But how long do I have you?  Erin had only hired Blair for the summer, and she couldn’t keep Nolan out of daycare in the fall (especially since she already enrolled him), but she hated the thought of Blair not being there when she got home from work.

Erin laid her hand on top of Blair’s. “Thank you. For everything.” There was more she wanted to say, but those were words she needed to keep locked up inside.

Chapter 13

Blair

Blair grew impatient as she stared at the clock, waiting for Erin to get home from work. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time with Nolan, but she missed Erin. It had been a little after a week since the Fourth of July party, and even though she saw Erin almost every day, it was mostly in passing. She had been so spoiled having her for the whole day on the Fourth of July that she could hardly stand the little bit of interaction she’d had with her since.

Even Erin joining her and Nolan for lunch the past Friday hadn’t been enough to scratch the itch she had for more time together.

“Bear! Your phone is singing.”

Blair looked down at the phone she held in her hand, but somehow hadn’t heard, and quickly picked up when she saw it was Erin calling. “Hey! What’s up?” she asked smoothly, to keep from making it obvious she was literally just thinking about her.

“Hey! I really hate to do this, but a big project came up, and I’m stuck at work. Is there any chance you could stay late? It shouldn't be more than an hour. This usually only happens once or twice a year, so it really shouldn’t happen again anytime soon.” Even though it was clear Erin was stressed, Blair couldn’t help but smile just from hearing her voice.

“Hey, take a breath. It’s fine. I don’t mind at all. I’m yours for as long as you need me.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m going to pick up food on the way home. Can I get you something?”

“Food sounds great.” It was only partially a lie on Blair’s part. Even though she was always down to eat, the real reason she said yes was because that meant more time with Erin. There was no way she was going to turn that down.

“Perfect! I’ll text you once I know what I’m getting. Any preference?”

“Nope. Whatever you pick will be great.”

“Awesome. See you in a bit. Thanks again.”

“Was that my Mommy?” Nolan asked as soon as Blair hung up the phone.

“It was.”

“What she say?”