Page 29 of Secret Love (The Single Dad Playbook #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

WATERING THE BUSHES

HENLEY

I walk into Luminary to meet the guys and am surprised to see Tru with a woman who has to be her mom. They favor each other so much, it’s easy to see what Tru will look like in the future.

Tru must’ve had the day off.

They’re at a table near the front, and Clara and Lane are standing there talking with them. Tru says something and they all laugh, which causes Marv and Walter, sitting at the table next to them, to pause their grumbling to see what’s so funny.

Tru stills when she sees me, her eyes bright and smiling. Her mom turns to see who has her attention and her eyes widen. So she has told her mom about me. The thought warms me. It’s been a few days since Stephanie got into town and I’ve been trying to give them space to work through things, but I’ve missed Tru like crazy. We’ve been FaceTiming late into the night, and I’m dragging as much as my teenager in the mornings.

All worth it, though.

I walk over to the table and when Clara and Lane see me, they hug me, and then I’m face-to-face with Tru and her mom, suddenly nervous.

“Hello, I’m Henley Ward, a friend of Tru’s.” I hold out my hand and she gets up and hugs me.

“Hi there. I’m Stephanie. I know I have you to thank for that incredible first-class pod. Thank you. I really appreciate it and the way you’ve been here for Tru.”

“It was no problem at all. And any chance I get to be around Tru—well, I’m the lucky one. I hope you’re getting adjusted to the time difference and liking Silver Hills so far?”

“I love it,” she says, smiling warmly. “We’ll have to have you over for dinner to thank you properly…and I’d like to get to know Tru’s friends.”

I look at Tru then and she’s eyeing me with what I can only describe as hunger. I know the feeling, tiny dancer. She flushes and my eyes fall to her lush lips wishing I could bite that lower one right now. She lets out a whimper and it pulls me out of my lust cloud. I blink and look at Stephanie again.

“I’d love to come over for dinner.”

“Excellent. Tomorrow night?” She looks at Tru to see if that’s okay.

Tru laughs nervously. “Or whenever works for you. He’s busy, Mom.”

“Not too busy for you…or dinner.” I smile at them, and when I look at Clara and Lane, they’re beaming at me like two proud moms.

It lets me know that it’s obvious how into Tru I am, but it also reminds me that I need to call my mom back. We talked yesterday about nailing down the details of their upcoming visit, but I’ve been so preoccupied with the girls and thoughts of Tru, I haven’t touched base with Mom again today.

“Excellent,” Stephanie says.

“You’re filling up your social calendar quite well,” Tru says to her mom, teasing but proud. “Coffee with the girls tomorrow morning.” She grins at Clara and Lane before smiling up at me. “And she’s meeting Sadie, Elle, and Calista Sunday night.”

“My girl’s keeping me busy, and I love it,” Stephanie says.

“I’m glad. And I’m looking forward to dinner. I’m sorry to cut this short, but my phone is going off like crazy…” I hold it up and chuckle. “The guys are waiting for me in the back, and patience is not their strength.”

Everyone laughs.

“You better get to your Single Dad Players…Playbook Meeting? What’s it called again?” Tru teases.

Now I’m flushing. I wave my hand. “The name’s not important. It’s just some dads on the team talking about their kids. I guess we can’t call it single anything anymore since Weston’s on his way to getting married.”

“I’ve heard the conversation leans more toward women than kids,” Lane says with a wink.

“Lane Shaw, are you giving away our secrets?” I tease.

She fans her face. “It felt like we were in safe company,” she says, laughing. “But when you guys turn that charm on, I don’t know how any of you stay single.”

I feel Tru watching me, scalding over my body with heat. I can’t help myself, I look at her and her eyes are roaming over my body. Her tongue stretches out to lick her lips and just like that, my jeans are way too tight. Time to get out of here before I embarrass myself in front of Tru and the moms.

“I see what you mean, Lane!” Stephanie says. “If they’re all as charming as Henley, the women in Silver Hills are in trouble!”

They all look at me with appreciation.

“You better get to your Single Dad meeting before you get the big head,” Tru says, trying not to laugh.

She’s not wrong. The guys are blowing my phone up, and my erection is about to hit twelve o’clock.

“Well, this has been nice,” I say, grinning. “Thank you, ladies.” I nod at Tru. “Let me know what time you want me for dinner.”

Her mouth drops with my words and I walk away, smirking, and okay, with the big head…two of them, to be exact.

When I walk into the room, the guys are laughing their asses off. Rhodes is holding The Single Dad Playbook and wiping his eyes.

“What did I miss?”

Bowie waves me over and Rhodes hands me the book.

“Read it,” he says.

“I guess I’ve gotta stop singing Cardi B around the house because Caleb’s singing it now?” I read Weston’s entry out loud, laughing.

“No, the one underneath,” Penn says, cracking up.

“I almost didn’t put it in there, but I needed to vent,” Rhodes says.

It’s longer, so I read it to myself and am laughing before I get very far.

Recently, I made the mistake of taking a wee in our yard when Levi and I were out all day and not close to the house. I didn’t feel like hauling him inside in a hurry when I had to go that bad, so I chose a tree and went.

Big mistake.

Now, he wants to go every time we’re outside…and not just at home.

So far, he’s been in the parking lot of Elle’s dad’s church, the tree at the library, and the park. This morning, we took a walk around the block and before I could stop him, he ran over to Mrs. Hammond’s yard and answered nature’s call all over her rose bushes. She ran out and shooed us off with her newspaper.

I apologized profusely, but I don’t think she will forgive us any time soon.

Moral of the story: Don’t let your son see you take a leak outside until they’re old enough to know it’s a once-in-a-while thing used only in emergencies and never, ever in Mrs. Hammond’s roses.

~Rhodes

I’m laughing as hard as they are by the time I’m done.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” I finally ask. “This is too good.”

“Because of the shame,” Rhodes says. “I’m trying to raise a dignified little boy here.”

That just makes us laugh harder.

“He’ll grow out of it. My brother and I did,” I tell him. “Well, that was mostly because my mom was like Mrs. Hammond. Watering the yard was a no-go for her too.” I laugh again and then shrug. “This is the plus of having three daughters, I guess.”

“Levi is a dignified little boy,” Weston says. “He’s a little gentleman.”

“Becca loves how he tries to open the doors for her. I don’t know another three-year-old like that,” Bowie says.

“If anyone is messing up, it’s me. It’s not just Cardi B. Caleb heard me singing “Nasty” by Tinashe to Sadie and he’s been going around singing, “I’ve been a nasty girl…”

We lose it at that.

Weston clears his throat and then adds under his breath, “He’s also heard “Lunch” by Billie Eilish, so yeah, I am not winning any awards in the dad department.”

“We need to work on your music selection,” Bowie says, wheezing.

“I love those artists too, man,” Rhodes says. “He’ll be well-rounded.”

We all laugh again.

I sit down and Clara sticks her head in the door, holding my Solar Latte.

“Sounds like too much fun is going on in here.” She grins before backing out again.

The next night I show up at Tru’s with a huge bouquet from The Enchanted Florist. It’s a hit—Tru and Stephanie both ooh and ahh over how pretty it is. I’d offered to bring dessert too, but Tru shut me down on the phone last night, saying I’ve cooked for her, it’s time she treats me to a good meal too.

“You look nice,” Tru whispers when it’s just the two of us in her tiny kitchen.

“You look good enough to eat,” I whisper back.

“Oh, how I wish,” she says, pure mischief.

I groan. “Do you want to torture me now when I can’t put my mouth on you?” I ask, backing her into the stove, my hand on her jaw.

“Yes,” she says.

I sing the first line of “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles in her ear. Weston isn’t the only one who can turn to song.

She ducks under my arm and points at me, but I’m momentarily distracted by the way her nipples are standing brazenly in her soft, pink, silky blouse.

“Behave,” she whispers, biting her bottom lip.

“I can’t remember which one of us started it.”

“I think we’re both in a way,” she says, laughing.

I put my hands on her waist and lean in to kiss the back of her neck. “I miss you being in my bed. Or being in your bed. I don’t even need a bed…”

She laughs again and picks up the huge salad bowl. “I’m missing you too.”

Stephanie walks into the kitchen and points at the bowl. “You got it. That’s the only thing we’re missing, I think. You two ready to eat?”

“So ready,” I say.

Tru shoots me a look.

What? I mouth at her as we walk to the table.

Dinner is excellent. The food is delicious and the company is even better. We bounce around topics and Stephanie is great. She touches briefly on what she's going through, just saying she's making some big changes and getting out of her marriage of thirty years. I expect to see tears, but there aren't any. She actually seems excited about the future, which feels really hopeful.

Everything flows so easily, but I think I still catch them by surprise when I look at Stephanie and say, “I really like your daughter.”

“Oh!” She laughs. “I’m so glad to hear that. I really like her too.”

Tru puts her hands on her face and shakes her head, laughing.

“Oh my goodness. I did not see that coming out of your mouth,” she says. “This guy is full of surprises,” she tells her mom, and I grin.

“I feel like the most predictable guy in the world, but I'm glad if I'm keeping you on your toes in a good way.”

She laughs. “You definitely are.”

I look at Stephanie. “I just wanted to let you know that I think you've raised a great human, and I like everything I know about her. Every day I learn something new, and I just like her more.”

“Well, you know how to make a mom feel good,” Stephanie says, clutching her throat.

Now her eyes are filled with tears, as she beams at the two of us.

“You told me he was sweet, but wow,” she says to Tru.

“I know,” Tru says. “You should see the way he is with his daughters.”

Stephanie looks at me. “I really love hearing that too. Tru says you've got three beautiful girls.”

“I do. They're great kids. And they all really like Tru a lot. My oldest, Cassidy, is her student, and she's struggling with the thought of me dating her teacher, but she's crazy about Tru, so I think it's all going to be fine. But we've kept things kind of low-key because of that…and also just trying to take our time getting to know each other.”

“I think it's commendable that you're putting your girls’ feelings into consideration,” Stephanie says.

“But I want you to know I'm also taking your daughter’s feelings into consideration. And I want to do right by her too.” I reach out and take Tru’s hand and squeeze it.

She looks like she might cry too.

“I didn't mean to make you get teary…I just wanted to be open about the whole thing.”

“Thank you for that,” Stephanie says.

I smile at her and then reach down and kiss Tru’s hand. And then we move on to dessert.