What the hell did that have to do with anything? “I haven’t been on a date since that last woman you tried to hook me up with. Hillary, I think?”
Brandon made a face. “That was Amelia’s choice.”
“Well, I wish you would allow me to make my own choices when it comes to dating.”
Brandon held up his hands in a surrendering motion. “I get it, bro. I’ll stop. But I can’t guarantee you that Amelia will end her search for your next soul mate.”
“I’ll be sure to avoid her from now on then.”
Brandon chuckled. “You can try, but she knows where you live.”
When I got home later that night, Brandon’s comments still weighed on my mind. If he saw something in the way I described Jess, then I’d have to make an effort for no one else to see whatever expression or thought had tipped him off. I wouldn’t want Jess to feel uncomfortable with me and quit after thinking I had feelings for her.
I hated how Brandon got in my head about this.
Inside the house, I heard Jess giving Gina a bath. Tonight was one of my late working nights, but ever since Jess came into our lives, I’d managed to put Gina to bed most nights.
Walking up to the bathroom door, I heard Jess singing the alphabet song to Gina. Gina sang along with her, but I stopped and listened anyway. I closed my eyes and imagined Wendy doing that with Gina. When Wendy was pregnant with Gina, she used to sing to her growing belly all the time.
I shoved the thoughts away and knocked on the door.
The singing immediately stopped as I walked through into the bathroom.
Jess knelt by the tub while Gina held a rubber ducky in her hand and was pretending to make it fly.
“Hey,” Jess said.
“Daddy!” Gina exclaimed.
“I wanted to let you know I was home,” I said. “I’ll let you finish up.”
Jess picked up a towel from behind her. “We’re finished.”
Jess pulled Gina from the tub and dried her off. Gina jumped up and down, and her little teeth were chattering.
“Cold, cold, cold,” she chanted.
“Let’s get you into PJs, okay?” Jess said.
“I want to pick!” Gina said, running from the room, leaving the towel behind.
Jess stood up and gathered all of the bath toys into the small plastic storage container. “How was your day?”
I enjoyed our little catch-ups at the end of each day. “A friend of mine came to visit. He was on vacation for a month.”
“Wow,” she said, turning on the water to clean out the tub. “That must be nice.”
I noticed myself smiling. Had that been what Brandon saw? I wiped my hand across my face and ended up with a more neutral expression. “Brandon and his wife seem always to be traveling.”
“Have you and Gina gone anywhere with them before?” I asked.
“No,” I said, even though it wasn’t for lack of want. “With the business and taking care of her, there isn’t much time.”
“You keep saying that,” she said with a small smile.
I narrowed my eyes. “My business is important to me.”
“I totally get that. But you should do something for yourself now and then.”