Page 12 of My Boyfriend Marks Trees
“Don’t you need this stuff for your place?” she’d asked at one point.
“We’ve got tons more. Mom used to go nuts.”
“Used to?”
“She says it’s not the same now that we’re all grown up. Although that will change next year most likely since my big sister might be preggers.”
“You’ll make a good uncle,” Charlotte stated.
“Yeah, I will.” He grinned. “I plan to be the fun one. Gotta make sure my niece or nephew loves me more than Selene.”
“You’re going to compete with your sister?”
“Heck yeah. It’s a sibling thing.” He laughed.
Charlotte shook her head. “If you say so. I wouldn’t know. Like I said before, only child. By choice. My parents weren’t exactly thrilled with the whole child-raising thing.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Meh.” She shrugged. “It’s how they were.”
“Are they at least better grandparents?”
“No, because they died not long after I got pregnant with Greta. Freak animal attack when they were on a nature hike.”
“Shit.” His mouth rounded. “Sorry, didn’t mean to swear in front of Greta.” Greta hadn’t noticed, as she was coloring in a Santa from the activity book Charlotte splurged on at work.
“She knows not to repeat bad words.” Charlotte saved him from his chagrin. Not many guys would have apologized.
“I’ll try and watch my tongue. Speaking of tongues, mine’s getting hungry. Let me get dinner started.”
“I can do it,” Charlotte quickly said.
“Nope. I barged in. I will cook. And clean!” he added.
He meant what he said. He got two pots going, one for the sauce, the other for the pasta. Charlotte set the table and toasted some sliced bread, which she buttered and sprinkled with garlic. Not a baguette, but it would sop up the sauce nicely. He’d brought enough to make at least another dinner and maybe even a lunch.
The meal proved discomfiting, as he paid equal attention to her and Greta. Praising her artwork, asking about her kindergarten class. He also inquired as to where Charlotte worked, which led to her having embarrassed red cheeks when she told him, “I’m a clerk at Giant Tiger.”
“Love that place,” he exclaimed. “Best deals around.” He didn’t make a comment about her working a low-end job.
“Before we moved, I used to work as a receptionist for a dental office. I’ve applied to a few places. Problem is, no one can check my references as the place burned down and I don’t know where Dr. Jones is working out of now.”
Ares appeared pensive. “That’s unfortunate.”
“It doesn’t help I don’t have a car to get to most of the dental offices, and I can’t get one on my current salary.”
“I might be able to give you a hand with that. My mom and sister are going on a two-week cruise. You’re more than welcome to borrow Mom’s car while she’s gone.”
“I wasn’t looking for a handout,” she quickly retorted.
“It’s called doing a friend a favor.”
“I didn’t know we were friends.”
“We shared ‘pagettis,” he declared solemnly. “We are officially friends. And friends can loan each other things.”
“You said it’s your mom’s car,” she pointed out.