“Same to you.”

They shared a small, intimate smile that let him know nothing had changed overnight. Relief flooded through him at that realization.

“How about I walk Ethan to the bus today?” he offered.

“I wouldn’t say no to that. These shoes are far more about style than they are about function.”

He took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m digging your style.”

As her face heated with an appealing blush, she gazed into his eyes.

Paul had to remind himself that he was not allowed to kiss her right there in the kitchen with his mother at the table and her son coming back any second. But, damn, he wanted to.

The moment was lost when Ethan came barreling through the door, the screen slamming behind him.

Paul released her hand and turned his attention to Ethan. “Ready to go?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Paul is going to walk you to the bus today, E.”

“Okay.”

“Come give me a kiss.”

Ethan’s face wrinkled with displeasure.

“Give your mom a kiss,” Paul said.

He did as he was told while Paul picked up the backpack from where Ethan had dropped it on the floor.

Ethan went over to Marion and kissed her cheek. “Bye, Mrs. Marion.”

“Have a good day at school, honey,” Marion said.

Paul marveled at his mother’s lucidity whenever the little boy was around. He followed Ethan out the front door and down the driveway. They went past the retail store on their way up to the main road where the bus would pick him up.

“Can we check the pumpkins later?” Ethan asked.

“Sure.”

“Do you like my mom?”

Paul felt like he’d been hit in the gut by a full-grown pumpkin. “Um, well, yeah. I do. Is that okay?”

“It’s okay. She’s a nice mom.”

“Yes, she is. You’re very lucky to have her, and you shouldn’t make faces when she asks for a kiss.”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Yes, you did. You always do. I think it hurts her feelings when you do that.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do, so you can try harder.”

“I will.” After a brief pause, Ethan said, “She used to be sad a lot, but she’s better now. You won’t make her sad, will you?”

Once again, Paul felt sucker-punched by the earnest expression on the boy’s adorable little face. “I’ll try really hard not to.”

Ethan seemed to think about that for a minute before he nodded. “Do you like to watch football on TV?”

Paul’s head spun from the rapidly shifting conversation. “I do. I’m a big Patriots fan.”

“Me, too. Maybe we can watch football sometime.”

“Any time you want. Alex likes to watch, too.”

“Cool. Here comes the bus. See you later.” He took off like a shot, covering the last twenty feet of driveway.