Page 18 of Coastal Rewind

For the next few hours, MJ showed off his cannonball skills as I sat on the edge of the pool, swinging my feet in the cool water. I felt at ease as he giggled and splashed around.

When his eyes started drooping from exhaustion, I told him to go in and change for dinner.

I opened the pantry and looked around at the options. Everything was processed and there wasn’t a single thing with any nutritional value. I went to the fridge next. There were a few vegetables that looked like they were on their last leg and some ground turkey. I grabbed what was in the fridge and a box of pasta from the pantry and plopped them on the counter.

“What’s this?” MJ asked as I placed a bowl of garlic roasted veggie pasta in front of him.

“Well, it’s pasta and then there’s some zucchini, tomatoes, ground turkey, and lentils in it.”

I suddenly felt nervous. Mason said he wasn’t a picky eater but maybe kid picky and adult picky were different.

Fuck, I have no idea what I’m doing.

MJ looked at the bowl with an unsure expression, but he picked up his fork and scooped some into his mouth. His eyes widened as he swallowed.

“This is so yummy,” he said, shoving more into his mouth.

I blew out a breath of relief. “I’m so glad you like it.” I sat down next to him and started eating from my own bowl.

“We never have stuff like this.”

“What do you usually have?” I asked.

“Mac and cheese, or sometimes dino nuggies, the T-rex ones are my favorites.”

I laughed. “We can have those tomorrow.”

He smiled at me with cheeks full of pasta as a feeling I didn’t recognize came over me. I’d fully given up on my dreams of being a mom about five years ago. Doctor after doctor told me the same thing: there was nothing I could do.

At least, nothing that won’t put my body through hell with a small percentage of success.

Sitting here, caring for this little human made me both happy I could make his day just a little better, and sad because I would never have a life like this.

When our plates were cleared and the dishes were done, I tucked MJ into bed and flipped off his light.

“Good night, Ryleigh. Thanks for taking care of me,” he whispered before closing his eyes.

“Good night, little man,” I whispered back before closing his door.

Tears started to well in my eyes but I blinked them back.

I will not cry today.

I grabbed the care basket Mason left for me and headed toward the guest room. I planned to take a hot shower and cuddle up with one of the books I brought with me.

The guest room was as pristine as the rest of the house with a white duvet and massive, fluffy pillows. I walked into the attached bathroom and flipped the light on, stopping as I took in the massive standalone tub that sat under a window with a view of the mountains.

Fuck. Yes.

I drew a bath with the lavender-scented bubbles Mason had left and sank down into the steaming water. I’d always wanted a bathroom like this. A bathroom in a house that was filled with a family.

I shook the thoughts out of my head before they could sink deep enough to cause the usual panic they elicited. I was babysitting in a man’s house. A man who was undeniably sexy and cared about his son. A man I couldn’t even let myself think about without getting a giddy feeling.

None of this was real. I couldn’t get used to it.

I opened up the book app on my phone and clicked on the new novel I started last night. It was a romance about a girl who had failed relationship after failed relationship until her new boss swept her off her feet and showed her the life she always dreamed of.

Reading was the way I escaped. I could momentarily live in another life—one that always had a happy ending and a hot shirtless man.