Autumn Wish by Stacey Joy Netzel

her thumbs, and she kicked her feet fast and hard. Her baby giggle further anchored the kryptonite hold on Nikki’s heart.
    They’d had the entire day together, just the two of them. Lora Howell had jumped at the chance for Nikki to provide temporary care for Jeremy and Adam, but she couldn’t afford to pay her for the rest of the week without a refund from Sunny Days. She’d insisted on paying for Wednesday, and then after having arranged for a couple days of vacation, she’d bring the boys starting Monday.
    The ring of the doorbell brought Nikki’s head up, then her gaze swung to the clock. Five-thirty-eight. That would be Sam. Her pulse sped up, sending her heart into her throat. Oh, boy, it was getting worse each time she knew she was going to see him. The anticipation, the excitement.
    And yet, since that scorching kiss the other night, he hadn’t given any indication of wanting more. Not even the occasional suggestive comment she’d noticed prior to their half-assed plan to make Joe jealous. Granted, she’d agreed to that arrangement when she thought she wouldn’t have a reason to see Sam every day, and now she was watching Ella.
    Maybe she needed to bring it up again, propose they go out tonight to a place she could claim her ex usually frequented. Of course, it wouldn’t really be one of Joe’s favorites. The last thing she wanted to do was see him again when she was with Sam.
    She lifted Ella from the blanket spread out on the floor mat. “There’s your daddy—I mean, uncle.”
    Yikes, she was doing it already.
    Without bothering to move aside the curtain, she swung the door open with a welcoming smile—and froze.
    Joe gave her a hesitant smile in return. Any type of uncertainty was so unlike him, all she could do was stand there and stare.
    He looked good, as he always did. Impeccably dressed from the office, dark hair still carefully combed and styled even after a full day at work. His jaw was clean-shaven, the opposite of the stubble that’d perpetually graced Sam’s jaw since she’d met him.
    His brown gaze took in the baby, then shifted back to her. “Hi, Nicole. I was hoping we could talk.”
    “About what?”
    “Us.”
    She met his gaze in surprise, then ducked her head back a bit as Ella’s hand swung toward her face. “You said there was no us anymore.”
    “I made a mistake.”
    His low statement made her heart skip a beat, and yet the sight of Sam’s truck pulling into his driveway sent a rush of heat through her entire body.
    She caught Ella’s hand a second before it hit her cheek. “I’m kinda busy right now. Working, actually.”
    “I only need a few minutes. Please, just hear me out?”
    Joe had never been much of an asker. What he had been good at was assuming what he wanted was what she wanted, which she guessed is why he’d gotten so upset and left when she hadn’t relented about moving their relationship forward. Had he expected her to beg him to come back? She wouldn’t have thought so when she’d seen him with Tanya, but now he’d claimed to have made a mistake. Had Sam been right about the jealousy?
    The sound of a truck door drew Joe’s gaze, and Nikki saw Sam start across the yard toward them. She stood aside and motioned Joe inside. “Give me a minute, okay?”
    He stepped past, his gaze not wavering from the rugged man crossing the yard until he passed through the doorway. Nikki waited on the porch with the baby, thankful for the lingering warmth of the unexpected Indian Summer day.
    Sam took in Joe’s red Corvette, then mounted the stairs, one slow step at a time, his gaze fixed on hers.
    “Hi.” Now her smile was hesitant. “How was work?”
    “Good,” he replied shortly. “How’d everything go here?”
    “Fine. Ella ate well. I gave her a bath. We played...it was a good day.”
    “Great.”
    She swallowed hard in the uncomfortable silence that followed.
    Sam’s golden gaze shifted to the door hanging ajar behind her. “Joe’s