James (Resisting Love #3)(7)

I’m just putting in a change of clothes for Jye when I hear a knock on the door. Knowing it’s James, I unlock and open the door wide. James is leaning against the door frame, looking slightly nervous. The most adorable thing is that he's dressed up a little, wearing a white shirt that accentuates the enticing curve of his biceps and shows off a hint of his impressive chest.

“Hey, Sash,” he greets as he gives me a quick once over. The way his eyes scan me so intently makes me feel like he might want more than I’m able to offer right now. More than just working together to co-parent Jye as best as we can. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Hey, come on in,” I respond, moving aside for him to enter. James walks in and grins when he catches Jye sitting on the carpet playing with one of the new toys he bought him.

“It fits him,” he says proudly, referring to the new outfit Jye is wearing.

“Perfectly, you did well,” I tell him.

“Hey, little man, do you want to go to the park today?” he asks Jye. Jye stands up and curiously walks over to James. When James asks him the question again Jye nods twice, and gives James an adorable grin.

“How do you ever say no to him?” James muses out loud.

I laugh and shake my head at him. “You better learn how to say no, and fast, James Steele.”

“I could just let you be the bad guy,” James teases.

“Mama!” Jye calls out, interrupting our banter.

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” I tell him as I pick up his baby bag. We all walk outside, James waiting while I lock up. When he picks up Jye and takes him to his car, I frown.

“Why don’t we go in my car, I have the baby seat,” I call out.

“No need, I went and bought one,” James says with a grin. Wow, he really did think of everything. I walk towards his car and watch as James buckles Jye up. I bite my lip as I see him struggle a few times before he finally gets it. Instead of driving to the local park, James takes us to some fancy park. Apparently, it’s the biggest one in Perth. When we’re parked, James unbuckles Jye and they both walk over to the swings first. After about a minute I can hear Jye’s laughter echoing throughout the playground. When Jye has his fill of the swings, I feel a pang in my chest as I watch James lean down to undo the buckle, leaving a little kiss on Jye’s forehead before picking him up and taking him to the slide. I head over to the café and get lunch for the three of us, calling them both to come and eat once it’s ready. My eyes widen as I watch both of them pick-up their sandwich, take a bite, and then wipe their mouths with the back of their hands at the exact same time.

“You’re pretty good at this,” I tell James after we’ve finished the meal. James’ blue eyes pierce mine. “I’m trying, I mean, I want to be a good father,” he says. We’re about to play some more when James' phone rings.

“Tatiana, hi,” he says as he picks up. My whole body tenses. Is that his girlfriend?

“Shit, okay, tell her I'll be there as soon as I can.”

I notice him cringe after he curses, probably because it was in front of Jye.

“Okay, bye.”

James glances over at me, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry, Sasha, I need to go to work. I’ll have to drop you and Jye off.” If that was his girlfriend, I doubt it has to do with his work. Maybe it’s just an excuse because she wants him to come home?

“No problem,” I say, standing up and packing everything. I walk over to Jye and take his hand, walking with him towards the car.

“No, mama! I want to play!” he whines.

My eyes slide to James, who currently looks crestfallen. His eyes are on Jye and I know he feels bad about cutting his day short. I get down on one knee and look into Jye’s pale eyes.

“Baby, we need to go home now. But how about when we get there, you and I can play blocks?” I try to convince him.

Jye thinks it over for a few moments, and then nods. “Okay, mama,” he says with a grin. Crisis averted.

I pick Jye up and strap him in James’ car. When I get into the passenger seat, James is silent, not starting the engine.

“Look, I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to him, okay?” he says.

“It’s fine, but maybe next time we can just come in separate cars,” I suggest. It’s easier that way, and I can drive myself home. I see the muscle in James’ jaw tick, a sure sign that he’s not happy, but I could care less because right now, neither am I. He starts the engine and we drive home in silence. When he pulls into my driveway, I thank him for taking us out, take Jye out of the car and walk to my front door. I don’t look back.

***

James

I watch Sasha and my son walk into their house, and sigh heavily. I didn’t want to cut my first day out with Jye short, but I had no option. That’s the thing with my job. Sometimes I may be gone for a day or two, and I get called at random times. There's nothing I can do to help that. It’s not the ideal job for a father, even one who doesn’t have their kid full time.

Yet.

Soon I hope to move Sasha and Jye into my house. It’s huge, three bedrooms and spacious. I bought the house from Chase, since he had no use for it, and Kade and Nikki moved into their own home. My phone beeps with a message from Tatiana, with one thing written in it. An address. I put it into my GPS and drive to the location.