Carlton shook his head as he considered it and smiled. “We’ll do that. Thanks, again.” He turned to Latonya. “I’ll see you later at home. Enjoy the rest of your lunch.” He paused. “I love your new hairstyle.”

As her husband walked off, Latonya looked around for traces of the pea pod. Surely body snatchers had invaded him. Because there was no way he had just walked up to their table and thanked Jeff Weatherby for helping her!

She could barely finish the rest of her lunch as she pondered the implications of Carlton’s changes.

Chapter 22

Latonya spent the next few weeks hanging out with both her sons and making up for lost time being a mother to little Carl. They played hide-and-seek. They built things with blocks. They ran around outside and got really dirty. And she loved it all.

Pamela had pretty much decided that until Latonya felt securely bonded with both her children again, she would need to get some more crossword puzzles to fill in her time. Latonya didn’t have the heart to tell her that she might as well get a lifetime supply. She intended to spend as much time with her sons as possible.

Carlton pretty much kept his distance and let the three of them bond and connect. Both Harrington men seemed to be giving her the space and time she needed to be with her boys. She’d caught the elder Harrington watching her with her sons on several occasions.

She shrugged away the elder Harrington’s unusual behavior. However, she’d started to feel a little apprehensive about Carlton’s absence. The first couple of weeks, while she still fumed at him, she welcomed his distance, cherished it, even. As time passed by, her temper ebbed and she found herself wanting his company, wanting him to play hide-and-seek with her and the boys.

He needed to make up for as much time with Terrence as she needed to make up for with little Carl. She didn’t like the fact that he probably stayed away simply to give her space.

No sooner than she began to contemplate his absence, however, her grace period ended. While she read the boys a story one afternoon, Carlton walked in looking strikingly handsome and behaving in a manner that made him almost endearing.

“Daddy!” Barely containing his excitement at seeing his father, Terrence leaped from the sofa and jumped right into Carlton’s arms.

Picking up the child and hugging him close, Carlton kissed his small cheeks. “Hello, son.”

“Hey, Daddy, come read a story with us. Mommy can finish hers and then you can read us one.” Little Carl didn’t leave her side, but the high timbre of his voice exhibited his happiness at seeing his dad.

“Okay.” Carlton walked over to the sofa and sat down right beside Latonya, holding Terrence on his lap.

So near their bodies touched, Latonya took a deep breath before continuing The Little Engine that Could. Each time she read the words with Carlton sitting so close, she thought, I think I can. I think I can. Stop my intense reactions to this man.

The smile on his face, the way he held on to their son, and the way he responded to the reading with as much glee as the kids, all made her heart flutter. And his nearness, the way his muscular thigh and arm pressed against her own, the smell of his woodsy cologne, and the way his arm brushed against her chest when he pointed out one of the illustrations to the boys, made her so sexually aware of him, she found herself stuttering at different points just to get the words out.

Not fairing much better when it came time for him to read The Ugly Duckling, she could barely follow the story. His deep, rumbling voice had her just as captivated as the kids. However, she was captivated for all the wrong reasons.

When he finally finished reading, she had to pull her gaze away lest he catch her drooling over him. That wouldn’t be good at all. She could not fall for him again. Even though she had decided not to leave and to remain under the same roof, she told herself that they were together for the kids and that was all. Also, she would never be able to really trust him after what he’d done.

“Can we have snacks now, Mommy?” Little Carl put on his most angelic face.

Blinking away her momentary daydream, she responded, “I don’t want you to spoil your appetites before you have dinner.”

“It won’t spoil our appetite. We promise.” Already the little negotiator, little Carl pleaded their case.

“Okay. Walk, don’t run, into the kitchen and ask Miss Jillian if she will give you and your brother a little bit of fruit to hold you over until dinner.” She patted her son’s head and smiled.

“I want cookies.” Terrence had an aversion to both fruits and vegetables and joined in the negotiations with his own desires.

Turning to her youngest, Latonya smiled. “Well, you will have fruit or you will have nothing and wait until dinner.”

Not willing to forgo a snack, little Carl climbed down from the sofa and waited for his brother. “Come on, Terry. Let’s go get a snack.”

Reluctant, Terrence climbed down from his father’s lap and followed his brother.

Once the boys were out of the room, Latonya made a move to get up from the sofa, but Carlton placed his hand on her thigh. She turned to face him.

“I enjoyed that,” he murmured.

“Me, too. You know, I feel like I have been hogging the boys all to myself. And…well…if you’d like to spend time with them—you know, father-son time with them—I’m fine with that.” Her voice fluttered.

He really needs to remove his hand from my thigh, pronto. “You should be getting to know Terrence. Even though it is clear that he’s already smitten with you. He’s all, Daddy! Mommy, who?”

“Oh, yeah, like little Carl isn’t all about his mother. He didn’t even bother to get up and give me a hug hello because it would have meant him leaving your side for a minute.” Carlton laughed. “But it’s good. I’m glad they both know that they have a mother and a father who love them. For the record, I’d love to spend more father-and-son time with them. I would also like for us to spend more times like this, together as a family.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she struggled to exhale. Trying to process if she could possibly spend more moments in close proximity to her very sexy, suddenly very sweet husband, she knew without a question she would be a goner if she did. Even though he exhibited all the signs of a changed man, she knew he had a way to go before she would be ready to try again with him. He had to apologize first.

Before she could think of a suitable response, he continued, “If that’s going to be a problem for you, then you can just let me know. I don’t want to cause you any stress or anything.” The sincerity of his words was unmistakable.

Having him sitting so near wreaked havoc on her senses. She didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Irritated that he still had the power to affect her in such an overwhelming way, she tried to quickly process the ramifications of that fact. Again, he left little time for her response, eerily in tune with her very conflicted dilemma.

“It’s probably too soon for you. I understand. Take your time.” Giving her a thigh a soft squeeze, he got up from the sofa.

Only after Carlton had left the room did her breathing return to normal.

Chapter 23

Knowing full well that his wooing-process and therefore his progress with Latonya was moving slowly, Carlton felt no need to rush. He’d rushed things with her before and he didn’t want their relationship to end up like it had then.

Often he found himself wishing he had taken more time to court her properly. Maybe then they both would have been a little more secure in their relationship. Back then, he’d felt they had all the time in the world for her feelings to catch up with his, and he didn’t want to let her go before that happened. Right now, he found himself in a similar situation, but this time he was determined that her feelings for him be in line with his feelings for her before he pushed the relationship further. There would be no rushing this time.

He felt that the strain was ebbing and Latonya was slowly opening herself up to at least consider the possibility of them starting over again. She hadn’t said anything else about leaving. He felt confident that they were on the right track. After the lunch incident with Jeff and their experience reading to the boys, Carlton had a feeling that he might be able to move to the next level soon and ask Latonya out on a date.

That day he’d come home to find Latonya and the children all in the kitchen, covered with flour and making more of a mess than the chocolate-chip-walnut cookies they claimed to be making.

The boys asked him to help out. After searching Latonya’s face to make sure she’d be fine with it, he agreed.

Soon covered with flour and gook himself, he stood behind her as she stirred the batter, and he could have sworn he heard her breath catch. Inhaling the smell of her shampoo and perfume made his stomach tighten into a painful knot. She smelled better than the cookies baking in the oven. He quickly moved from behind her when other parts of his body naturally responded to being so close. He’d seen her in some of the finest gowns and jewels imaginable, but she had never looked better to him than she did right then in the pale pink cotton shorts, white T-shirt and cookie dough.

He took a seat at the table with his sons. With the second batch of cookies mixed, she walked over to the table and they each took turns dropping batter on the metal baking sheet.

He made the boys laugh by placing big blobs of cookie dough on the sheet.

“Yours is going to be ugly, Daddy,” little Carl said as he placed his own little round drops on the cookie sheet.

“Yeah, Daddy. You no doing the way Miss Jillian say.” Terrence tried to mimic his older brother’s perfect balls of dough.

“Well, we’ll see what you two say when my nice big delicious cookies come out. I bet you both are going to want them. But, I’m going to say no. They’re ugly. You don’t want these.” Teasing his sons, he plopped another big drop of dough on the sheet.

Smirking, Latonya mumbled something under her breath.

He stopped teasing his sons and turned to his wife. “You have something you want to add, smarty pants?”