“I never said it wasn’t.”

After gazing around the somewhat deserted parking lot, he shook his head. “What you’re alluding to between me and Megan? Nothing good can come of those types of rumors.”

Patting his arm, Kristi smiled. “There are no rumors—merely an observation by someone who loves and admires you.”

His brows rose in surprise. “You don’t disapprove?”

“Of course not. I think it’s a good match for both you and her.”

He remained silent for a few moments, contemplating her words. “Perhaps I should call and check on her.”

“I think that would be a very good idea.” She took her keys out of her purse and motioned at the Honda they were standing in front of. “Well, this is me.”

“Have a good night, Kristi.”

“Same to you, Dr. Nadeen. And good luck.”

He smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

When he got to his car, he slid inside and took his phone out. He scrolled through his contacts to find Megan’s number. After he dialed, he anxiously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. The call went to her voicemail, leaving him with a defeated feeling. Although he knew it probably wasn’t the best idea in the world, he decided to go to her house to check on her.

The moment he rang her parents’ doorbell he really regretted making a house call. One of her younger brothers answered. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked.

“Hello. I’m Dr. Nadeen. I work with Megan.”

Snapping his fingers, he pointed at Pesh. “Wait, I know you. Aren’t you Noah’s godfather?”

Pesh smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“Cool. Listen man, Megan’s downstairs. If you go around the side of the house, she has her own door.”

“I see. Thank you then.”

“No problem.”

When the door closed, Pesh debated going straight to his car. But he knew it would look even worse if her brother told her he had been there and then he had left without seeing her. Heaving a frustrated breath, he headed off the porch. He followed the sidewalk around the house to where it sloped down the hill.

At the side door, he knocked loudly. When the door flew open, Megan stared at him in a mixture of both surprise and horror. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Pesh shoved his hands in his pockets. “You called in sick today. I was worried.”

“I’m fine.”

He fought the urge to say that by her disheveled appearance and dark circles under her eyes, she most certainly didn’t seem fine. “I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. Kristi and I were worried about you.”

Her expression softened a little. “I’m sorry. I must’ve forgotten to charge my phone.”

“Can I get you something to eat? Some soup maybe?”

“Really, I’m fine.”

“But you look so pale. Will you let me do an exam? You know the flu is—”

“I don’t have the flu.”

“How can you be sure if you haven’t been checked? Did you get the flu shot at the hospital? Sometimes it can give you a mild case.”

She shook her head and smiled. “I don’t have the flu. Since you’re going to keep on and on, I’m going to go ahead and tell you. I have really horrendous cramps with my period. Usually, I can manage them with birth control, but when I started clinicals and stopped working, I couldn’t afford the birth control without health insurance. And it wasn’t like I was having sex anyway.”

While he appreciated her honesty, he was also slightly mortified. “Oh, I see.”

“I’m sorry to have embarrassed you,” Megan said.

He waved his hand dismissively. “Listen, when you return to work tomorrow, there will be a script for you for birth control. I don’t like the idea of you in pain, so I don’t want this to happen next month.”

“But the money,” she protested.

He shook his head. “It will be discounted through the hospital pharmacy.”

“Thank you, Pesh. That’s a very decent thing for you to do.”

A blonde head peeked around Megan. “Hi Esh. You play?”

He smiled at Mason. “I came to check on your mommy.”

Mason tilted his chin to look up at Megan. “Her tummy hurts. She no play. U play?”

“Um, well…” He wanted nothing more than to spend time with Mason, and in the same token, with Megan as well. But he was also walking such a fine line with her that he didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her off. “I’m not sure your mommy feels up to company.”

Megan smiled. “If you really don’t mind staying, we’d love to have you.”

“Are you certain?”

“Sure.”

“Okay then.”

Mason grabbed his hand and led him through the door. Pesh took in the cozy décor of the basement apartment. In one chair, Megan’s textbooks and papers were strewn around, while on the floor it looked like a tornado had blown through the living room with all the toys lying around. When he met her gaze, she flushed. “Sorry it’s such a mess.”

“It’s fine.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“No, I’m good,” he lied, as his stomach rumbled.

Megan cocked her head and shot him a look. “Sit down and let me fix you something.”

“Not with you feeling unwell.”

“Although I wish I could cook you something, I think I’m up to reheating some of the pizza we ordered today, or there are some homemade enchiladas I made last night,” she replied, as she opened the fridge.

“Enchiladas would be lovely.”

She smiled and took out a casserole dish. “You hungry, Mace?”

“Mmm, hmm,” he murmured, barely looking up at his mother from one of his toys. After spooning out two heaping plates full, along with some rice, she put it in the microwave. She then motioned for him to have a seat at the table.

“You don’t need to wait on me.”

“Just shut up and let me take care of you for two seconds.”

Her words reminded him of when she had cleaned his wounds after Dev’s punch. No matter what the situation, she was always ready to be there for him and take care of him.

The microwave beeped and brought him out of his thoughts. Mason hurried over to the table and sat down beside Pesh in his booster seat. When Megan put down the steaming plates, he reached for her hand and kissed it. “Thank you.”

A funny look passed in her eyes before she smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Won’t you sit with us?” he asked.

“Actually, I would love to take a warm bath. You know, to see if it would help relax my muscles.”

Pesh smiled. “I’ll be happy to keep an eye on Mason while you do that.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” She kissed the top of Mason’s head, and then kissed his cheek. She turned to start into the bedroom before whirling back around. He lowered his fork at the expression on her face. Placing her hands on his cheeks, she leaned in and laid a big one on him. He couldn’t hide his surprise. When she pulled away, she grinned at his speechlessness. “I won’t be long,” she said.

Once the bedroom door closed behind her, Pesh gazed over at Mason. “What do you want to do when we finish eating?”

“Minions,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Pesh furrowed his brows in confusion. “What’s minions?”

Hopping down off his chair, Mason ran over to the TV. When he returned, he had a DVD box in his hand. He pointed to some yellow blobs on the cover. “Minions.”

“Ah, I see. You want to watch this.” Mason bobbed his head. “Is it your favorite?” Pesh asked.

“Uh, huh,” Mason replied.

“Then I guess we better eat fast so we can watch it.”

At Mason’s beaming grin, Pesh felt a little tug in his chest. Even though he shouldn’t, he already had strong feelings for the little boy. From almost the moment they’d met, Mason had let Pesh into his world.

The sound of a fork clattering on a plate brought Pesh out of his thoughts. “Done!” Mason exclaimed, hopping out of his chair. Although Pesh wasn’t finished, Mason grabbed his hand and led him from the table. Instead of arguing with him, Pesh just let himself be dragged over to the TV. Once he got the movie on, they settled down on the couch. He couldn’t fight the warmth that spread through his chest when Mason snuggled close to his side. Instead, he just embraced the feeling and let happiness override the doubt that screamed in his mind.

* * *

Under the strong, warm jets of the jacuzzi tub, Megan’s pain started to fade. Of course, as much as she tried to relax, it was too hard considering that Pesh was in her living room. She couldn’t believe that he had shown up out of the blue to check on her. Just when she thought he couldn’t be any kinder or more attentive, he did something like that.

Tilting her neck on the foam headrest, she thought about her talk with Kristi the day before. She hated to admit it, but she knew she had a choice to make. She either had to let go of Pesh, or she had to make things official with him. They couldn’t just keep dating and hooking up…or was it just hooking up?

With a frustrated groan, she shifted in the tub, sloshing the water around. Closing her eyes, she tried to search her heart for how she truly felt. No man had ever made her feel like felt with Pesh, and that could be said both inside and out of the bedroom. Gazing down at her pruning fingers, she knew it was time to get out of the tub. She could stay there for days and still not have the answer she so desperately sought.

After she toweled off and wrapped herself in her terry cloth robe, she went out into the bedroom. As she threw on a fresh pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt, she noticed it was awfully quiet in the living room. Wondering what Mason and Pesh could be doing, she ducked out of the bedroom. The sight across from her on the couch made her chest clench with emotion. Reaching up, she clutched her T-shirt over her heart, trying to still some of the ache that burned there.

With the strains of Despicable Me playing in the background, Pesh lay on his back with Mason on top of him. Her son’s face was snuggled into Pesh’s chest, and he was sound asleep. They both were. Pesh’s face was tilted down, his nose pressed into the strands of Mason’s hair.

Before she could harden herself to the emotions coursing through her, tears stung her eyes. In that moment, she allowed herself to fantasize that this was truly her life. She had a loving husband who adored her, and her son had an attentive and doting father. What more could she ask for in life? In those minutes of weakness, she wondered why she had been fighting Pesh so hard about a relationship. Besides her own happiness, there was nothing more in the world that she wanted than for Mason to be safe and happy.

As she came crashing back to reality, she saw things clearly for the first time in a long time. Pesh had been so worried about her that he’d driven over just to check on her. She’d never had a boyfriend who cared about her that much, and no matter how hard she searched in the future, she was probably never going to find another man like Pesh. There were so many things about him that she liked…maybe even loved. He made her want to get up in the mornings, so she could see him at work. She found herself anxiously checking her phone to see if she had a text from him. She loved spending time with him. But it was more than just the feelings that Pesh felt for her or that she felt for him—it was the fact that he cared so much about her son. They were a package deal for any future man, and he had willingly embraced that fact without complaint.

On shaky legs, she walked over to the couch. As she stood over the two of them, she couldn’t help reaching out her hand and tenderly touching Pesh’s cheek. He stirred at the contact. When his eyelids fluttered open, she smiled at him. “Hi.”

His gaze spun around the room like he was trying hard to remember where he was. When he glanced down at Mason, realization washed over his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure you needed it. Besides, I took too long in the tub.”

He smiled. “I would argue that you need it as well.”

Bending over, she slid her hand under Mason’s stomach while the other went under his legs. She hoisted him up and into her arms. When he whimpered, she murmured, “Shh, Mommy’s going to put you to bed.”

“Night, night, Pesh,” Mason mumbled drowsily.

“Good night, little man,” Pesh replied.

Once she had tucked Mason in and kissed his cheek, she closed his bedroom door and returned to the living room. Pesh sat hunched over on the edge of one of the couch cushions, as if he were planning to leave as soon as she came back. “Is he okay?” he asked.