every passing second she’s beside me, as if she’s always been there, sitting in the passenger seat. And don’t get me started on the little boy in the back seat, talking to no one and everyone at the same time.

“I need to take him to Little Learners,” she states softly and politely.

Nodding, I reach for the dash and turn down the heat. Since it’s been running for a while, it feels hot in here. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the woman sitting beside me.

Needing to drag my thoughts away from her, I ask, “You warm enough, little dude?”

“Hot!”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I reply, turning it down a little more. We’re all wrapped in heavy winter coats, and he’s wearing a stocking hat that’s tied around his chin and a pair of Bluey mittens that match his snow boots.

We pull into the carport for drop-off, and I throw my truck in park. I retrieve my phone and fire off a quick text to Randy, letting him know I’m gonna be a few minutes late for work. I know he won’t care, since I don’t abuse it and rarely ask for time off, and that’s confirmed when I get an immediate response.

Randy