Holding my cup of coffee, I thought about my plan of attack. She may be different, but so was I, we both had lived two separate lives. We had pasts that neither of us knew about, but I could accept that. I just needed to keep reminding myself that I had her now.

When she walked back into the kitchen twenty minutes later, her dark hair was damp and pinned back, which made her even more breathtaking.

“What are you doing today?” 

She paused, considering my question before saying, “Nothing. Why?” 

“Well, I volunteer at the community center and was on my way there when I stopped by. I’d love it if you came with me, and I’m sure the kids would enjoy it as well. When I learned who you were and that you wrote children’s books, I asked some of the kids if they’d read your work. They all thought I was nuts, and two of the kids pulled copies of your books from their backpacks. So, you may get some hero worship.”

She grabbed another donut from the box and took a bite. “I have a few boxes of books that I was going to donate to a local school. Would the center like them instead?”

“They’d love them. Does that mean you’re going to come with me? I took this week off because this is Orange County’s spring break and the center will be packed.”

She shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth. “Let me get this straight. You schedule your vacation for when kids are out of school so that you can volunteer at a center and spend time with them?”

“Pretty much, but only one week. I get more vacation than that.”

“But still. And why aren’t you married with children?”

Because you never gave me my heart back. 

I went with the safer reply instead. “I could ask you the same thing.”

The instant I said it, I regretted my words because something in her changed. 

“Touché.”

I followed Sophie out of her massive great room area and down a hallway. We passed two rooms—one filled with boxes and a bathroom. Ahead, behind an intricately carved door, was her office. 

“A round room. That’s different.”

“It’s called a turret. Victorian-style home and all that. Would you mind carrying those out to your car?” Sophie gestured to two boxes sitting by her desk. 

“Sure. Be right back.”

As I headed out, I paid closer attention to her home. The living room and kitchen were one giant area that was divided by a bar. On the other side of the kitchen was another one of those turrets, which seemed to be her dining room. Behind me were giant French doors that opened to a lanai and in front of me was her foyer and front door. 

Heading outside I loaded the boxes into the back of my Jeep and then closed the tailgate. Before going back in, I looked around and tried to picture what was upstairs, letting my eyes track along the front of the two-story home. That was when it hit me—this was a family home. 

“Earth to Carter, come in Carter.” Sophie’s voice had a soft lull to it, a lightness that didn’t seem to be there last night. 

I smiled at her. Sophie was carrying a book bag, and when I took it from her, she met me with a smile equally as bright as the sun shining this morning. I held out my hand and escorted her to the passenger side of my Jeep. 

“Is this okay to wear?” She did a little spin, letting the long flowy skirt of her dress billow out around her.

“You look beautiful. What’s in the bag?”

“Just some stuff I might need if I decide to volunteer as well. You never know.”

“You never know.” It was hard to contain my smile. I opened her door, helped her up, and waited while she pulled in the edges of her skirt. Once she was in, I moved to the driver’s side, and we were on our way over to the community center.

“What have you been up to? Tell me about your job, what got you into writing children’s books?”

“Well, I got started because I love kids and history, so it seemed like such an organic way to put the things that I enjoyed together.”

“So, you write about history? I hated history when I was a kid.”

I watched as her face lit up, and she radiated with excitement. “That’s what makes my job so interesting, trying to write in a way that will make kids want to read. My series, the one that most people know”— she twisted in her seat and tucked one leg up under her, practically bouncing—“is about a little boy who wants to be an archeologist when he grows up so wherever he goes, he digs in the dirt.”

“Is this History Hunter?” 

“Yup!” She beams. “Well, when he is in Gettysburg, he finds an Indian head penny from 1863, which is the same year that Abraham Lincoln gave his famous address. That penny takes him back in time to November 19, 1863, to witness the events of that day. And, when he is in Boston, he finds a china cup, which takes him back to what leads to the Boston Tea Party. Every book is a different story.”

“You really enjoy writing and researching, don’t you?”

“Oh my God, I love it. I love going into the schools and reading chapters or helping kids who want to be writers one day. My favorite part is when a child tells me that they hate history, I read them part of a story, and they don’t realize that those things really happened. They are so enthralled in the story, they have no clue that they are learning history at the same time.”

Watching her and the excitement she had over making an impact on a child’s life I knew that Sophie was going to be a fabulous mom one day. An image wrapped around my brain of Sophie carrying a baby in her arms. Fuck, just the thought of her having a baby with some man—any other man—made my blood boil. She was mine. She had been since that first day our eyes locked. I couldn’t think about that, so instead, I focused on the fact that she was sitting next to me. 

Pulling into the parking lot, I smiled when I saw some of my favorite kids on the other side of the fence. I knew I shouldn’t have favorites, but it was hard not to.

“Come on, let’s get you introduced.” I got out and walked around to open Sophie’s door before grabbing the boxes from the back. The two of us headed inside, and I set the books on a table. “This is the library and homework area. You can come back later to unpack those and put them wherever you want or I can take care of it this week.” 

“Thank goodness you’re here, Carter, these kids have too much energy.” The director of the center was standing in the doorway, looking a bit flustered. 

I smiled. “It’s Sunday, what did you expect? No kid wants to be here on a Sunday,” I said, giving her a wide smile. “Denise, I want you to meet someone, I have a new volunteer for you.”

“You’re an angel, has anyone ever told you that?” Denise placed a kiss on my cheek. She was the same age as my mom, and her son, Logan, was a firefighter who volunteered here as well. 

“Denise, this is Sophia Kostas. She’s the author of those books that I was asking the kids about.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Denise grabbed Sophie and pulled her in for a hug. To her credit, Sophie hugged her back. Denise could be overwhelming sometimes, but she was a miracle worker when it came to the center and helping these kids. “Why don’t you come with me, and we can get some paperwork filled out. I will have to run a background check and do fingerprints. It’s just standard protocol.”

“No worries.” Sophie reached into her book bag and pulled out a sealed envelope and a file folder before handing both to Denise. “Here’s a certified sealed copy of my background check, a copy of my resume, references, and personal information so you can verify everything. I’m already in the system. I do a lot of school visits, so I totally understand protocol. You’ll also find a copy of my insurance with rider that covers me with children when I’m in my author capacity.”

“You just became my very best friend.” Denise wrapped an arm around Sophie again before stopping and looking back at me. “Why are you still standing here? Kids need to be run ragged.” 

Taking that as my cue to go, I headed outside and spotted the cutest of all the kids laying on the grass staring up at the sky. Again, I knew I wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but if I ever had children, I wanted one that looked just like Bee. I wasn’t sure if that was her real name or not but that’s what her mom called her, and it somehow seemed to fit. Not only was she adorable but she was smart and thought about things that the average kid didn’t even consider. 

I came in and sat next to her, stretching out and then lying back to stare up at the vast amount of clouds. 

“What do you see today?” I asked knowing that this was her favorite thing to do when she was at the center.

She pointed off to the left where three clouds connected with smaller clouds. “That's a family. The tiny cloud in the center, that's the child, the mom and dad are on either side.”

“Any particular family?”

“Nope, just a family.”

Her reply was quick, but it didn’t sound as if she was hurt or missing something in her life. Bee's mom was a single parent. I wasn't sure if her dad was in the picture at all and it wasn’t my position to ask. “Tell me, what else do you see?”

“See that long cloud?” 

“Yep.”

“That's a caterpillar. It's almost to those big clouds. When they moosh together, that will be when she breaks free and becomes a butterfly.”

“You know what I see?” I pointed to the right toward a perfectly shaped cumulus cloud.

“What?” Bee asked enthusiastically.

“See that puffy one over there? That's a bumble bee, and she is floating around to all of the other clouds and making them happy. Just like you.”

“Do I make people happy?”

“You make me happy whenever I see you. I can't help but smile. And every time I see your mom, she's smiling. Seems like when you're around people are happy.”

“Thanks, Carter.”

“I’m headed out to the field,” I said as I stood up. “If you want to come join us for a game you’re welcome.”

“Nah, I'd rather stay here and dream.”

Leaving Bee to her clouds and her imagination, I raced off. When I got to the middle of the field, I blew my whistle to get the kids’ attention. They came running, and Logan came barreling down the stairs at the sound of my whistle as well.

“Want to get a game going?” he asked.

“Sure. The usual?” When the kids had too much energy, our go-to game was soccer. Nothing exhausted them more than running up and down a field. 

“Let’s line up and begin with some stretches.” The kids formed a haphazard line in front of Logan and me and mimicked my motions as I lead them through the first few sets of stretches. 

“Did you get a look at the new volunteer? I’m calling dibs,” Logan whispered while the kids were busy touching their toes.

“Keep away.”

“Hey, I called her first.”

Letting out a low snort. “Don’t push it. Stay away from Sophie. She’s been mine for ten years, and she just moved back and we just reconnected.”

“I thought you didn’t do relationships.”

“I don’t. I do Sophie.” I stopped stretching and glared at him. “Maybe today isn’t a good day for me to be here. I’ll go get her, and we’ll leave.”

“Carter, I’m just giving you a hard time. I saw you two walking in together, and you never took your eyes off her. Did you really think my mom showing up in the library when you two were in there was a coincidence?”

Yeah, I guessed I should have seen that one coming. Still, I turned to face him and mouthed, “Fuck you.”

He let out a throaty chuckle.

Once the kids were well stretched, we divided them into two teams and ran them for almost two hours. When the littlest of our boys kicked the ball and scored, we called the game.

“Score. Awesome kick. That goalie didn’t stand a chance,” I said as I swung Jeremy up into my arms and held him high above my head so he could fly like Superman. That was when I spotted Sophie standing at the edge of the field watching me. Putting Jeremy down, I looked over at Logan. “I’m heading out. Be back this week.”

“Roger that.”

Jogging up to Sophie, I smiled, and from the smile on her face, I could tell that she had enjoyed her time as well. Before I could ask her about it, though, she pulled her phone out and brought it to her ear.

“Hey,” she said, her eyes dancing to mine and then away again. “Sure. What time?” She paused for a moment. “No, an hour should be fine. I’m out right now, but by the time I get home and get my car, I should get there right about the same time.” She paused again. “We’ll talk at lunch, see you then.” She hung up.