Hey Sunshine by Tia Giacalone

Author:Tia Giacalone [Giacalone, Tia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780996277402
Amazon: B00W8BCO08
Published: 2015-04-27T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

When Fox rang the doorbell at six p.m., I had everything nearly ready for dinner. The spaghetti was almost done, the sauce – with some sneaky vegetable additions for Annabelle – simmered quietly on the stove, and the garlic bread had five more minutes before it needed to be pulled from the oven. I put together a small green salad at the last second, feeling like the table could use a little more color. And who knew? Fox seemed to have a way of getting Annabelle to eat things, so I was optimistic.

I ran to the front door, Annabelle at my heels.

“FOX!” she cried when she saw him standing on the porch.

“Hello, ladies,” he grinned. I took the pie box from his hands – one of Heather’s, smart man – and gestured for him to come in. Annabelle hopped up and down excitedly while he removed his boots and stowed his messenger bag near the door.

“Do you want to color with me, Fox? Or see my room?” Annabelle twirled in a circle. “I have lots of dolls!”

I was about to save Fox from being subjected to what would likely be a three-hour tour of Annabelle’s bedroom, but the thought struck me that she’d never once asked Chase to play with her, much less show him her toys. Granted, he usually came over when she was already in bed, or getting ready at least, but Annabelle was an unusually perceptive little girl. Somehow, she could sense when someone was merely tolerating her presence rather than enjoying it.

“I’d love to,” Fox told her.

I watched Annabelle grab Fox’s hand and start to tug him down the short hallway. He glanced back at me with a shrug and a small smile, and I smiled back, shaking my head as I walked into the kitchen to stir the sauce. Every now and then I could hear Annabelle’s sweet, high voice piping up and Fox’s low chuckle at whatever she’d just said.

I was just about to call them in to eat when my phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, I saw that it was Chase.

We hadn’t spoken since the morning after I’d abruptly left the bar, when I'd told him I thought we should take a break. I knew he’d been in and out of town, but I hadn’t heard from him and I was fine with that. I didn’t stop to dwell on how hard it was to fit Chase into my life while Fox seemed to blend in seamlessly.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe!” Chase’s voice sounded far away. “How’ve you been?”

“Fine,” I said absently, ladling sauce over the plates of spaghetti. Now without even that small spark of anticipatory excitement I used to get from hearing his voice, I could compartmentalize my feelings much more easily. Chase was firmly in the friend zone, while Fox pretty much monopolized the whole field.

“That’s good,” he said. “I’ve been super busy, you know, with work stuff. Sorry I haven’t called, but you know how it is.”

“No problem,” I said, shuttling the plates to the table.

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