Falling For Him

by Ali Parker

  “Della’s Dad.” I swore his chest puffed out in pride as he looked down at her. “She changed her mind about letting me choose what to be. Said she wanted me to go as her Dad.”

  “Dad of a pretty little girl. That’s gotta be the scariest potential monster there could be on Halloween.”

  Jordan’s lips pulled into a smirk. “Absolutely. I figure I’ll go as her Dad every year, and when the boys start coming to call, I’ll add a rifle and cigar cutter to the outfit. That ought to do the trick.”

  “With the two of you always hovering around her, you’ll hardly need a rifle,” Mom said.

  “Cigar cutter?” I frowned, my eyes narrowing in thought before I finally got it and flinched. I almost clapped my hand over my own junk to protect it. Then I remembered it wasn’t my junk that would need protecting. “Yeah. I’ll stock up on those too. We can go as Super Dad and Super Uncle, protecting the virtue of young Della everywhere.”

  “You got that right,” Jordan said.

  Mom rolled her eyes at us, then glanced down at Della and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, honey. Grandma will protect you from them. I want great grandbabies before I’m eighty.”

  Della’s eyes bounced from one of us to the other. “You guys are weird.”

  “We are,” I agreed with a grin. “But I also think we’re quite ribbiting.”

  Mom and Della laughed. Jordan shook his head at me. “Surely, you could come up with something better than that.”

  “Better?” I scoffed. “That was excellent. Hey, Della. What’s a frog’s favorite candy for Halloween?”

  She shrugged. I winked at her, calling the answer over my shoulder as I headed to the bathroom. “Lollihops.”

  “Har-dee-har-har,” Jordan yelled after me, then started running through the safety rules for the night with Della.

  When I got back, they were ready to go. Della had a sparkly bucket in her hands, and Jordan was holding a material bag to stash her haul in once the bucket was full.

  Mom had opted out of coming with us this year. It was bingo night and the one night a week that belonged to her and only her.

  We walked around the neighborhood trick or treating, chatting with people we ran into that we knew along the way. There were many, many more frog jokes, but I had made my peace with them. In fact, I was kind of getting into it. When we were done in Mom’s neighborhood, we drove over to mine.

  Della ran into a bunch of kids from her school, and the adults hung back while they went to hit up the cluster of houses around a cul-de-sac. Jordan made small talk with the other parents for a few minutes, then came to stand next to me.

  “Sharks circling so soon?” I joked when he got back.

  Jordan was a firm favorite among the single moms with kids in Della’s school. At six-foot-two, he was as tall as I was. We put in our time at the gym or jogging together regularly enough to have stayed in shape even after hitting our thirties.

  His shoulders were a touch broader, though. With blue, green, and brown in his hazel eyes and a full dark head of hair, he was a good-looking guy, even if I had to say so myself. Girls used to go crazy over him when we were younger, and the hordes were gathering again.

  To be fair to everyone concerned, they knew his history and respected his past. No one threw themselves at him outright, but they made their interest known.

  Jordan was kind and polite to them, but he never returned their flirtation. He was a doting, devoted, and loving father, which was why he tolerated all the parents at Della’s school, but he wasn’t interested in any of them, and he made it plenty clear.

  He sighed, pressing the corners of his mouth in as his eyes shot to the sky. “Yeah. Seems they’ve decided it’s been long enough. They’re taking it to the next level.”

  “I’ll keep you safe.” I grinned and held my arms out to my sides. “I’ll be your personal body-frog for the evening.”

  He groaned. “I can’t decide if it’s better or worse now that you’re leaning into the frog thing.”

  “I’m going to opt for better. I’ve heard being able to laugh at yourself is an important attribute to have.”

  “By whom?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. People? Besides, aren’t you the one who’s been giving me shit for being too cocky recently?”

  “That I have.” He nodded. “Glad you’re letting your hair down a little.”

  “I suited up, didn’t I?”

  “Thanks for doing that by the way.” He tossed a smile at me. “Della and I both appreciate it.”

  “I’d do anything for that girl, and you know it.”

  A familiar gleam came into his eyes as he gave me a sidelong look. I knew I’d stupidly opened the door for what was to come, but he was talking before I could do or say anything to distract him.

  “Speaking of girls you’d do anything for,” he said. “How’d it go with Maggie when you went to see her?”

  There was no point arguing with him about whether or not she was a girl I’d do anything for. His mind was made up on the subject, and he wasn’t going to change it. Only time would prove to him that he was wrong.

  “She had no interest in speaking to me.” I watched as the kids received a shit ton of candy from the last house on the street and came circling back to us. “I did learn something about her, though. She’s a mom.”

  “No shit?” His brows rose.

  I nodded at the approaching kids. “Her little girl is around their age. Cute kid.”

  “If she didn’t want to talk to you, how do you know all this?”

  “Gayle came into the shop when I was there. The girl was with her. Unlike Maggie, Gayle did speak to me, so I got the basics from her.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” He grinned. “I thought for sure that any kid of hers would be yours too.”

  Yeah, there’d been a time I’d thought that too. “Would you come off it already? There’s nothing happening between us.”

  “You got that right. She’s always been wise beyond her years. Not wanting to talk to you is just another example of that.”

  Covering the motion with one hand, I flipped him off with the other.

  Della and the other kids got back to us then, and we said our goodbyes as we headed off in the opposite direction. A couple of blocks farther, I caught sight of a long dark ponytail and a woman whose simple pair of jeans did nothing to hide her curves. Maggie.

  “Speak of the devil,” Jordan mumbled beside me. “She’s looking good, bro.”

  Good? She was looking great. My throat went dry even as my mouth started watering. Fucking odd sensation.

  Maggie was standing next to a woman with flaming-red hair and more freckles than skin. Maggie and Angela Bennett with their heads bent together as they talked was so painfully familiar that I almost turned around to start looking for Ryan.

  My heart clenched in my chest when it hit me once again that my best friend was gone. Hers was still here, and mine should have been too. Although the thought sounded bitter even to me, it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.

  I was genuinely happy that Maggie and Angie had found each other again. Hell, maybe they’d never lost touch in the first place. But seeing them like that made the missing Ryan-sized presence in our lives feel that much more obvious. And it fucking hurt.

  Maggie’s daughter bounded up to a huge house with columns out front while the two women waited at the bottom of the stairs. Della started to make for the same house. My hand reached out automatically to hold her back.

  “Let that little girl finish up first, sweetheart.”

  She looked up at me with confusion darkening her eyes and a small frown between her eyebrows. “Why? I’m sure they have enough candy for both of us. If they don’t, she can have it.”

  “The smartest, sweetest five-year-old in the world, ladies and gentlemen.” I wound my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close for a quick side hug.

  “Can I go now?” she asked, peeking up at me through long dark lashes. “Pl
ease?”

  “Sure.” I let her go and sighed, shooting a glance at Jordan. “If she sees me here, she’s going to think I followed her. I invited her out with us tonight, but she shot me down.”

  Amusement lit up his eyes. “I can’t wait to finally bear witness to my little brother getting shut down. I should video record this.”

  “Could you sound any more gleeful?”

  Before he could reply, Maggie looked away from Angie, and her gaze fell squarely on me. Her eyes widened, then traveled slowly down the length of my body.

  It was like I could feel her eyes on me, a soft caress over every inch of me. My heartbeat sped up, and my dick reacted instantly. I remembered what it felt like to have her fingers tracing hesitantly down my sides and across my abdomen. There was one time—

  Maggie burst out laughing, lifting her hand to poke Angie in the shoulder and then jerking her head in our direction. When Angie spotted us, she just blinked for a second before she doubled over laughing, too.

  That was when I remembered I was wearing a frog suit. I was halfway to embarrassed before I squared my shoulders and allowed my lips to form a little smirk. Walking up to them, I held out my arms and did a slow turn.

  “What do think, ladies? I’m pulling it off, right?”

  Maggie smiled. The first real, genuine smile I’d seen from her that was aimed at me since high school. “You look parched, Noah. Can I get you a croak-a-cola?”

  Jordan chuckled behind me. “Why didn’t I think of that one? That was good, Mags. Got any more for me?”

  He stepped around me and opened his arms for a hug. “How are you doing, girl? It’s good to see you.”

  “Yeah, you too.” To my surprise, she stepped into his arms and wound hers around his middle. It was a quick hug that was in no way intimate, but it surprised me that she was actually hugging someone in my family.

  There might be hope yet.

  I tried to, but I couldn’t quite hide my smile. I knew the smart comment was her way of starting a conversation. The smile had seemed genuine, and now she was talking to and hugging Jordan.

  Yeah, there definitely was hope yet.

  Chapter 14

  Maggie

  “This must be Della,” I said when a little girl with dark braids in her hair walked up to us with Lydia.

  The girl beamed at me while Lydia nodded. “She’s my best friend now, Mommy. She likes princesses too.”

  “Well, I guess that settles that then. You’ll have to be friends for life.” I smiled and took in Della’s purple dress, an almost exact replica of Lydia’s pink one. “It’s a match made in heaven.”

  Della grinned and came up to me, sticking out her little hand for me to shake. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’ll be a good friend to Lydia.”

  “I’m sure you will, sweetheart. My name’s Maggie.” I gestured to my friend. “This is my best friend, Angie.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too,” Della said, holding her hand out to Angie after she shook mine. One look at my friend, who was practically melting in her spot, and I knew she was in love with this sweet little girl like I was.

  Lydia, evidently a lot more outgoing than her new best friend, skipped over to Jordan and Noah and gave them each a hug around the thighs. “I’m Lydia. I saw you at the shop the other day.”

  “Yeah,” Noah replied, smiling as he ruffled her hair. “I’m Noah. Your mom and I used to be friends.”

  Jordan snorted but caught the warning look I gave him, and he shook his head but didn’t say anything about it. “I’m Jordan. Noah’s brother.”

  “Uncle Noah is the best,” Della piped up, tugging at my shirt to get my attention. “You’re really pretty.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. So are you.” I smiled down at her.

  “We’re going to that house now,” my outgoing child informed us, pointing at the house next door to the one they’d just been to. “Can we trick or treat together tonight?”

  Noah and I exchanged a glance before I realized it was Jordan I should be looking at for an answer. He was Della’s father, after all.

  He nodded on a shrug. “Seems they’ve done that thing only kids can do and fallen in friend-love at first glance. Who are we to tear them apart?”

  Sighing internally, I knew he was right. If I’d wanted to spend the night with Noah, I’d have taken him up on his invitation. Spending the next few hours listening to him talking about himself sounded like torture, but trick or treating wasn’t for or about me. It was all about Lydia, and I could see how much she wanted this. “Sure. We’ll go together from here. Go on, you two. Get us something good, okay?”

  Both little girls grinned up at me, then linked arms like they’d been friends for years and raced to their next target. Jordan was the first one in our group to speak up. “It’s good to see you, Angie. How have you been?”

  Her cheeks flushed. “Busy, but good. You?”

  “Same.” His lips formed the tiniest little smirk before he waved a hand from Noah to me and back again. “Angie, what do you say we let these two get reacquainted while they finish out trick or treating? We could go for a drink, and I’ll take you home after?”

  Bright brown eyes swinging to mine, she gave me an apologetic, yet calculating look before looking back at Jordan. “That’s a great idea.”

  They were gone before either Noah or I could protest, and I stood on the street gaping after their retreating backs. “Did he just hit on her?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “Jordan’s not that kind of guy. He just wanted to give us some time alone together.”

  “Why?” I tilted my head, genuinely curious. “He didn’t have to do that. I have a feeling Angie accepted for the same reason, though.”

  “I know.” He rolled his head back and looked up at the sky, releasing a deep breath before he answered my question. “I told him how much of an ass I was when I took you to get coffee. He’s trying to give me the chance to redeem myself.”

  The honesty of his reply floored me. I hadn’t expected a real answer, and I really hadn’t expected one in which he revealed a hint of vulnerability that reminded me of the guy I used to know.

  Since he had been willing to drop the act and cut the bullshit, I did the same. “Is there anything redeemable about you? I’ll be honest. You were pretty conceited that day, Noah. I don’t have time for people who don’t care about anything but themselves.”

  “I’m not like that,” he protested without hesitation, then closed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I mean, I know what I came across as. It’s a defense mechanism I’ve learned to put up over the years, and it’s not easy for me to drop it around anyone but my family.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” This softer, much more vulnerable version of him was such a one-eighty from the stranger he’d been to me since I got back that it made my head spin.

  Noah’s gorgeous eyes came to mine, the expression in them hopeful and cautious at the same time. It was confusing as all hell to see him looking at me like that again.

  “I’m telling you because it’s the truth.” He flashed me a sheepish grin. “I was a dick to you, and you didn’t deserve it. I’m not only talking about the day I took you for coffee either. Jesus, Mags, I’ve made so many mistakes with you. Above all else, though, you’ve always been my friend. I’ve lost enough friends. I really don’t want to lose another.”

  “You lost me as a friend a long time ago, Noah.” My voice was quiet since the girls were on their way back to us. Quiet enough that I heard him taking in a sharp breath at my reply. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I’d simply told him the truth. We’d have to talk about that later, though.

  By silent mutual agreement, we hit pause on our conversation until the girls were walking ahead of us to the next house and talking a mile a minute.

  Noah’s hand brushed against mine as we walked. Although it had been years, my body remembered him all too well to ignore it. A tingle traveled through me, making me break out in
goosebumps.

  Knowing it was his way of trying to get my attention without anyone noticing—we’d had enough practice in that department—I looked up at him.

  “I know I did. I fucked up. If there was a way for me to tell you how sorry I was, how much I regretted everything, I’d have had it written in the goddamn sky. But there are no words that can make it up to you. All I can do is prove to you that I can be better in the future.”

  “Why would you even want to?” I hated the way he still seemed to be able to speak right into my heart. When he was being like he was now, anyway. Definitely not that stranger Noah side of him.

  But when he was just being Noah, showing me that he was still the boy he used to be deep down inside, I couldn’t deny that it felt like I’d been transported back in time. Suddenly, I was fifteen again, and this was the boy who could take one look at me and know exactly what I was thinking.

  From the way he was looking at me, I wasn’t the only one feeling a touch nostalgic. It was amazing how after so many years apart, now that we were together and actually talking again, it felt like no time had passed at all.

  “I’ve missed you and Ryan more than I can possibly begin to explain to you.” He held my gaze as he talked, his voice quiet and devoid of any of his cocky swagger. And all this while he was wearing a frog suit with a pair of giant goggles perched on his head. I have to be dreaming. There’s no way this is really happening.

  But another brush of his hand against the side of mine told me that it was.

  “After his death, I kind of flew off the rails a bit,” he admitted. “Okay, maybe more than a bit. It was only a little while after I started making real money. I tried everything I could to fill the hole he’d left in my life. Booze, women, fast cars, dude-bro douchebag friends. I’m not proud of anything I did back then.”

  “Okay?” His hand was still so close to mine that if I reached out with my pinkie, I’d be able to hook it around his.