Page 34 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

She cooked the lasagna noodles and browned the ground beef, adding the store-bought jar of marinara sauce.

Amy brought out her colorful bowls and plates, and set the table, trying to give the children the message that Declan was their guest of honor.

He would be in their lives, whether they liked it or not, because he was her person .

They’d get used to the idea. That was final.

It was like eating their vegetables and limiting sugar.

In this instance, she would play the Mom card.

“I’m going to put a flower at each setting. I’ll pick some from outside. Gramma taught me the best ones today.” Naomi went skipping outside.

“David, how are you going to help?” Amy asked.

He gazed at her from under hooded lids.

His body language said: I will help our guest to the door.

“I’ll go help Naomi,” he said. “Sometimes she can’t reach.”

Off went her growing boy, already two inches taller than his twin.

After layering the casserole and sticking it in the oven, Amy texted Declan with a warning:

I think David heard something about us or saw something. He’s not feeling too friendly about you today. It’s very out of character.

The bubbles of a response forming appeared and then seconds later, Declan’s response.

Should we cancel? I can grab something here for dinner and maybe see you later tonight.

She grabbed her phone so fast she left a streak of sauce on it.

No. You’re coming to dinner and that’s final.

He replied:

Okay, boss.

She smiled and went about the business of shredding cheese and layering the casserole.

Meanwhile, Naomi and David finally came in with what amounted to some beautiful weeds they’d pulled from their backyard.

No matter. Amy was a big fan of Texas wildflowers even if these fell more on the side of wild than flowers.

“Beautiful,” she said.

Naomi carefully washed all the dirt off her purple flowers, dried them, then placed one beside each plate.

David, feeling his duty was done, made himself scarce and probably wouldn’t reappear until either Naomi needed him or dinner was served.

While the casserole cooked, Amy went to change into something more dating aspirational.

However, she changed twice before deciding on another pair of her plain jeans and a clean T-shirt.

This was what she normally wore around the house, and if she dressed casually, David might not deduce this was an undercover date with her new boyfriend.

She also went light on the makeup and put her hair up in a casual ponytail.

Declan wouldn’t care. He’d once told her she looked better without makeup.

At the time it made her think she probably didn’t wear enough makeup or know how to apply it to emphasize her best features.

Now, she appreciated it as a comment from a man who’d loved her just the way she was.

She heard Declan’s truck pull up next door and a short while later he knocked on their front door.

“I’ll get it!” screamed Naomi, running out of her bedroom like her pants were on fire. “It’s our guest!”

“Inside voices,” Amy said with a smile.

Nice to know someone besides Amy was excited.

For her part, Amy stayed back, restraining the excitement coursing through her at seeing Declan.

Given, he’d been in their house before and he was not a stranger to them, but this would be the first time he’d spent an extended amount of time in their home.

He’d be in a now-familiar setting, one that the kids had only previously enjoyed with Mom and Lou.

Amy straightened silverware neurotically until Naomi appeared in the kitchen, holding Declan’s hand, tugging him behind her.

“Mommy, our guest has arrived!” Naomi announced. “And he has something.”

Declan flashed the smile that changed his face from wicked to boyish. “Is this all for me?”

“Yes!” Naomi danced around the table until she wound up in front of Amy.

Amy braced her hands on her daughter’s little shoulders. “Naomi and David picked the flowers from our backyard.”

“We can just add these to the bunch.” Declan produced a bouquet of red roses from behind him.

“They can be our centerpiece, Naomi,” Amy said. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

“I love them,” said Naomi. “Gramma says roses are the queen of flowers.”

“Here, I’ll get a vase.” Amy filled it with water and stuck the roses inside.

David finally emerged. “You brought flowers ?”

Oh, right. Flowers were a statement of sorts, especially red roses. But David wouldn’t necessarily know that. He only knew that Rob brought her red roses for Valentine’s Day and her birthday and whenever he felt he was in the doghouse.

“They’re so pretty and red,” Naomi said.

“You never brought flowers before,” David said.

“They’re roses,” Naomi said.

“I know. So what?” David shrugged. “He still never brought them before.”

“My mom taught me to bring something when I was invited for dinner,” Declan explained.

“It’s good manners,” Amy said. “And he’s never been over for dinner before.”

“Can we eat now? I’m starving,” said David.

Amy took it as a good sign. He wasn’t going to hide in his room or take off on another scare-your-mother-to-death expedition.

“Sure, you two wash your hands and we’ll eat.”

David followed Naomi as they went to the hall bathroom.

In two seconds, Declan was by her side at the refrigerator, where she was taking out the salad bowl.

“How can I help?” His hand slid over her waist.

“Here, you can take the salad to the table.” She handed it to him without meeting his eyes but when he didn’t move, she looked up into his deep green gaze. “I’m sorry about this. He’s being a pill.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got thick skin. If some guy came sniffing around my mother when I was nine years old, I don’t think I’d have cared for it, either.”

The refrigerator door safety between them, she reached to glide her palm across the rough beard stubble of his jawline. “But you’re not ‘some guy.’”

“Well, don’t forget that to him, I am. He’s loyal to his father, which believe me, I can understand.

The fact that he’s angry with him now doesn’t change the fact he loves him.

He always will, no matter how much Rob manages to disappoint him.

I understand better than most that father-son relationships can be challenging.

There’s so much expectation on both sides. ”

“You and your father.”

He’d talked about it a little, and she’d sensed the looming tension between them when Mr. Sheridan showed up at the first baseball practice.

“We’re going to be okay now.”

“Oh, Declan. I’m so happy for you. It gives me hope for us, too, that someday we’ll straighten this blended-family thing out. David can love both Rob and me, separately. I want to move on and start my new life.”

“Hang on to that hope, Tinks. Hang on tight.”