“Mom?”

My eyes flew open. Jacob was standing at the foot of my bed. His pajama shirt had ridden up on his chest, exposing his slight pale belly, and his blonde hair was sticking up in every direction possible.

Bright sunlight was filtering in through the window. Panic shot through my veins and I bolted up in bed, yanking the sheet with me to cover my breasts. Glancing behind me, I noted with a cold wave of relief that the bed was empty. Thank god, I thought, wiping my brow with the back of my hand. He must have left hours ago.

“Hi, sweetie,” I said, gritting my teeth. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Mom, it’s late,” Jacob said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in a little impatient toddler dance. “I’m hungry.”

“I know, baby,” I said. “Can you give me just one minute, please?”

Jacob frowned. He was normally incredibly well behaved, but sometimes he got a little petulant if too much time passed between meals. I had a sinking feeling that this morning was one of those times.

“Mom, I’m hungry,” Jacob said. His voice grew louder.

“I know,” I said. “Just give Mommy a minute to get dressed, okay?”

Jacob frowned. “There’s someone in the bathroom,” he said.

“What?” My jaw dropped. “Are you sure?”

Jacob nodded. “I’m hungry.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I grabbed my robe from the floor and pulled it on, leaping out of bed and trying to cover my naked body before Jacob could get too much of a peek. Racing down the hall, I saw that the bathroom door was closed. There was a strip of light at the bottom of the door…and the unmistakable sound of off-key, masculine humming coming from inside.

I knocked on the door.

“Yeah?”

“Uh, it’s me,” I said quickly. “You need to leave.”

The humming stopped. A few seconds later, the light vanished and the door opened. Billy was standing there, a towel wrapped around his naked waist. When he saw my expression, his broad smile faded.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Billy stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “You okay, Alex?”

I nodded. “You need to leave,” I said. “My son woke up and I don’t want him to know you’re here.”

Billy nodded. “How about a breakfast date? The three of us,” he said quickly. “I’d love to meet Jacob.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “Sorry. Billy, I really just need you to go.”

I groaned as I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hall behind me. When I turned around, Jacob was standing there. When he saw Billy, he blushed, then ducked behind my legs.

“Come on, Jacob,” I said, reaching down and scooping my son into my arms. He was so heavy now that it almost hurt my back to carry him. “Let’s go make something to eat.”

Jacob kept his eyes locked on Billy as I carried him into the kitchen. All of the happiness and satisfaction I’d felt the night before was quickly draining from my body, leaving me feeling tired and guilty and unhappier than I’d felt in a long time. What the hell was I doing, sneaking around with man like this? It wasn’t a good idea – Jacob was young, impressionable, and needed one hundred and ten percent of my attention all the time.

I sighed as I set Jacob down in the kitchen. “What do you want for breakfast, honey?”

Jacob stared up at me, pouting. His lower lip was jutting out so far that it almost looked swollen. His blue eyes were stormy, and I had the sinking feeling that a tantrum was coming on.

“I don’t care,” Jacob said. He narrowed his eyes.

“Sweetie, how about pancakes?”

Jacob shook his head. “No.”

“Waffles?”

“No!” Jacob stamped his foot on the ground. “Who is that?”

Shit.

“He’s just a friend of Mommy’s,” I said quickly. “He’s leaving now, baby. It’s all okay – I promise nothing bad will ever happen to you.”

Just then, Billy sauntered into the kitchen. He was fully dressed and I had to look away, afraid that I’d blush if I kept staring at him. Even with his hair mussed and dark circles under his eyes, he was easily the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

“I’m sorry about that,” Billy said. “I’ll leave now. You sure I can’t take you both to breakfast?” He glanced down at Jacob. “I happen to know a place around here that makes some dynamite hotcakes.”

“No,” I said sharply. “You need to go.”

The hurt in Billy’s blue eyes was obvious, but I couldn’t waste any time feeling guilty about him, too. I’d already committed a Single Mother Mortal Sin, and I wasn’t going to let myself get tricked into committing another.

“Okay,” Billy said. “See you soon, Alex.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen. I held my breath until the front door closed, then I sighed and slumped down in a chair.

“Mom,” Jacob said sharply. “Who was that man?”

“I told you, sweetie,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Just a friend of Mommy’s. He’s gone now, okay? Now tell me – what would you like for breakfast?”

--

Hours later, I’d finally managed to calm Jacob down. I’d made scrambled eggs with cheese and toast for breakfast, and then we’d watched one of his favorite movies. I hated being stuck indoors on a day that was so beautiful outside, but I was feeling so guilty over what had happened that morning that I didn’t dare push Jacob to do anything that would upset him. I felt like the world’s worst mother – what kind of woman brings a man home after the second date? Especially a man who was practically a stranger.

It was almost a relief when Elisabeth knocked on the door shortly before I had to leave for work.

“Hey,” I said. I yawned. Despite my long night of sleep in Billy’s arms, I was exhausted.

“Hey,” Elisabeth said. She kicked off her shoes and tossed her light denim jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. “Where’s the little guy?”

“Still napping, thank god,” I said. I sank into a chair and wrapped my hands around a steaming mug of tea. “I don’t have to leave for about fifteen minutes.”

“So,” Elisabeth said. She smirked. “Feel like telling me about your date last night?”

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. “God, no.” I sniffed. “It was a complete disaster.”

“Really?” Elisabeth frowned. “That seems unlikely. You just went out for burgers – what the hell happened?”

“He came home with me,” I said quietly, keeping one eye on the kitchen doorway in case Jacob suddenly appeared.

“Oh no he didn’t,” Elisabeth gasped. “Alex, I’m so proud of you!”

I glared at her. “Come on,” I said. “I acted like a total slut. I’m not proud of it.”

“You’re being way too hard on yourself,” Elisabeth said. “When was the last time you had any fun?”

I rolled my eyes. “Fun is spending time with Jacob, watching a Disney movie,” I said. “Fun is not bringing home a strange man and sleeping with him after the second date. I can’t believe I did that.”

“Well, how was it?” Elisabeth smirked.

I swallowed and blushed.

“That good, huh?”

“Stop it,” I hissed. “Jacob will hear you!”

“If he didn’t hear you last night,” Elisabeth said.

“Shut up!” I growled. “Come on! This is already bad, Liz. I totally screwed up.”

“Oh come on,” Elisabeth said. “Stop being like this, Alex. You didn’t do anything wrong – you’re a woman, and you have needs, and that guy is smoking hot. What’s wrong with the occasional hot night of sex, as long as Jacob is safe and asleep in his bed?”

“Because,” I said through gritted teeth. “That’s not how it happened. We fell asleep…and when I woke up in the morning, Jacob was standing at the foot of my bed.”

Elisabeth’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit,” she muttered. “You’re kidding.”

I moaned miserably. “I’m not,” I said. “I wish I was. I really, really wish I was. Trust me.”

“What happened?”

“Billy was in the bathroom, and then he came into the kitchen when I was trying to feed Jacob,” I said. I glanced down at my hands, twining them together between my thighs. “Jacob kept asking who he was. I didn’t know what to say.”

“I’m sure he’ll forget all about it,” Elisabeth said soothingly. She rubbed my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Alex. It’s fine. Everyone screws up sometimes.”

I shook my head. “Billy kept wanting to go out to breakfast,” I said miserably. “I basically kicked him out without even saying goodbye.”

“Well, Jacob is more important, and if Billy’s a good guy, he’ll realize that,” Elisabeth said. She rubbed my back. “God, you’re tense.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” I shot back. “I just hope Jacob forgets about this – and soon.”

“Well, maybe not,” Elisabeth said. “What happens if you and Billy start dating? Like, officially? Then what?”

Just thinking about dating Billy was filling my stomach with butterflies. Stop it, I thought sternly. The last thing you need to be doing is mooning over this guy like a schoolgirl. You’re thirty-one, not sixteen. Grow up already.

“You like him,” Elisabeth said smugly. “I can tell. You’re blushing and your eyes have that dewy look.”

I leaned back in my chair and sighed. “It’s nothing,” I said. “It’s just an infatuation. It’ll go away. It always does.”

Elisabeth smirked. “We’ll see about that.”