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Chapter fifteen

Danae

“ T his is ridiculous. Why did I agree to do this? There’s no chance of this relationship lasting or going anywhere, so why in the world did I think a date would be an okay idea?

The risks far outweigh the positives. What was I thinking?

I need to call and cancel.” I’m ranting to Kara on the phone, not pausing for even a millisecond to allow her to respond.

“Stop it, Danae,” she says. “Give your poor carpet a break and stop pacing.”

I halt mid-step, offended by her accurate knowledge of my actions.

“You are not canceling this date. You will go out to dinner and have a good time getting to know a nice guy who is interested in you,” Kara states.

I scoff. “A nice guy who’s a professional baseball player ,” I emphasize.

“So what?”

“I hate baseball. If I’m going to be in a relationship, I need a steady, reliable man. Now more than ever. A pro athlete constantly flitting across the country doesn’t exactly fit that bill,” I say.

I hear Kara’s eye roll. “Stop regurgitating all the cons that you already considered and countered with pros. You said yes to this date after thorough self-examination. This is your classic round of second-guessing yourself. You’re spiraling, and you need to get a grip!

” Kara says. “Besides, it’s not like he’s flitting around the country all carefree for no good reason.

It’s his job. With a set schedule and reliable income. That’s stable.”

Huffing a breath through my nose, I process before quietly responding.

“This doesn’t make sense. Dating a professional baseball player doesn’t fit into any of the possible life plans I’ve mapped out for Jason and me.

I’m blaming Samantha for muddling my good sense with her friendship and connection with Jason.

I never should have said yes to this. It’s too risky. ”

Kara’s quiet for a beat before responding.

“Maybe that’s why you said yes, Danae. Maybe your subconscious knew you needed to take a little risk, to step outside the box of what’s safe.

I mean, heck, adopting a child out of foster care as a single woman isn’t exactly a ‘stable and secure’ move.

Maybe this date with Griffin is precisely what your inner self knows you really need. ”

I catch myself picking at the clear nail polish on my thumb. Drat. I was trying to leave that intact for one night.

“Besides—it’s one date. You’re not saying yes to a lifetime by going out to dinner, you know,” Kara adds. It’s the trump card to my objections, and I know she’s won.

“Okay. You’re right. I can be fun and breezy for one night. Easy, breezy, carefreezy,” I say, waving a hand in the air.

“Um, no. Stop that right now. Be your normal self—just scale back the worrying about twenty steps down the line, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Now go paint on a new coat of nail polish before Samantha and Griffin arrive,” Kara says.

Rolling my eyes but smiling, I tell her goodbye.

After quickly touching up my thumbnail, I walk out to the living room, where Jason is playing the Bluey app on the tablet.

“Hey, bud,” I say, taking a seat next to him on the couch. “You still feeling okay about me going out to dinner tonight?”

He nods without looking up then pauses the game. When his eyes meet mine, they grow wide. “Wow, Miss Danae. You look so pretty!”

“Well, thank you!” I respond with a smile. Standing, I do a short spin move to show off my dress to him. “You think I look fancy enough for a date with Mr. Griffin?”

He grins. “You look real fancy. Why don’t you ever dress up that nice for school?”

I laugh, glancing down at my mid-length cocktail dress.

I bought it three years ago to wear to a semi-formal wedding, and it’s been collecting dust at the back of my closet since then.

I’ve been wishing for another occasion to wear it, so as soon as Griffin told me “cocktail attire” as the dress code for our date, I knew this would be my wardrobe choice.

The first time I tried it on, I felt confident. I loved the clean lines of the halter dress that was fitted but not too tight, with a slit that made walking comfortable without being too revealing. The deep emerald color complemented my auburn hair while bringing out the green in my eyes.

Hopefully, it can bring me some confidence tonight.

Sitting back down next to Jason, I hold up the three-inch black heels in my hand. “See these shoes? These are the kind of shoes that look nice with a dress like this. I’m not about to wear uncomfortable shoes at school all day!”

Jason solemnly nods his head like he completely understands my logic, watching me strap on the heels.

Ding-dong .

At the sound of the doorbell, Jason jumps to his feet and races for the front door. I hardly have a second to take a deep breath before the door flings open.

“Sammi!” Jason yells.

“Hey, my guy!” Samantha’s voice calls back. I hear a loud high five take place before I walk into the entryway to greet Samantha and Griffin.

Griffin is smiling down at Jason, receiving his own high five. But the moment I step into view, his eyes lock on me and freeze. His wide smile slips as he stares.

I clench my fist to stop from chipping at the brand-new coat of clear polish.

“Um, hi,” I say, voice tight.

Samantha looks up at me and grins. “Ow, girl, you look amazing!” She pivots her gaze to Griffin, and her grin quickly changes to a smirk when she sees his expression. A sharp elbow jab to his ribs accompanies the exaggerated clearing of her throat.

“Yes, wow, Danae, you look gorgeous,” Griffin stutters.

His perfectly tailored navy suit is doing all sorts of good things for his broad shoulders and athletic legs.

The top button of his cream shirt is unbuttoned, toning down the formal look of the suit.

The longer hair at his forehead looks carefully styled and freshly trimmed.

The fade of his faux hawk is so subtly blended, no novice barber could achieve such perfection—a perfection that makes him all the more attractive.

A flush heats my cheeks as his gray-blue eyes remain locked on mine, a twinkle sparking in them as he slowly smiles. I’m suddenly incapable of standing a single inch closer to him without spontaneously combusting.

Swiveling on my heel, I motion toward Samantha. “You can follow me to the kitchen, Samantha, and I’ll show you some options for dinner!”

Mercifully, Griffin remains in the living room talking with Jason while Samantha walks with me.

I have no reason to open the refrigerator, but I open the door and let the cool air wash over me anyway.

“Um, there’s a pitcher of filtered water in here if you want that instead of the tap water,” I say, as though Samantha didn’t already know that from the first time she babysat.

Her dancing eyes let me know she sees right through my water display ruse.

Opening a cabinet door, I show her the boxes of mac and cheese and canned ravioli.

“I’ve been introducing Jason to more home-cooked, healthy meals, but since me leaving tonight is potentially significant, he can have some of his old comfort foods from . . . you know, before,” I say.

Samantha’s eyes soften. “Got it. That’s cool of you to do. I know that probably means a lot to him, even if he doesn’t know how to express that. ”

I smile at her, grateful for the ways she understands Jason’s situation. The less I have to explain, the easier it is for me to think about leaving him for the evening.

“I guess you probably know where we’re going, but call me if you need anything. I promised Jason I’d be back before he goes to bed tonight, but don’t feel bad if you need me to come back early for any reason at all. Text or ca—”

Samantha holds up a hand, silencing me. “ Shhh ,” she says. “You go have a baller night with my big bro. I got this. Stop worrying about Jason or about being alone with Griffin. Whatever it is that’s bothering you more.”

Cheeks freshly flaming, I wish I could think up an excuse to open the refrigerator again.

Instead, I exhale and follow Samantha’s retreating figure.

“You ready for the best night of your life, kiddo? Because after I win our wizard duel, I’m going to teach you how to play Trash,” Samantha says to Jason.

“Wait, you’re teaching him what?” I ask.

Griffin steals my breath by taking me by the elbow. That winsome smile is back, and he winks as he says, “Don’t worry. It’s a harmless card game. Sam’s mostly harmless, anyway.”

“Say ‘ adios ’ to the grown-ups, Jason,” Samantha says, saluting us.

“ Adios ! Have fun on your daaate,” Jason adds with high-pitched emphasis.

Samantha rewards him with another high five while Griffin laughs.

He’s holding out the peacoat that was hanging on the hallway coat rack, ready for me to slip my arms in.

My breath catches as I take in the sight of this very handsome, very famous man holding out my coat for me.

Last chance to back out. Can I really do this?

Slipping my arms into the sleeves, I call out final reminders to Samantha. “Don’t forget, the fire blanket is under the sink! And be sure to turn on the exhaust fan if you use the stove or the smoke detector will be set off! And—”

Griffin tugs my elbow just hard enough to pivot me in his direction, once again locking those gray eyes on me. “Trust Sam. She’s got it. And I got you. Let’s go.”

After clicking my seatbelt, I immediately sit on my hands to stop myself from picking at the fresh nail polish. Bouncing my knee will have to do as an outlet for my fidgety nerves.

Griffin pulls out of the parking lot and asks how the week at school went.

I fill him in on the major happenings of an elementary library (fights over who gets to sit in the giant tub during silent reading time being the most noteworthy).

The sides of his eyes crinkle when I tell him how happy Jason is about his exclusive access to the tent after school each day.