Hi Valerie. Had a great time with you last week, and I like you a lot. But we want different things. Good luck with everything—Sebastian

He felt like a dinosaur signing a text with his name at the end, but come on, you couldn’t sever ties with someone through a text message and not even have the courtesy to sign your own name.

He sighed and turned the phone over on the counter. He swooped in on his son, ripping him up off the barstool and tossing him straight in the air.

“Gah! Dad! What the heck! I didn’t finish my book or my ice cream!” But he was giggling like a madman when Seb scraped his five o’clock shadow on the kid’s exposed belly.

“Well, grab your stuff then. You can finish it in bed. It’s past 8:30.” He held his son upside down so that Matty could grab the book and bowl of ice cream. Which he did with a blinding grin on his face.

Seb hauled them down the hall and straight into his son’s room, where he got to experience the acute joy of having his kid read a book to him. And he didn’t even think about the phone he’d left in the kitchen.

CHAPTER NINE

“HEY!” VIA ALMOST winced at how chipper her voice sounded as Sebastian slid into the seat next to her at the staff meeting. Tone it down, Violetta. She sounded like a fourth grader. And she would know. She spent pretty much her entire day with fourth graders.

“Hey.” He winced as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

“You all right?” She frowned down at his legs. His very long legs. How had she never noticed how crazy long his legs were before?

“Yeah.” He paused and greeted Shelly and Grace, who were sitting in the seats in front of them. He passed around his usual gum, peeling his own slice and popping it into his mouth. He turned back to Via. “I’m still sore from the game on Saturday.”

“Really?” She furrowed her brow. “Did you not stretch or something?”

“Oh, I stretched. There’s just this delightful little thing called age. It starts to bite you in the ass around thirty-five and, you know what? I won’t spoil the surprise for you.”

She grinned at him, her head tilted. “You know, I’ve heard of it. Have you ever tried yoga? It helps with aches and pains.”

“Oh Lord, I knew you’d be a yoga person.” He shook his head.

Via laughed again and straightened the cuff of her blue silk shirt. Blue like her boring, lonely aura. She swallowed down her frown. “Are you one of those men who insist that yoga is only for women?”

He looked affronted. “Definitely not. I just think yoga is for...bendy people. And trust me, I’m not one of the blessed.”

“You might surprise yourself. I go to this great community yoga class in Crown Heights. There’s plenty of...un-bendy men. You might like it.”