Trying to Score
Page 53

 Toni Aleo

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Lucas watched as Fallon hurried out the room and rolled his eyes.
What the hell was her problem?
He looked over at Aiden and thought the boy was thinking the exact same thing by the way he watched Fallon run up the stairs. Fallon was being weird, had been since he had gotten there. When he walked in and saw her face flushed and her mouth parted, he knew she was thinking something naughty. He would have done anything to be inside her mind, just to know what gave her that look. It was the look she used to give him when she was ready to skip breakfast and go straight back to bed.
Lucas really liked that look.
Aiden looked up at Lucas and shrugged his shoulders. “She’s weird sometimes.”
“She’s probably just tired,” Lucas said, since he didn’t know what else to say.
“Yeah, so what are we doing today?”
“Anything you want,” Lucas answered. “My whole day is yours.”
“Cool,” he said as a slow grin went across his face.
Lucas smiled back, and went back to eating because these were the best damn pancakes ever. Fallon was a kick-ass cook. Lucas could eat for days when she cooked, and before had begged her to go to culinary school. But Fallon was dead set on owning the wine business, and who was he to tell her otherwise?
Aiden finished up at almost the same time Lucas did. While Aiden ran into the living room, Lucas took their plates to the sink, cleaning them off before joining Aiden on the couch. Color flashed from the screen as a kid changed into all kinds of crazy-looking monsters.
“What show is this?” Lucas asked settling into the couch.
“Ben 10, it’s super awesome! My favorite!” Aiden said with a lot of enthusiasm. Lucas looked back at the TV with a smile on his face. Aiden was so full of life, and the more Lucas watched him, the more Lucas found that what Fallon said was true.
Aiden was him 10 times over.
As they watched the show, Lucas thought it was pretty entertaining, or maybe it was Aiden, because the kid couldn’t sit still to save his life. He would jump up, start kicking and fighting like the Ben kid on the TV. After fighting whatever creature that was on the TV, Aiden always looked back at Lucas with a grin. Lucas would smile back, which made Aiden’s smile brighter. It was heaven, and Lucas could honestly not think of any other place he’d rather be then with his son.
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Fallon looked herself over in her floor-to-ceiling mirror. The jeans she wore made her ass look great, and the low-cut yellow blouse made her skin look perfect. Her hair was in a perfect high ponytail, and her makeup was fierce. It was pretty obvious why she was worried about what she wore to work that day — it had everything to do with the man that sat on her couch watching cartoons. Before Fallon had no problem with wearing sweats to work on Saturdays since no one was there, but not today, not with her ex sitting on her couch downstairs. Nope, she had to look good.
Because she was crazy.
Why did it matter? Who cared what he thought?
She did, which was sad all in itself.
Fallon rolled her eyes and slid her feet into her yellow flannel Kate Spade flats. She went to her closet, grabbing a bag that matched her shoes before transferring everything over. Once she was ready, she slowly walked out her room, passing by the bathroom where the shower was running. Audrey was up late this morning, which was surprising. Audrey was always up early.
Fallon shrugged her shoulders as she went down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she looked up to see that Aiden’s last show was about to end. Her heart started to pick up when she thought about Lucas leaving with Aiden. Where would they go? What would they do? Would Aiden miss her?
When Lucas stood up suddenly, Fallon’s eyes went wide. He moved his arms up, stretching, and Fallon could see every muscle in his back move underneath the shirt he wore. Her mouth watered at the sight, and her fingers itched to touch each of the muscles of his back. Fallon had to force herself to look away just as Aiden turned to see her.
“Lucas’ whole day is mine, Momma! Isn’t that cool!” Aiden exclaimed.
Fallon smiled as she nodded. “Sure is honey, so what are y’all gonna do?”
Lucas turned, shrugging his shoulders. “Not sure, what are we going to do bud?”
Aiden thought for a minute. “Can we go to the zoo?”
Lucas nodded with a grin on his face. “That sounds great.”
“It does. Aiden loves the zoo,” Fallon said as she came around the couch, wrapping an arm around her perfect little boy. “Don’t you, honey?”
“It’s pretty much my favorite place, other than the Adventure Science Museum.”
“We’ll go there Monday since I’ve never been. I haven’t been to the zoo either, so I hope you’re a good guide.”
Aiden nodded his head quickly. “I am, ain’t I Momma?”
Aiden looked up at her with his smoky gray eyes glowing with excitement. “The best,” she basically croaked out as her eyes filled with tears. Oh God, this was hard.
“Okay, well you ready buddy?” Lucas asked as he clapped his hands together.
“Yup! I gotta get my shoes,” Aiden said, running around them to go to the stairs.
“Grab your coat too, Aiden James. It might get chilly,” Fallon added before he ran out of sight. She looked over at Lucas and he gave her a reassuring smile.
“He’ll be okay with me.”
“I know,” Fallon said quietly. “I’m just nervous.”