Page 30 of Three Not-So-Little Words (The Lawson’s #3)

thirty

Everything is Better Stuffed

Ronnie

“ D o you think you can do it?” My oldest sister, Liz, asks me.

I look over all the notes she gave me for wanting to redo all the marketing for the inn that she owns.

“Yeah. Shouldn’t be a problem. Over the next couple of weeks, we can restyle some things and then take a ton of new photos. Once we have those, we can work on the website, and I’ll design some spreads to send to my contacts at travel magazines.”

“Perfect. When did you get so smart?” She jokes. “You used to be only knowledgeable about boys.”

“Well, that’s a subject I still major in.” I smile.

“Speaking of boys, I hear you and Drew are going to try out a relationship.”

“How did you—? You know what? I don’t care.” I sip my coffee. We are having this little powwow in the lounge of her inn.

“So, how is that going?” She asks.

“I don’t know that it’s going anywhere yet.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“We had this big talk yesterday, and then, I went home, watched some TV, and passed out for fourteen hours straight.”

Her long fingers wrap around her mug and lightly tap against its surface. “Man, what I wouldn’t give to sleep for fourteen hours straight.”

“Mine wasn’t by choice. I think it was fueled by pure exhaustion. Feelings make me sleepy.” I smile.

“When are you going to see him again?”

“I don’t know. He left the ball in my court, and I’m not sure I know what to do.”

“You like this guy, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” I reply, already hating this conversation.

“Why don’t you go over and surprise him?”

“Last time I surprised him, I showed up in lingerie and a trench coat and then woke up to his kid.”

She stares at me blankly. “Your life is so much more interesting than mine.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure I want to do that again.”

“I’m sure it would be different this time.”

“How so?” I ask.

“Because you already know he has a kid. Maybe you try to get to know said kid instead of just showing up for sex.”

I crinkle my nose. “No sex? That sounds far less fun.”

“I know. But maybe you also need to try to make a good impression on his kid.”

“Why?”

She sets her cup down so that she can start talking with her hands in typical Liz fashion. “Let me break it down for you. Let’s say the kid doesn’t like you. He hates it when you come around and never wants to see you.”

I interrupt her. “He’s with his grandma on weekends. We’d probably just hang out then.”

“He’s not going to be gone on weekends forever. And wouldn’t you want a relationship more than just two days a week?”

Before I can answer, she keeps going. “If his son doesn’t want you around, and it comes down to you and him, who do you think Drew is going to pick?”

“Okay, maybe you have a point. But how exactly do you suggest I get the kid not to hate me?”

“Ronnie, you’ve always been the cool, fun aunt with Eve. I think you just do the same thing with this kid.”

“I know nothing about little boys,” I say.

“Lucky for you, boys are easier than girls. Just treat the kid like a person. An actual person.”

“Hey, that’s the same advice Dylan gave me.”

She points her finger at me. “He got it from me.”

I just laugh.

She goes on. “My point is that you’re fun. Just be that way around the kid, and you’ll be fine.”

I’m glad she seems to have all the confidence that I lack.

What the hell am I doing?

I’m standing outside of Drew’s front door with a couple of pizza boxes in hand, deciding if I want to knock or not. I decided to show up with some food, but now that I’m here, I’m realizing how stupid it sounds.

What if they’ve already eaten dinner?

What if Colton doesn’t like pizza or is allergic to gluten or something?

What if I say something dumb, and the kid hates me?

I can’t believe I’m worrying about this shit. I miss a few days ago when I was worrying about when I was next going to get laid.

Speaking of which, when are we going to have sex again?

Pull yourself together, Ronnie. You don’t freak out about shit like this.

You are Veronica fucking Lawson. You’re a badass bitch. You’ve got this.

With that, I knock on the door.

It takes a minute, but Drew eventually opens the door. He’s kind of sweaty and a little out of breath.

The moment he sees me, his face lights up with a big grin. “I’m starting to really love opening this door. When I do, I see a beautiful woman.”

I give a nervous smile. “I brought over some pizza.”

“Whoa! Thank you. Come on in.” He steps out of the way, and I walk inside.

“You okay?” I ask. “Usually, the only time I see you this sweaty is when you’re fucking the sh—” I stop when Colton comes walking into the room.

“Hey, bud,” Drew says. “Do you remember Ronnie? She was here the other day.”

He nods.

They both turn to look at me, and I realize I should probably say something. “Uh, I wasn’t sure if you guys had eaten, but I brought over pizza and breadsticks.”

The boy’s face lights up, and Drew says, “Breadsticks are Colton’s favorite.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat because these breadsticks are stuffed with cheese.”

He beams with excitement.

Drew says, “Why don’t you go wash your hands, Colton, before we eat?”

With that, the kid runs out of the room.

Drew sets the boxes on the counter and pulls me in for a kiss. It feels good being in his arms again.

When his lips leave mine, he looks at me, “Stuffed breadsticks? Excellent choice. How’d you know he would love it?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I love them, and sometimes, I eat like a kid. So, I figured it may be a good choice. I mean anything is better stuffed—including me.”

He laughs. “Can’t wait until I can do the stuffing again.”

I want to ask when he thinks that will be, but we are joined again by Colton. Drew gets us some plates, and we fill them with pizza and breadsticks.

He asks if I want a beer, and I reply with, “God, yes.”

We all sit down at the table, and Drew asks Colton about his day at school.

The little boy starts talking, giving every single detail of his day.

I half listen and half get distracted looking around the room.

If I wasn’t drunk and horny the other night, it would have been obvious that a kid lived here.

There’s a basket of toys in the corner and a dinosaur blanket on the couch.

I look at Drew and watch him interact with his son. It’s crazy that the same guy who was just recently railing me is being so calm and patient with Colton. I guess that kind of comes with the territory of being a parent, though. I’ve never thought about it much.

I never was one who really wanted kids, but when I was with Aaron, I wasn’t opposed to the idea. We talked about it on occasion, but it was only something we wanted after we had gotten done seeing all of the places that we wanted to go.

Who knows if that list would’ve ever truly been finished. Knowing me, probably not.

Stop it, Ronnie. Stop thinking about the past. Focus on what’s right in front of you.

Speaking of what’s right in front of me, Drew and Colton are both staring at me. I’m pretty sure they asked me something, and I wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.

Drew said, “I asked how your day was.”

“Oh, um, it was alright. I met with one of my sisters because I’m doing a project for her. And uhm, I saw a dog on the way to the pizza place. Stopped to pet him, so that was fun.”

Colton chimes in. “I want to get a dog, but Dad said no.”

“Yeah, dads can be a real buzzkill.” I smile.

Drew looks at me. “Thanks for that. Look, I wouldn’t mind a dog every once in a while. Just not full time. We need a rent-a-dog service or something.”

I lean toward Colton. “Keep trying. You’ll eventually wear him down.”

That gets a giggle out of him.

Okay, I think I’m off to a good start. He doesn't seem to hate me.

Drew says, “Ronnie is a travel photographer.”

“What’s that?” Colton directs the question at me.

“It means that I get to go to all different places in the world and take pictures of all the cool things.”

“Have you ever been to Disney World?”

“I have actually. Both Disney World and Disneyland. I didn’t go to take pictures, though. I just went for fun. Have you been?”

He nods. “It’s my favorite place in the whole world.”

“I get that. It’s a really cool place.”

I look at Drew who is smiling at me.

We spend the rest of our meal discussing the various high points of the happiest place on Earth. I see what Dylan was talking about. Colton is definitely less needy than a baby. He’s just a small human.

As I look at him, I see how much he looks like Drew. Even more interesting than that, I see how he looks at Drew. I can tell that Drew is his son’s entire world…and vice versa.

It’s odd for me to see a man care about something so much. Most of the men I keep company with only care about one thing. Okay, I’m sure in fact, they do care about more, but I don’t get close enough to find out.

When we are finished eating, Drew stands up and starts clearing the table, so I decide to help.

He tells Colton, “Hey, buddy, why don’t you go play in your room for a few minutes before bathtime?”

“Okay,” the kid replies before taking off like a bullet.

Drew pulls me close again. “I think he likes you.”

I fake confidence. “Who wouldn’t? I’m a fucking delight.”

He smiles and kisses me. “I sure think so. Do you want to hang out for a while?”

“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll let you two do your thing.”

He tucks my hair behind my ear. “Are you sure? We can have some alone time later.”

“I’m sure. I don’t want to overwhelm Colton by being the lady that’s constantly around. We’ll start slow…for everyone’s sake.”

He nods as if finally catching on that I may need to decompress a little.

“Okay, beautiful.”

“Why don’t you call me when you get Colton to bed?”

“You got it. Are we still on for this weekend?”

I smile. “Definitely.”