Page 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Christy

Nolan and I both get ready for the day, but I don’t tell him what’s going on until Evan’s on his way to pick us up.

“Hey, bud?” I say as I enter his room, where he’s lying on the floor, playing with Legos. “Want to go grab some lunch?”

“Sure,” he says, not paying me any more attention.

“What sounds good?”

“Anything,” he answers, still not caring at all that I’m even standing here, talking to him.

“Well, my friend Evan was thinking?—”

His head pops up. “Evan, the baseball player?”

I try not to laugh. “Yeah. He was thinking we’d?—”

He jumps up from the floor. “He’s coming with us?”

A giggle escapes my lips, no matter how hard I was trying to keep a straight face. “Yeah. Are you okay with him joining us?”

“Absolutely!” he says, using his big words, which always makes me laugh. “Can we go to Tailgate Oasis again?”

“If that’s where you want to go, sure.”

“Yes, Mommy, please.” He clasps his hands together in a begging motion.

“I already said sure.” I laugh.

He runs past me. “Let’s go then!”

I chase after him. “He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

He sits on the little bench I have by the door to put on his shoes. “I’ll be ready when he gets here.”

“Wait, before you put those on, go potty and clean up those Legos.”

“But, Mom …” he whines.

“You have time, I promise. Now scoot.”

He walks away with a huff, and I once again hide my reaction from him. If I knew this was the secret to getting him out of the house faster, I would have started dating a long time ago.

Nolan finishes what I asked him to do and is putting on his shoes as Evan pulls up. Before I can say anything, Nolan’s got the door open, and he’s running toward Evan’s truck, parked in my driveway.

“Evan!” he yells with so much excitement.

“Nolan!” Evan yells back, opening his arms for Nolan to jump in.

He does, and my entire world melts as I watch the guy I’m falling for embrace the reason for my existence.

I grab my things and make sure the house is locked up, and once Nolan’s on the ground, Evan turns to me.

“Do I get a hug from you too?”

I wrap my arms around him, wanting to feel him against me, even for a brief second.

He releases me from his arms and turns to open the back passenger door. “Where are we going?”

“Tailgate Oasis,” Nolan says as he grabs the booster seat from me and positions it himself before climbing in.

“Is that okay?” I ask Evan.

“Yeah, sounds great.” He turns to point at Nolan. “But only if you play cornhole with me.”

Nolan holds out his arm, giving him a thumbs-up. “You got it, dude.”

I chuckle at his action. “I have him watching Full House reruns.”

“I haven’t seen that in years. We’ll have to watch together!” Evan says to Nolan, who nods his head with a cheesy grin.

He shuts the door, and then before he opens mine, he whispers, “God, I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

My face flushes. I see Nolan occupied with checking out the inside of the truck, so I lean up on my tiptoes to give Evan a quick kiss.

When I pull back, he shows me a cocky grin. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”

I climb into the truck and buckle while Evan walks to his side.

“Tailgate Oasis, here we come!” Evan says, starting the truck and backing out of the driveway.

We drive, listening to music, and once we’re parked and exiting the truck, Nolan looks at Evan.

“Race you to the door.”

“Hold on,” Evan is quick to say, making Nolan look up at him in confusion.

“Did you look for cars?” Evan asks, acting like he’s looking both ways even though there is nothing but grass between them and the front door. Then he takes off before Nolan realizes he has.

“You cheat!” Nolan chases after him.

Evan turns to run backward for Nolan to catch up, then pretends like they are actually racing to the building.

When Nolan touches the bench outside first, he jumps up and down with his arms in the air. “I won! I won!”

“You won,” Evan concedes, then opens the door, winking at me with a cheesy grin on his face.

The hostess guides us to a table in the back, next to the cornhole area, and we sit on the picnic-style benches, swinging our feet while looking over the menu.

“What should we eat?” Evan asks Nolan.

“I like the chicken strips,” Nolan responds with a definite tone to his answer.

“Surprise, surprise, huh?” I tease.

“Chicken strips are good protein.” Evan holds up his arm to flex. “That’s how he’ll grow big and strong.”

Nolan copies Evan’s movements. “See, Mom. I got muscles too!”

I laugh at them both and go back to figuring out what I’m going to order.

After our orders are placed and our drinks arrive, Evan stands. “Come on, little man. You owe me a game.”

Nolan is quick to his feet, and the two head to the cornhole boards closest to us.

I sip on my iced tea as I watch them celebrate each other’s throws and tease each other when they miss horribly. Nolan has the biggest smile on his face, and surprisingly, so does Evan.

Our food arrives, so I yell over to them, “Come get it while it’s hot!”

Nolan throws one more bag, but Evan snatches it before it can land anywhere.

“We have to eat, and then we’ll continue.”

Nolan doesn’t complain one bit as he races back to the table and chows down on his food. After they’re done with their food, they play three more rounds of cornhole while I relax and watch them interact with one another. Evan is so good with him, genuine with everything he does. You can tell he’s enjoying himself, too, like he’s a big kid at heart.

When I notice the time, I hate to ruin their fun, but I know Evan’s got to go, so I stand and head their way.

“Hey, bud. I hate to break up the fun, but Evan’s got a plane to catch,” I say, rubbing his head.

Evan checks his watch. “Oh, yeah. I’ve got to get going. Let me get the tab.” He reaches for his wallet in his back pocket.

I wave him off. “I took care of it.”

“Christy, I would have paid.”

I place my hand on his arm. “I know. It’s fine. You guys were playing. You can get it next time.”

“Thank you,” he says with a warm smile.

I nod, then motion for Nolan to follow us out.

Once we’re walking across the large grass area back to his truck, he reaches for my hand to hold. “Is this okay?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah, I like that.”

Nolan notices and holds my other hand. “I like to hold Mommy’s hand too!”

Evan holds up his other palm to Nolan. “High five for holding Mommy’s hand!”

Nolan jumps up to high-five him, making me laugh.

We make our way to the truck, then head back to our house.

“Okay, Nolan. You owe me a rematch when I get back,” Evan says, turning to see him in the back seat.

“I’ll be here, waiting.” Nolan unbuckles his seat belt and opens the door, sliding out of the truck with his booster seat in his hand. “See you then!”

I move to open my door, but Evan stops me.

“I want to walk you to the door, but it will be torture if I can’t kiss you goodbye properly.”

I lean over and kiss him anyway. “Thanks for today.”

Evan looks over my shoulder and sees Nolan watching us. “He just saw you do that,” he whispers.

“I don’t care. He obviously likes you, and so do I. No need to hide it anymore.”

He raises his eyebrows suggestively. “Then can I get one more kiss?”

I laugh, then lean in to kiss him again.

“Call me once you get settled,” I say as I open the door.

“You know I will,” he responds like it’s factual and something I don’t have to worry about not happening.

I just hope I’m doing the right thing, and he is as genuine as he portrays himself to be.