Page 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Christy

I wake up to an empty bed. For a second, I think it was all a dream—until I see a note on my nightstand.

Be right back …

I stretch out my legs and arms, then hop up, head to the bathroom to make sure I’m presentable, and do a quick brush of my teeth for when he returns.

It’s a school day for Nolan, so I check the time and realize I need to get him up.

Entering his room and seeing him all curled up is always my favorite time of the day. He’s so sweet and innocent as he lies there, lost in a dream. I crawl on the bed and wrap my arm around him.

“Good morning, baby,” I whisper as I kiss his forehead.

“Morning, Mommy.” He holds my arm tighter.

The doorbell rings, and I chuckle to myself when I realize now what Evan was doing. He didn’t want to make it look like he’d spent the night here.

“I’m going to go get the door. Time to get up.” I tap his leg and climb out of the bed to head to the door.

When I open it, I see the most gorgeous man standing there, carrying a tray of Starbucks cups as well as a little brown bag.

“I brought breakfast.” He holds it up for me to see more.

I step toward him and give him a kiss hello. “You didn’t have to leave,” I whisper.

He kisses me once more. “I wasn’t sure, so I thought, better safe than sorry. Plus, who doesn’t love breakfast being brought to you?” He grins.

“Especially after the night we had …” I reply even though I feel my face flush from saying it out loud. “Are you trying to spoil me, Mr. Parker?”

He comes closer to me, pressing himself against me, holding the tray now to the side. “One thousand percent. And this is just the beginning.”

My breath hitches. I don’t see how it’s possible to get any better than it was last night.

I step back, afraid I won’t be able to stop myself if I kiss him, and I have a little seven-year-old boy who should be walking out of his room at any second.

We walk to the kitchen, where he sets the items down, and he embraces me in a hug now that his arms are free.

“Good morning.”

“Morning. What did you bring?” I ask, curious about his coffee choice for me since we’ve never discussed it.

“When I asked the barista’s opinion, she said I couldn’t go wrong with either a vanilla latte or a cinnamon dolce latte.” He turns to pick up a cup and hands it to me. “I chose cinnamon. Am I close?” He contorts his face in a worrisome way, making me laugh.

I take the cup from him. “It’s perfect.” I kiss him as my thank-you.

“I hope it’s okay that I got Nolan some hot chocolate and a pumpkin bread.”

“You’ve made his morning for sure,” I tease.

I hear his little feet heading our way, and when he turns the corner, he runs toward Evan and jumps in his arms.

“Evan! When did you get here?”

Evan picks him up with ease. “I just did.”

He smirks in my direction, and I have to hide my smile behind my coffee cup.

“I brought you some hot chocolate. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please!” He bounces in his arms.

Evan puts him down and hands him the small cup and a bag as well. “Do you like pumpkin bread too?”

Nolan’s eyes get wide. “It’s my favorite!”

“Well, good.” Evan grabs the other bag he has sitting there. “It’s mine too. I got banana bread as well though. Sure you don’t want the banana bread instead?”

“Nope. Mom can eat that. I get the pumpkin.” He heads to the kitchen table with his breakfast, digging in as fast as he can.

Evan holds out the remaining bags, asking which one I want. I smile and grab the banana bread, then go to join Nolan at the table.

“Do you play today?” Nolan asks Evan.

“Yep. We have a seven o’clock game.”

Nolan looks at me. “Can we go?”

Evan waits for my reaction before saying anything, which I appreciate.

“It’s a school night. We’ll go to a weekend game sometime soon.”

“Before I leave, we’ll look at the schedule and pick a game you can attend. Sound good?” Evan says to Nolan.

“Yep!” he replies, then takes another bite.

Once we finish our breakfast, I reach over to grab Nolan’s trash. “Go get ready for school, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.” He hops down from his chair. “Thanks for breakfast, Evan.”

Evan holds up his hand for a high five. “You got it, buddy.”

Nolan leaves the room, and Evan instantly grabs my hand from across the table.

“Would it sound cliché if I said how amazing last night was?”

I laugh out loud. “A little, but damn …” I grin from ear to ear.

“Right?” he says, almost like he can’t believe it himself either.

Staring into his eyes makes me want him more than ever, so I shake off the notion and stand. “I have to get ready.”

He does the same and pulls me close to him. “We’ll have many more nights like that to come.”

I stare into his eyes. “Promise?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

He kisses me, and I melt at his touch.

“Mommy?” Nolan yells, and I jump out of Evan’s arms before he turns the corner. “I can’t find any socks,” he says so innocently, making me chuckle to myself.

One minute, I want to have sex with a man I just met on my kitchen floor, and the next, I need to look for little-boy socks.

“They are in the dryer. Give me a second, and I’ll get them.”

Evan turns to Nolan. “I got it. You go get ready.” He steps toward him. “Lead the way, my fine young man,” he says in a deeper tone, acting like he’s from the Renaissance days.

I walk to my room and take a quick shower and get ready for my day. When I exit, I see Nolan and Evan sitting on the couch together, watching a morning sports show.

“You two ready?” I ask.

Nolan slides from where he was sitting next to Evan. “Yep. Brushed my teeth and everything.”

I raise my eyebrows, impressed to hear that. I look at Evan, and he holds his arms up in surrender.

“I did nothing. I just asked him to walk me through his morning routine, and he was proud to show me every step.”

I lean down to hug my little guy. “Good job.”

Nolan has the proudest smile on his face when he looks at Evan, then me. “I’m a big boy!” he says, making us both laugh.

“That you are. Let’s get going.” I motion toward the garage.

We grab our things, and Evan follows us to my car.

Once we know Nolan can’t see, Evan leans in and kisses me softly. “I meant it when I said that was just the beginning. We’ll go slow, for Nolan’s sake, but I want this. I want you.”

“I want you too.”

He kisses me, and I’m lost in a world I dreamed of for years, but thought would never happen for me.

“Can I take you to lunch today before my appointment with you?”

I smiled when I saw he was on my schedule this week. It’s so crazy to think how we got to where we are in such a short amount of time, all thanks to his sister.

“I normally just stuff my face in the back between clients.”

“Then I’ll bring you lunch. We can stuff our faces together, and then you can cut my hair.”

“Okay …”

He kisses me again. “Text me what you want, and I’ll be there.”

I nod as he steps away from me.

“See you then.”

“See you then.”

I sit in my car, trying my hardest to act unfazed by Evan and everything he said to me.

“I really like him,” Nolan says, catching me off guard. “Can he come over more often?”

I grin and let out a breath. “Yeah, baby. He can come over more often.”

Just like he said he would, Evan shows up five minutes before I’m done with my client with sandwiches from my favorite deli.

I finish up with my client and walk him to the back, where we have a small area for us to eat.

“Thank you for bringing this,” I say, kissing him hello.

“Of course.” He pulls out our sandwiches and drinks, and we sit to have lunch together. “What are your plans for Saturday?” he asks, his voice full of mischief, making me wonder what he has up his sleeve.

“Nolan has a game in the afternoon, but nothing else. Why?”

His eyes light up with excitement. “Can I come watch?”

This will be Nolan’s first game when Evan’s been home or not playing himself.

I grin and nod. “He’d love it if you came to watch.”

“Then, after that … would you be able to get a sitter for, say, seven o’clock?”

“Probably. Why?”

“Zach Bryan is playing at the stadium.”

“Shut up.” I slam my palm on the counter. “That has been sold out for months.” I pause and look at him. “Did you get tickets?”

He nods with a cheesy grin. “It’s at the stadium. Players can get tickets to anything. Plus, I have a little back-door access, remember?”

“OMG!” I squeal with joy.

“So, you can go?”

“Hell yeah, I can go.” I stand and lean across the table to kiss him. “Thank you.”

He grabs my head, holding me there for a few seconds more.

“Get a room!” Margo says in a teasing voice when she enters the area, making us both laugh.

I sit back down and finish eating, knowing I only have a few minutes before I have to start cutting his hair so I don’t get too far behind in my day.