Bryan swallowed, not quite frowning. “I’ll go check in on him.”

“Sounds good.” I pulled out the cash I’d withdrawn to pay the sitter and counted it to make sure it was all there.

Bryan put his hand over mine. “Let me pay her.”

“What? No.” I shook off his hand, giving him a sidelong look. “I took this cash out specifically to pay her, and I hate carrying it around.”

Bryan’s not quite frown became a true frown, yet he nodded, stepping away. “I’ll go check on Patrick.”

“Okay.” I tried to look unconcerned, normal, but didn’t quite succeed. The way he was acting, the whole evening, how he’d responded to Mrs. Francis’s bizarre pronouncement had me in a tangle of knots.

His gaze moved over my face once more, as though he were searching for something specific, and then he turned for the bathroom. As soon as he was out of sight, I released a quiet breath and leaned against the table, my eyes staring unseeingly at the carpet as I recounted the evening’s events.

He’d been acting oddly on the deck, too, after I confessed my crush to him. Or maybe it was after we’d had sex. Maybe he was regretting what had happened.

But I didn’t think so. No.

If he regretted our time on the boat, then he wouldn’t have been grabbing my arse outside and asking to spend the night.

My phone rang, so I pulled it out of my bag and glanced at the screen. It was Josey, so I sent it to voicemail, making a mental note to call her in the morning. Bryan was absolutely not spending the night. I needed some time to think, and time with Bryan was not time spent thinking.

At least it wasn’t time spent thinking with my brain.

I checked in with Becky and paid her, ignoring the ringing of my phone as I walked her to the door. She was a nice girl of sixteen who lived in our building. I liked her because she was even-tempered and responsible. Patrick liked her because she was pretty and let him have ice cream.

Boys.

After she left, I checked my phone, saw it was Josey again, and crossed to the kitchen, still pushing my worry about the evening’s happenings to the back of my mind. Ensuring that Becky had done all the dishes and put the food away, I turned off the light and walked toward the bathroom, again ignoring my phone.

Forks and crackers, Josey. Keep your knickers on!

I shouldn’t have told her about the date with Bryan. She wasn’t going to stop calling until I checked in and told her about the evening. I had no plans to tell her any of the details; I’d sort through my feelings in my own time.

Bryan was just helping Patrick out of the bath and wrapping him in a towel as I arrived. “Can Bryan spend the night?” was the first thing Patrick said upon seeing me.

My mouth dropped open and my eyes darted to Bryan. He looked just as shocked as me.

“I-I . . .” Bryan stuttered, eventually recovering, looking wide-eyed and innocent. “I don’t know where he got the idea.”

“Don’t you?” I narrowed my gaze on him, not liking that he might use Patrick this way.

But then Bryan huffed an uncomfortable sounding laugh and shook his head firmly. “No. I don’t. I swear.”

Seeing he was telling the truth, I moved my attention back to Patrick and his hopeful face.

“He can sleep in my bed, and I can sleep in my dinosaur.” His dinosaur being his sleeping bag shaped like a T-Rex.

“I’m sorry, honey. But Bryan can’t spend the night. He has chores to do in the morning, just like us. But he’ll see you in the afternoon.” Bryan’s eyes bore into me as I said this. I felt the intensity of them even though I wasn’t looking at him.

“I understand.” Patrick nodded, looking glum but resigned, then to Bryan he said, “Promise you’ll come over as soon as you’re done with your chores?”

“Absolutely.” Bryan ruffled his damp hair.

“And we’ll play football?”

“Sure.”

“And build a blanket fort?”

“Hey!” I cut in, laughing despite my swirling uncertainty of emotions.

“And have ice cream?” Patrick pushed, ignoring me, speaking solely to Bryan.

Bryan glanced at me and then back to Patrick, choosing his words very carefully, “It depends on what your mam says about the ice cream.”

Patrick slumped a little and nodded.

But then Bryan loud whispered, “But definitely yes to the blanket fort.”

I shook my head. “Go get your pajamas on, I’ll be right in,” Patrick’s smile was huge as he quickly walked out of the bathroom, past me as though he wanted to leave before I could contradict the older man’s promise.

Turning my gaze to Bryan, I crossed my arms over my chest as we swapped stares. A smile lingered behind his eyes but I knew Patrick’s antics were the reason. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, again his gaze moving over me searchingly, like he was also having trouble reading me.

I was about to suggest that he stay for a short while after Patrick went to sleep so we could talk about it, but then my phone rang again. I huffed, lifting my eyes to the ceiling.

“Who is that?” Bryan asked, a note of irritation in his tone. “Your mobile’s been ringing constantly since we got home.”

“I know.” I turned for the living room and the offensive phone, planning to place it on silent. “Sorry. It’s Josey.”