Focus!
“Great.” I stumbled back a bit.
He nodded and then went back into the house, seemingly unfazed by the howling I could hear escalating in the living room.
The guy was perfect.
He’d probably have laminated schedules for everyone before the end of the week, proving again just how out of my element I was.
Before the neighbors could wonder why I was pacing and muttering to myself on the front porch, I was saved by the DoorDash delivery lady, who handed me something that didn’t have gluten and something for the kids loaded with avocado and veggies that wouldn’t earn me another judgmental stare and a snarky lecture about the food pyramid.
Once I’d served the kids their vaguely nutritious dinner, I started picking up the kitchen and nearly choked when Rip made his way over to the sink. We didn’t speak, just stared into the dark window as we rinsed dishes and loaded the dishwasher.
We worked silently side by side, and as hard as I tried to avoid looking his way, his eyes finally caught mine in the reflection in the window. He didn’t look pissed off for once. He looked down as soon as he realized I saw him looking at me, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and I desperately wanted to. Could he see how scared of all of this I really was? Or was he gearing up to mock my housekeeping skills again? I waited for the insult to come, the one that would break whatever tension was happening between us; instead he did something I hadn’t seen him do since… well, forever. Rip Edison smiled.