Lahat ng Kabanata ng Accidentally In Love With You: Kabanata 211 - Kabanata 220

Jack looked at the number on his phone and cringed. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would get this call, but he’d hoped it would take a little more time. “Dahlia,” he said, answering the phone, his voice gruff. “Hi Jack, how are you?” “I’m fine,” he replied. “Or at least I was until you called.” He was standing outside the Black Sheep building, pacing the courtyard. Maybe he should have ignored the call and dealt with it after work, not before he was about to spend another day in close proximity to Dianna. She had specified he needed to wear casual clothes today, which he didn’t understand. The whole ‘unknown’ thing really spiked his anxiety, not to mention the call he was currently on. “It’s been almost eighteen months, Jack. She would like to see her son.” Dahlia was Kara’s case worker. After Kara first abandoned Riley and then tried to kidnap him, Child Protective Services stepped in. It had been hell for Jack at the time, but he won full custody and they

Dianna leaned against the door and took a slow breath. It was good to be home. The tension she’d held in her shoulders all day long slowly released and she winced. It should feel good, but that’s not how her body worked. Letting the tension go also meant letting go of the barrier she put up to resist the constant pain she was in. It was the only way to get through the day, and some days were easier than others. This week had been pretty good, but she’d overdone it today. She’d been swept up in Jack’s enthusiasm for the geo-caching and pushed herself so as not to appear weak in front of him. But no good deed ever went unpunished, and now she would pay the price for her pride. Already she could feel the prickle of pain under her skin and the slow, insidious ache creeping up her neck to settle at the base of her head. She needed food and a cool bath. A hot bath would only aggravate the problem. Cool water would bring down her body temperature and, combined with the air conditio

Jack looked over the wine glass at Dianna. The light was low. It was late and Riley was asleep on the couch between them. The television was muted and flickering images cast moving shadows around the room. Dianna was sketching, and he was watching her while she sketched, wishing he had even an ounce of her talent that he could capture this quiet moment between them. He should go home. He should pick Riley up and carry him back to his own bed and then crawl into bed himself. That’s what he should do, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. Dianna wore stretchy yoga pants and a loose t-shirt, her hair tied up on her head in a messy bun with long wayward curls framing her face. She had oversized glasses perched on the end of her nose and she bit the corner of her lip as she sketched, her pencil moving over the page with soft scritches. They’d spent the evening talking about everything and nothing. They talked about the game—swearing Riley to secrecy—but t

Dianna stepped out of her apartment and froze. Jack and Riley were doing the same. She smiled. She still felt a little awkward after the night before and how they’d left things, but there was no more animosity between them. They crossed some sort of invisible line, which wasn’t an altogether bad thing. “Hey,” she said. “Hey,” he replied, smiling at her. Gah. Dianna didn’t think she would ever get used to his genuine smile pointed her way. She’d been too used to his scowl, and the change was disconcerting. “Hi Dianna,” Riley said. “Hey Riley,” she replied, dragging her eyes away from Jack and down to his son. “Thank you for dinner last night,” Riley said as they walked toward the elevator. “It was yum.” Dianna didn’t know about that, but at least it wasn’t terrible. “Thanks, Riley,” Dianna said. The doors to the elevator opened and Jack motioned for her to go in ahead of him. This was the first time they’d left at the same time since they’d been working together. An

The final two days of Jack’s appointment at Black Sheep passed uneventfully. Dianna hadn’t completely avoided him and he’d got some great insights into the company and the game he would have been excited for the next week where he would get to play Paper Gate on his home system for his review, except he had Kara’s visit hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles. He’d waited until that morning to tell Riley because he’d been sure Kara would get cold feet and call the whole thing off and he hadn’t wanted to get Riley’s hopes up. “Hey kiddo,” Jack said as Riley stumbled sleepily from his bedroom to the kitchen counter and climbed up on a stool. “Hey Dad,” Riley replied with a yawn. “I made pancakes.” Riley perked up at the mention of his favorite breakfast food, but then they narrowed in suspicion. “Why?” Jack took a breath and smiled casually as he slid a plate of pancakes and maple syrup in front of Riley. “What do you mean, why? Can’t I just make p