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As he sat there, Dean was no longer worrying about whether or not he should be with her. Instead, he was starting to wonder what forever might look like.

He sighed heavily, pushing that concept away. That was a dangerous thought. If the past was any indication, Dean didn’t get forever. He only got regrets.

Not to mention, Vivian hadn’t asked for more. He did. She’d asked for secrecy.

With that in mind, he grabbed the bag with the children’s book, stashing it in his glove box, suddenly aware he couldn’t give it to Pip. It would only confuse her, and he didn’t want to do anything to risk this casual, detached, not-forever affair with Vivian.

Funny how the three necessities—casual, loveless, temporary—he used to spout off to lovers who wanted more from him were now coming back to bite him in the ass.

Karma was an evil bitch.

Chapter Eight

Vivian had expected dates with Dean to feel complicated. Sneaking around certainly was. She’d just never imagined it would also be so wonderfully ordinary.

It wasn’t the lunches, or the kisses, or even waking up smiling after another night spent talking on the phone until one of them fell asleep that she loved the most. It was everything in between.

Sometime over the past three weeks, Dean had quietly become a part of her day. Every morning, without fail, her phone buzzed before she had finished her first cup of coffee.

Sometimes he sent a meme. Sometimes a picture from an early morning practice or workout. Sometimes he just told her to have a great day, like today’s text.

Morning, sunshine. Enjoy your day off. Wish I was there with you.

Every time Dean called her sunshine, she melted inside.

He was on the road with the team. He’d boarded a bus at the ass crack of dawn this morning, heading to Buffalo, and he wouldn’t be back until very late tomorrow night.

She was thirty, a widow, and a single mother. A simple text should not have her grinning like she was some sixteen-year-old girl with her first crush.

“What are you smiling about?” Belle asked, stepping into the kitchen.

Vivian’s head was so high up in the clouds, she hadn’t even heard Belle pull into the driveway and enter the house. As Pip’s nanny, Belle had her own key.

“Nothing,” Vivian said, unable to come up with a quick lie.

Belle gave her a funny look. Probably because this wasn’t the first time her bestie had caught her grinning like a big old goofball lately.

“Mm-hmm. You’ve been smiling at your phone a lot these days,” Belle remarked, definitely suspicious, which made sense, considering Vivian had never been the type of woman to walk around with her phone practically glued to her hand before Dean.

“Have not,” Vivian countered, even though she didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“Have too.” Belle wasn’t backing down. “I can’t help but wonder who you’re texting. Give me his name.”

“What? Him who?” Vivian said. “I’m not texting anyone, Belle. You’re imagining things.”

Belle rolled her eyes. “I’m not imagining anything, but I’ll let you keep your secret for now. Only because Pip’s going to be late for school if we don’t get a move on.”

Vivian had lost all track of time, too distracted by thoughts of Dean. “Shit. I forgot to wake her up.”

Belle grinned. “I noticed. You remembered today is a half-day, right? The teachers are doing some professional development thing.”

“I remember,” Vivian lied. She’d completely forgotten, but she refused to admit it because it would just make Belle even more suspicious. Vivian—pre-Dean—had been borderline OCD when it came to daily schedules and routines. Nowadays, she was lucky if she remembered to put her panties on underneath her clothing. “You sure you don’t want me to pick her up?”

Ordinarily, Vivian took Pip to school on her days off, but Belle had a bunch of errands to run this morning, so she offered to do it. That way, Vivian could spend a lazy morning in her pajamas.

“Nope. I’ll still be in town at that point, so it’s not a problem. If my hair appointment runs late, I’ll call, but otherwise, I’m cool with getting her.”

“Thanks,” Vivian said, as they walked into Pip’s room together, working as a team to rouse the little girl, who was not a morning person.