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“Wow, Teddy. I didn’t realize you’d be so excited to see me!” Then she puts a hand to the side of her mouth to ask me dramatically, “Why the hell is he so excited to see me?”
I shrug and laugh. “No idea. He’s just in that super friendly, everyone is cooler than the people I see every day phase of his life.”
“Ahhhh, so it’s prime auntie kidnapping time,” she says, her voice turning witchy. “I’ll get you, my Teddy, and your little dog, too!”
Teddy giggles as Leighton peppers him with kisses and tickles his tummy.
“I don’t have a dog!” he says through the laughter. Then he gasps suddenly. “Can I have a dog?”
“Ah, shit,” Leighton says. “Sorry.”
“Shit.”
I gasp and look at Teddy, who gives me a mischievous smile before he starts to say it over and over again.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
“Leighton!” I cry, slapping my hand to my forehead. “Do you know how careful I am not to cuss around this kid? He’s repeating everything right now.”
She gives me a toothy smile that’s filled with apology. “Whoops!”
“Now I’m gonna get fired.”
Leighton snorts at that then gets up and heads into her kitchen, Teddy following behind her like a puppy.
“Never gonna happen,” she calls out, and then I hear her chopping something up in the kitchen.
I roll my eyes. “Clearly you have no idea what you’re talking about,” I tell her, “because I’ve been on the verge of firedom at least three times a week.”
Leighton reemerges from the kitchen with a small bowl of chopped strawberries then plops herself on the ground with her legs crossed and her back against the couch. Teddy mirrors her position and reaches out to grab some of the strawberries.
“Mister Theodore!” I say, and he quickly yanks his hand back. “What do we say?”
Teddy turns back to Leighton. “Can I please?”
Leighton smiles and extends the bowl to him. “Yes, you may. Thank you for asking.”
As Teddy happily noshes on fruit, Leighton reiterates her foolish opinion. “Seriously, that guy is never gonna fire you.”
“Like I said, you’re a dummy. I wouldn’t be shocked if I get fired when I get back today.”
“Nah, the guy is totally into you. He can’t fire you if he wants you to heal his deep dark wounds, now can he?”
I eye Leighton with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief.
“This from the girl who literally warned me about getting fired.”
Leighton snorts again. “Oh I was super wrong about that.”
My shoulders straighten. “What do you mean?”
She shrugs but keeps her eyes on Teddy, who is already almost done with the strawberries.
“I saw the way he stared at you at Teddy’s birthday party. And I mean stared at you. The guy wasn’t even trying to hide it.”
I shake my head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, he’s out every Friday picking up women. There’s no way he’s holding some kind of…torch for me.”
Leighton’s face scrunches up in confusion.
