Page 15 of Best Kept Secret

Looking around the play area, she observed the different parenting styles on display. One mom stood next to the teeter-totter, warning her children of the danger of falling off as they happily bounced up and down and ignored her. At the swing set, a dad was pushing his son as high as he could go while the mom stood nearby and looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Two young boys were climbing on the play structure while their parents sat on a bench and sipped their Grande Starbucks drinks without a care in the world.

What type of parent will I be? Probably somewhere in between, she decided.

“Hey, there,” Hudson said as he came up beside her.

She’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t even seen him approach. “Hi.” She immediately peeked into the stroller and saw Annie was sound asleep with her tiny thumb in her mouth.

“She fell asleep on the way here. Do you know how hard it is to transfer a sleeping baby from a car seat to a stroller without waking them up?”

She smiled and shook her head. “I haven’t had much experience with babies, but I can imagine.”

“I was talking myself through it in the parking lot, and some guy looked at me like I was a nutcase!”

She laughed, and Annie stirred. “Oops. I’ll be quieter.”

“It’s okay. This is just a catnap. She’ll take a longer one later this afternoon.”

She noted how in tune he was with Annie’s schedule, but she dismissed the thought the second he sat down beside her.

God, he smelled good. She hadn’t detected his scent at the bar because of all the competing aromas, but today she did. Luckily, the Gap Kids bag sat between them, so she couldn’t lean in and inhale like she wanted to.

“Was Emily okay with this?”

He looked confused, but then he said, “Oh. You mean about you hanging out with us?”

“Yeah.”

“She trusts me, so it’s all good.”

“Since Annie’s sleeping, you might as well open her present,” she said and handed him the bag.

“I didn’t even know there was a Gap Kids,” he said as he opened it.

He pulled out the clothes one at a time and laughed at the leggings with the phrase, do these make my butt look big?

“These are great!”

Then he took out the teddy bear with the pink bow and held it up. “She’s going to love this,” he declared.

“Who? Annie or Emily?”

“Both.”

“I hope so.”

“Thanks a lot, Kelsey. I really appreciate it,” he said as he stuffed everything back in the bag.

“It was fun shopping for her.”

“I haven’t bought her anything yet. I have to admit I’m intimidated about going into a baby store.”

“I could go with you sometime,” she offered. “Unless shopping is against the friend code,” she added.

He chuckled. “Shopping is probably okay.”

She glanced around at the people nearby, having almost forgotten they were there. The minute he entered her sphere, it was like everything around her ceased to exist.

“Did you tell Jared you were meeting me here?” she asked.