“Can you take Jesse out of the house for me?”
Pause. “Why?”
“My faucet is broken and I have a repairman here to fix it.”
“Okay.”
Danielle closed her eyes as she silently shouted a hallelujah. “Great.”
“Be there in three.”
Thankfully, Sunny’s apartment was just above Danielle’s. Now she just needed to get her son out of here before the repairman realized that Jesse was his nephew.
Grabbing Jesse’s shoes that he’d kicked off in her room the night before, Danielle opened her door and slipped into his bedroom. Jesse was laying on his bed, reading.
“Get up. Sunny’s going to take you to the park,” Danielle said as she set his shoes down on the ground and motioned toward them.
Jesse stared at her and then back down at his shoes. “It’s hot outside.”
Danielle heard her front door open and Sunny call out a hello. Desperate to get both of them out of her apartment before Zach got dragged into a conversation, Danielle reached into her pocket and pulled out a twenty. “That’s why Sunny’s going to take you to get ice cream too,” she said, waving the bill in front of Jesse.
Jesse hesitated and then nodded as he jumped off the bed. He grabbed the money as he slipped his shoes on and headed toward his door.
“Hello, strange person,” Sunny’s voice carried into Jesse’s room just as he opened the door.
Danielle tried not to groan as she saw Sunny leaning on the doorframe of the bathroom. There went her attempt to get Jesse out of her apartment unseen.
Zach said hello and appeared in the doorway. His smile was wide and genuine and caused butterflies to take flight in Danielle’s stomach.
He turned to her and then looked over at Jesse. A desperate need to protect her son rushed over her and she pushed Jesse out his bedroom and into the hallway. While she was there, she collected Sunny and started to drag the both of them to the front door.
“Hey—what—” Sunny protested, but Danielle didn’t let up until both were out the door and out into the hallway.
Once they were safely out of earshot, Danielle turned to Sunny and gave her an apologetic smile. “Well, have fun and I’ll text you when the apartment is all fixed up.”
Thankfully, Jesse was bored with their conversation and had moved over to the window at the end of the hall and was staring outside. Sunny gave her a funny look as she leaned in.
“Who was the hunk inside?”
Great. There was no way Sunny was going to leave without asking about Zach which was the last thing Danielle wanted to talk about. Blowing a loose strand of hair from her face, Danielle glanced over to Jesse and back to Sunny.
“He’s just a guy I have to interview for the summer.”
Sunny studied her. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he be here? In your apartment if he’s just someone you are interviewing.”
Tucking her hair behind her ears, Danielle groaned. “We go way back,” she said, hoping it would appease Sunny’s prying. It didn’t work. It piqued her interest more.
“How far back? And what does that even mean?” Then a knowing look passed over her face. “Is he Jesse’s dad?”
Heat rushed to Danielle’s cheeks as she instantly shushed Sunny. This conversation needed to end. Right now. Before truths were revealed and a past was uncovered. “Will you stop? And no. It’s not like that. He’s just someone I grew up with that I now have to interview. I accidentally called him and here we are.” Danielle extended her arms out to emphasize her words.
Sunny watched her closely and Danielle could see the thoughtyeah, rightplaying in her eyes. Hopefully Sunny would pick up on Danielle’s look of desperation for her to drop it.
When Sunny sighed, Danielle felt her tension lessen. This was good. It looked as if Sunny just might drop it.
“Are we going or have we made the hallway the new park?” Jesse asked as he turned and studied them.
Realizing just how old her son was getting, Danielle grew nostalgic. She walked over to him and tousled his hair, to which he ducked down in protest.
