Erin shook all of the inappropriate thoughts from her head. Why was she even thinking of Blair this way? She especially shouldn’t be having these thoughts when she was standing right by Blair’s mother, who might honestly be closer in age to her than Erin was to Blair. That thought made her stomach twist into knots. She really needed to let go of this strange infatuation she had with the babysitter.

“Mommy!” Nolan shouted once again.

“Yes.” Erin cleared her throat. “We can stay.”

“Yay!” Nolan ran out of the pool and wrapped her in a very wet hug. “Thanks, Mommy.”

Erin held Nolan up against her and stared down at the top of his head to keep herself from watching Blair get out of the pool.

“Nolan’s dry clothes are in the backpack over there by the table,” Blair said as she walked past. “I’m going to change too, so I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

Erin nodded in acknowledgment, but didn’t look up until she heard the sliding door open and close.

“Hey, Pops!” she heard Blair say through the thin glass.

A few seconds later, the door opened again, and a man walked out who also closely resembled Blair. His hair was lighter, but his eyes looked just like hers. It was clear that Blair was the perfect combination of her two parents. Emphasis on perfect. Erin once again shook these thoughts from her head.

She smiled at the man walking toward her, but as had tended to be the case since having a child, he was focused on someone other than her.

He stopped right in front of Nolan and put out his hand for a high five. “Hey, little man! What’s your name?”

Instead of hitting his hand, Nolan burrowed deeper into Erin’s legs. Erin ran her hand through his hair and smiled at the man again, who was now looking back at her. “This is Nolan. Sorry. He’s a bit shy.”

Mr. Breckenridge smiled and took a step back. “That’s okay. I understand. Blair told me it took him a bit to warm up to her, but now they’re best friends.”

Nolan shook his head at that. “My mommy is my best friend.” He held up two fingers. “Bear is number two.”

Mr. Breckenridge chuckled. “That’s understandable.” His eyes met Erin’s again, and he held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Blaine.”

Erin accepted his handshake. “It’s very nice to meet you, Blaine. I’m Erin.”

“I’m happy to finally meet you after hearing so much about you from Blair.”

“Sh-she talks about me?” Play it cool, Erin.