Liam was avoiding him.
Jude had even extended his morning swim when he hadn’t spotted Liam outside, waiting while drinking his morning coffee.
It was now late afternoon. Jude hadn’t seen or heard anything from his neighbor. Not a peep.
Nicky’s car that had been parked all weekend in front of Liam’s house was gone. Liam hadn’t made any phone calls. Maybe he was busy writing. That had to take a lot of dedication. If so, the boy wasn’t even stopping to eat. Jude didn’t like this.
He stepped out onto his back deck and lifted his face to the sun.
It had warmed back up over the weekend. The sun was shining down bright. Jude peered over at the crowd in front of him, wishing not for the first time that he had enough money to live on a private beach.
The crowd was thick that day but as Jude peered across the beach, he spotted just who he’d been looking for. Jude didn’t know how he’d missed Liam’s escape, but the boy was back on the beach. Swim trunks, a light T-shirt, and still no hat or sunglasses.
Liam was lost in his play.
This sandcastle looked a little better than the first but already one side had begun to cave in. He raced inside to grab the bottle of lemonade that he’d placed in the freezer earlier. Jude had washed out a water bottle and filled it with lemonade. The bottle had a sports cap on it that might feel like a baby bottle or sippy cup for Liam. Jude had learned over the years that small reminders like using the correct top of a bottle helped the little but was socially acceptable.
Squeezing the bottle, Jude was pleased with the slushiness inside. Perfect. Not quite frozen but this would last longer in the sun.
He ignored the pang in his heart as he headed back out.
Jude wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Just because Liam was a little didn’t mean that he was looking for a Daddy. Okay, from what Jude had overheard, Liam was looking for a Daddy. And Liam thought Jude was attractive.
They had some sort of connection.
Jude paused at the sliding glass door.
Turning his head, Jude looked at one of the many pictures of him and Sam on display.
Ten years.
Ten very long lonely years.
Was Jude making a mistake? Maybe. He couldn’t get Liam’s adorable embarrassment out of his head from the night Jude had delivered his cookies.
There was so much that could go wrong. Liam didn’t know enough about him. Had no idea that Jude had once had his perfect boy. But Liam had done something that no one else had managed since Sam had left him. Liam made Jude want to…live his life again.
He shook his head before sliding the door open. Beside the door, he slipped on his sandals and grabbed the present that he had ordered online for Liam. Because yes, Jude was already buying the boy toys. He had no idea how he’d gotten in this situation.
Even just seeing Liam’s side profile, Jude was pleased by the lopsided smile on Liam’s face. Liam lifted a water bottle and drained it before setting it back down by his knee. Good boy.
His shadow fell across the sandcastle.
Liam sighed before looking up.
Jude waited to see how the boy would react.
“Hi,” Liam said shyly.
“Hey.” Jude crouched down. He was sure that he was right, and Liam had been avoiding him. The boy hadn’t been this shy previously. “Here.” He passed Liam the frozen lemonade bottle.
Liam took it and grinned. He squeezed the middle of the bottle. “Slushie!”
“I also got you this,” Jude said.
The boy set the bottle down before reaching for the sandcastle kit that Jude had ordered. “What is it?”
