Claire Kendall’s smile deepened, gentle and coaxing.
"Oh, so you’re Dr. Warren’s pride and joy!" she said, wiggling her bandaged arm. "I’m your dad’s patient, you know."
"What’s your name?"
"My name is Bobby!" the little boy answered crisply.
He immediately took a liking to the pretty, gentle woman before him.
"Bobby, what a cute name," Claire Kendall said with a grin, pulling a milk candy a nurse had given her earlier from her pocket.
She unwrapped the candy and held it to Bobby’s lips. "Tired from running? Rest for a bit. Have some candy, and I’ll wait with you for your dad, how about that?"
Bobby’s eyes lit up. He obediently opened his mouth to accept the candy, his eyes instantly crinkling into a smile.
"Thank you, miss. You’re so nice, like a fairy princess."
Claire Kendall was amused. She took his soft little hand. "Come on, I’ll take you over to a chair to wait, and I’ll even tell you a story. How does that sound?"
Bobby nodded happily, letting the sweet-smelling, gentle Fairy Princess lead him by the hand.
Claire Kendall told a story about a mecha-warrior with great animation.
Bobby was captivated, clapping his hands again and again.
"Bobby, is your dad usually super busy with work? Does he not have time to play with you?"
Bobby nodded and sighed. "Dad’s really busy. But he’s busy treating patients and saving lives. When he’s free, he builds LEGOs with me."
"Well... when your dad is busy, would you like to have someone who can spend more time with you, play with you, and tell you stories?"
Claire Kendall blinked, dangling the bait like a cunning little fox.
Bobby’s eyes grew even brighter. He nodded emphatically and said in his high, boyish voice, "Yes! I want the Fairy Princess to come play with me!"
Claire Kendall solemnly made a pinky promise with him, then lowered her voice conspiratorially and continued.
"Now, I have a secret mission for you."
Bobby puffed out his little chest. "You can count on me, Fairy Princess! What’s the mission?"
"It’s simple. From now on, whenever you’re with your dad, you have to say lots of nice things about me. Tell him you really, really like me and that you want me to come over to your house to play."
Bobby, only half-understanding, nodded immediately.
"I get it! I’ll say the Fairy Princess is the best person in the whole world, and I want her to come to our house every day to have dinner with me and Dad!"
"Exactly! Bobby, you’re so smart!" Claire Kendall patted his head, the gears turning in her mind.
’Win over the little one, and the big one will be a piece of cake!’
Claire Kendall declared confidently, "Bobby, from this day forward, you can consider me your stepmom-in-waiting!"
Suddenly, a cool male voice, laced with astonishment, came from behind her.
"Stepmom?"
That familiar voice... Claire Kendall froze.
Her neck felt stiff as she slowly, mechanically, turned her head.
Miles Warren was standing just a few steps away. She had no idea when he’d arrived.
Beside him stood a beautiful, sharp-looking woman who shared some of his features. She was watching them with an unreadable smile.
"Daddy!" The moment Bobby saw Miles Warren, he slid off the bench and scrambled over to him.
Miles Warren bent down and expertly scooped the little guy up with one arm.
Bobby threw his arms around his neck and immediately began his "mission," chattering away with the utmost seriousness.
"Daddy, this Fairy Princess played with me, and she tells the best stories! I really, really, really like her! Can we invite the Fairy Princess over to our house to play? Every single day!"
Bobby paused, then, under Claire Kendall’s increasingly horrified gaze, he loudly added another detail.
"The Fairy Princess said you have a great body and that she really likes it! She also said she wants to be my stepmom!"
The air at that moment went completely still.
"Step... mom?" Miles Warren repeated slowly.
Bobby tilted his head back to look at Claire Kendall, his face practically begging for praise.
"Ahem..." The woman standing nearby could no longer contain herself and let out a soft laugh, shattering the delicate atmosphere.
Maya Warren stepped forward, her intrigued gaze flickering between Claire Kendall and her younger brother.
"Miles, is this Ms. Kendall, the one who saved you? She’s certainly unique. Very creative."
She waved Bobby over. "You little rascal, come here!"
"How many times have I told you not to call him that? He’s not ’Daddy,’ he’s ’Uncle.’"
Bobby pouted and reluctantly slid down from Miles Warren’s arms. He walked over to Maya Warren and mumbled, "Mommy."
Un—cle?!
’Not his son? His nephew?!’
Not only had all her careful calculations been for nothing,
but the man himself and his sister had heard every last word!
Claire Kendall’s cheeks and ears burned hot enough to fry an egg.
Her voice was incredibly strained. "I’m sorry, I was just joking with Bobby..."
Maya Warren waved a dismissive hand, her smile bright and genuine.
"I can see Bobby really likes you. This little monster is usually so picky. You’re the first person he’s ever praised this much."
She shot her brother a meaningful glance. "It seems Miles’s taste... is quite good, after all..."
Miles Warren didn’t respond, merely watching Claire Kendall with a profound gaze.
Bobby looked from one person to another, then tilted his head. Thinking his mission wasn’t a complete success, he wracked his brain to remember lines from the short video dramas he’d secretly watched.
He announced, loud and firm,
"Of course Uncle has good taste! Uncle is also great in bed!"
Claire Kendall: ???
’That wasn’t me! I didn’t say that! Bobby, don’t just make things up!’
’She really, truly hadn’t taught him that part.’
’Bobby, it’s one thing to ad-lib, but why add a line that’s not only completely baseless but also guarantees my social suicide?!’
"PFFT—!" This time, Maya Warren completely lost it. She burst out laughing, quickly turning away as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
The usual calm in Miles Warren’s eyes was replaced by a raging tempest.
"No, that’s not it! Dr. Warren, let me explain!"
Claire Kendall was so flustered she was waving her hands, her words a jumbled mess.
"That’s... That’s internet slang! I didn’t say it, Bobby did..."
Her feeble explanation seemed utterly unconvincing under Miles Warren’s scorching gaze and Bobby’s innocent blinking.
Once Maya Warren had laughed her fill, she took the little guy’s hand.
"Be a good boy. Say bye-bye to your uncle and the nice lady."
"Bye-bye, Fairy Princess! You have to miss me, okay?"
The pair, one big and one small, departed, and the corner of the little garden fell silent.
Miles Warren took a step forward, his sharp, cool presence instantly overwhelming Claire Kendall’s senses.
"You want to be Bobby’s stepmom?"
He enunciated the last word with particular clarity, his tone playfully inquisitive.
Caught red-handed, Claire Kendall felt her scalp tingle. She instinctively tried to back away, but her legs hit the bench.
She forced a calm expression and laughed dryly. "Oh, that. I was just teasing Bobby. I was only kidding, you can’t take it seriously."
"Ohhh," Miles Warren drew out the sound, feigning sudden understanding as he pressed another half-step closer.
The distance between them shrank.
His gaze locked on her face, he parted his lips and spoke, his pace torturously slow.
"And... ’great in bed’?"
Claire Kendall’s cheeks instantly flared, and even her ears turned beet red.
She pressed her lips together, trying to regain some control of the conversation.
"I just meant that you’re a very nice person, Dr. Warren. Very attentive."
"And as for the ’great body’ part, I was merely stating an objective fact..."
Her voice grew weaker as she spoke, trailing off into a near-whisper by the end.
The amusement in Miles Warren’s eyes deepened. He leaned down, moving closer to her, and spoke in a low voice only the two of them could hear.
"So... Ms. Kendall has been observing me quite closely, then?"