Page 39 of A Simple Regret

“You seem in deep thought.”

I look up and offer a flash of a fake grin. “I’m just…thinking.”

“About?” he encourages.

Exhaling, I decide to just be honest. “This. You here. It’s nice. And a little difficult at the same time.”

“Agreed.”

I glance up and find him staring down at his mug of cocoa. “I want to be mad still.”

A lump lodges in my throat as I work to swallow.

“In a big way, I still am,” he continues, taking a deep breath, “but at the same time, I’m not sure I really am anymore.” He looks up, his blue eyes full of an intensity I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s different than the anger and the pain swimming in them since we ran into each other last Friday night. “It’s confusing.”

What do you say to that?

“I know,” I answer softly, my eyes looking over to my son, who’s happily sipping his cocoa from a mug like a big boy.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go tomorrow,” he adds.

My heart is pounding in my chest, because while I’m certain he’s right and we probably shouldn’t, I still want to go. “Probably not.”

He exhales loudly and shakes his head. He glances to Theo, who gives him a big smile. There’s chocolate drink coating his lips, and he’s so content. Honestly, it doesn’t take much to make my son happy. He finds joy in just about anything. “I want to take him,” he murmurs softly, trying not to pull Theo’s attention away from his snack.

“Okay.”

We finish our cocoa, and Theo rubs his eyes.

“I should get home and let you two do your thing,” he says, standing up and collecting the mugs. He delivers them to the sink, rinsing out the chocolate remnants before turning around and facing me.

“Thank you. I know it sounds like I say that a lot, but I mean it. You didn’t have to go purchase the snow toys for him, but I appreciate that you did. He had a great time.”

His eyes stray over to where my son scribbles in the coloring book once more. “So did I.”

I can tell by the look in his eyes, he’s a little surprised by that fact.

“Listen, if you change your mind, shoot me a text. I’ll understand.” He pushes off my counter and heads for the door.

“I don’t have your number,” I reply.

He stops and looks over his shoulder. “Yes, you do. I never changed it.”

My throat feels so thick I can barely swallow.

“I’ll see you around, little dude.”

Theo looks up, crayons forgotten. “Stay and pway?”

“No can do, Theo. I’m gonna go home and take a nap.”

My son’s eyes widen. “You nap?”

“Of course I do,” Camden replies. “All big guys do. It’s a good thing to relax and recharge your battery.”

He scrunches up his nose. “Baddery? Like the wemote?”

We both chuckle as Camden walks over to where Theo’s still sitting. “No, not a literal battery. Your brain. It’s always good to rest it for a while. I love to take naps on the weekends after a long, hard week.”