Part of me wondered if I should answer. But considering we were no longer married and had no further ties, I couldn’t think of a reason why I should.
I silenced my phone and stuffed it back in my pocket, determined to push my ex-wife from my thoughts as I rejoined Zoe.
She grinned at me. “They’re about to start!”
I could hear the excitement in her voice and couldn’t deny that I was also excited about hearing them after hearing what she had to say.
21
Zoe
By the time the concert ended, I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t help it.
I loved Southern Sands and hadn’t seen them play in a while. This was a really nice surprise.
I helped Jacob pack up our things and said, “This was a great date. I’m really glad you brought me.”
I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and I caught his grin.
“Good.”
We quietly packed everything, and when we started toward the parking lot, he reached for my hand, threading his fingers through mine.
I bit my bottom lip to stop the grin that threatened to break through from spreading.
I hadn’t felt like this about a guy since I went on my first date in high school. Not even with Paul.
I had butterflies in my belly, my hands felt slightly clammy—which I hoped he didn’t notice—and I didn’t want the date to end.
But I knew it had to. He had a game the next day, and I had a teenager that was probably chomping at the bit to know how tonight went.
When we reached the parking lot, we headed to his car, where he carefully packed everything back into the trunk before walking over to mine and stopping next to it.
I briefly considered waiting to see if he would ask me on another date, but since I was trying to turn a new leaf and be more present, I bit the bullet.
“Would you like to go out again some time?”
I held my breath as I waited for his answer.
“I would,” he said, grasping both of my hands.
I blew out the breath.
“Your next night off?”
He nodded. “Or if you don’t mind a later date, we can try for something after a game. We probably wouldn’t be able to do much, though.”
I shrugged. “Look at your schedule and see what nights might work and let me know. If I don’t work the next day, I’d be up for a late night date.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
We grinned at each other and I realized I was standing there being one of those people in a couple that I rolled my eyes at.
You know the ones where they look lovey-dovey and all up in each other.
I’d never felt like that with anyone, not even Paul, so there was a small part that was disgusted with myself.
But mainly, I was just happy to be there with Jacob.
“I need to get going,” I whispered. “Noah is waiting for me.”
Jacob nodded and leaned in.
My breathing hitched as I watched him move closer. I waited to see what he was going to do. Was he going to kiss me? Was I going to let him?
Who was I kidding? Of course I was going to let him.
But he didn’t kiss me. At least not how I was hoping for him to.
He pressed his lips against my forehead in the gentlest kiss I’d ever had, pulling back quickly and shooting me a grin.
“Text me to let me know you got home?”
I nodded. “Drive safe,” I told him.
He mock saluted me and stepped back while I climbed into my car.
He stood there watching me until I got to the gate. For all I knew, he continued to stand there long after I left.
It was sweet. And it made my heart skip a beat.
I floated along on cloud nine the entire drive back home and was still floating on it after sending Jacob the text that I was home.
As I stepped into the house, it surprised me to see that Noah wasn’t in the living room where I thought he’d be.
He wasn’t anywhere downstairs, actually.
I frowned, but assumed he’d gone on to bed because he had school tomorrow.
I walked into the kitchen, flicking the light on, and screamed when I saw the person sitting at the table.
I pressed a hand against my chest, willing my pounding heart to calm down while I stared at my soon-to-be-dead nephew.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” I asked him, gripping the edge of the counter to keep me upright as my legs shook. “I think you just scared a few years off my life.”
Noah grimaced and looked sheepish. “Sorry. I didn’t think about that. I just want to ask about your date.”
“And you couldn’t wait in the living room? Where there was already a light on?”
I shook my head and turned to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle from it before turning to face Noah again, leaning against the counter.
“How was it?” he asked after a few beats of silence.
“It was great.”
He narrowed his eyes, and I smirked.
“Where’d you go?”
“The park.”
I laughed as Noah wrinkled his nose.
“The park?”
I nodded and opened my water, taking a small sip. “Yep. There was a concert. Remember when we went last year?”
Noah nodded. “Did you have fun?”
I nodded again. “I did. Southern Sands was one of the bands tonight.”
Noah’s eyes widened. “They were? Now I’m a little mad I didn’t go.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Hate to break it to you, even if I’d known they were playing, you would not have tagged along. Can you imagine a sixteen-year-old tagging along on my date?”
Noah chuckled, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that might have cramped your style.”
I shot him a look that asked “you think?” and said nothing.
“Are you going to go out again?”
“I hope so. He’s checking his schedule so we can plan another date.”
Noah slowly nodded and stared at me for a few moments. It seemed like he had something he wanted to say, so I remained silent to wait him out.
“Have you forgiven him?” Noah eventually asked.
I said nothing initially and thought about how I wanted to respond.
“Yes, I have.” I paused and got my thoughts together more fully. “I know what he said hurt you. It was incredibly hurtful for both of us. But he apologized, and I think he’s sincere.”
“You don’t feel like he tried to… buy your forgiveness with that day at the stadium?”
I sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out.
“No, I don’t think that.”
Noah was silent for another few beats. “I kinda feel that way.”
I nodded. “I can see why you’d think that. But I think he’s genuine. He didn’t have to do that, even if he was trying to buy your forgiveness. I don’t think anyone that was insincere with their apology could have spent the entire day around you without slipping. What do you think?”
Noah seemed to think my question over before slowly nodding. “You’re right.”
I waited to see if Noah had anything else to say.
“Do you think the two of you will start dating?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t see into the future to know what it’s going to bring. But I will say that I do like him. He’s really nice and I think when you meet and interact more, you’ll agree with me.”
Noah was silent again. I thought for sure his questions about forgiveness were what was bothering him, but considering how he was still thoughtful, something else must be bothering him.
“Do you…” Noah paused and stared at the floor for several moments. I stayed silent while I waited. “Do you think if the two of you are serious, at some point he’ll have an issue with me being here?”
I stared at my nephew, blinking rapidly as I tried to process what he’d just asked me.
&
nbsp; “Are you asking if he’d… resent you?” I asked carefully.
Noah shrugged and glanced at me. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m not your kid, though you treat me like I am. So I wouldn’t be his kid either. If you two got serious and got married and had kids, would I be a problem?”
My eyes widened at Noah’s questions. Where was this coming from?
I set my water bottle down and pushed off the counter, walking over to Noah.
“Come here,” I said, holding my arms out.
He immediately stepped into me and wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped mine around his shoulders.
We didn’t do the full body hugging much anymore, so I knew what Noah was asking was important to him.
“I want you to listen to me,” I whispered in his ear. “Whatever guy I end up with, whether it’s Jacob or someone else, you don’t have to worry about resentment. If he resents you or he doesn’t want you here, he isn’t the guy for you or me. I didn’t give birth to you or raise you for the first thirteen years, but I was there while my sister did and I’m in her shoes now. You might not be my kid, but you are my kid. If anyone doesn’t like you, they can take a hike.”
Noah’s arms tightened around my waist.
We stood there for several minutes before Noah pulled back.
As I got a look at his face, I realized his eyes were damp and so was my shirt.
“Night, Aunt Z. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek and left the kitchen.
I stared after him, wondering what got him so worried about everything, and vowing to keep a better eye on him.
I stood in the kitchen for a long time after that, thinking about my sister and wishing she were here to offer guidance on what I should do going forward. I could use the help.
22
Zoe
“Psst!” came from my left the next morning.
I looked up from the book I was reading and checked that we still didn’t have a line before looking at Liv.
“What?” I whispered back.
When there weren’t customers, we could sit in our spot and read or do other things that didn’t involve our cell phone.
I didn’t mind because it meant I get to read while on the job. Liv, however, hated reading, and more often than not, wanted to talk to me about something.
I was growing to love her as one of my closest friends, but at the same time, she didn’t understand the beauty of silence.
“Didn’t you have a date last night?” she asked, scooting her chair closer to the small partition that separated the two of us.
I nodded and carefully placed my bookmark in my book before closing it. “I did.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “How’d it go?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I was still riding the high of how amazing the date was, even with the serious discussion with Noah after.
“That good, huh?” she asked with a grin.
I shrugged, but couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
“Who was the guy you were going out with, anyway? I didn’t know you were trying to meet people.”
I glanced around once more to make sure we were mostly alone before I leaned in closer to Liv. “It was a guy I met about six or seven months ago, right before I started working here. We met, then didn’t see each other again until that fundraiser.”
Liv’s eyes widened. “Ooh, intrigue. I think you need to fill me in on this guy.”
I flicked my gaze over her shoulder and noticed Lexi coming out of her office and cleared my throat, straightening in my seat.
Lexi had said nothing to me about what I was doing when we didn’t have customers, but I didn’t want today to be the day that changed. She seemed nice, but unapproachable now that I’d been here longer. She had an air about her that said you didn’t want to mess with her.
Liv scooted back away and pulled out what I called her decoy book.
It was the book she pulled out to make it look like she was reading when she was really on her phone or doing something else. The book never changed, and I didn’t know how she’d gotten by for so long without someone catching on to her not actually reading it.
Lexi continued across the floor, and into the manager’s office, closing the door behind her.
We slid close together again, both of our eyes on the manager’s door.
“Nothing much to him,” I whispered. “I met him when I went out with Cass to celebrate a new job. Thought he was hot, but that was really it. Didn’t see him again until the fundraiser.”
“Did sparks fly again?” she asked.
We quickly separated when the manager’s door opened again, and Lexi stepped back out.
I opened my book and stared at it while tracking Lexi out of the corner of my eye.
Once she was back in her office, Liv and I moved back together.
“They did,” I admitted. “But he said some stuff to me I thought was weird, and eventually Cass helped me realize he thought I was a ball bunny.”
I rolled my eyes at the memory.
“Ball bunny?” Liv asked.
I glanced at her and caught her wrinkled nose.
“Yeah, you know what it is?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but why would it matter if he thought you were a ball bunny?”
“Because he’s a baseball player for the Spartans.”
Liv’s eyes widened, and she quickly looked around before leaning in closer and dropping her voice enough that I had to lean in and concentrate to hear her next words.
“You went on a date with a Spartan?” she hissed.
I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
She glanced around again and seemed more on edge than normal.
“Which one?”
I studied her for a beat before whispering his name. “Jacob Vaughn.”
Liv sucked in a breath and straightened. “We need to talk at lunch. You good going out today?”
I nodded and rolled away from her, wondering why she was being so weird about this now when only minutes before she was super excited to hear about my date.
I pushed it from my mind when several customers walked in.
I was thankful for the excuse to concentrate on something else, so I didn’t worry about what Liv wanted to tell me.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it—we caught a midday rush and Liv and I weren’t able to go to lunch together.
She shot me a meaningful look when I went, though. I didn’t know what that meant and it wasn’t like I could ask her since she was helping a patron.
I left to grab lunch, then sat outside to enjoy it at one of the stone tables that were behind the bank and in the shade.
Since it was finally warming up, I wanted to soak up as much sun as I could since I was cooped up in the bank all day.
I was popping the top off my sandwich container when my phone dinged, telling me I had a text message.
I glanced at my screen and smiled. It was from Jacob.
I quickly unlocked my phone and clicked on my messages, grinning as I read what he sent.
Jacob: Hey, beautiful. I hope your day is going well. Just wanted to say again that I really enjoyed last night and look forward to doing it again.
My smile was permanently etched on my face, that’s how happy I was.
“What are you grinning about?” someone asked, making me shriek.
I pressed a hand to my chest and looked over my shoulder to see Lexi walking toward me with her lunch in her hands.
I locked my phone and blew out a breath. “Just a text I got from the guy I went on a date with last night.”
Lexi grinned and sat across from me. I shifted in my seat.
I wasn’t sure why Lexi was sitting across from me, even though we were the only two people out here. It was just weird. She’d never sat with me before, and it made me uncomfortable.
“First date?”
I nodded.
She sighed. “I love that
first date feeling. Butterflies, everything is so nerve-wracking.” She shook her head and stabbed at her salad as she said, “It’s so great and terrible at the same time.”
I nodded. “I get what you mean. You want it to go well, but your nerves almost get the best of you.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
We ate in silence, and I relaxed slightly.
“Will you go out again?” Lexi asked a few minutes later.
I nodded. “Yeah, we’ve already talked about it. Just have to get our schedules to match.”
Lexi grinned. “Sounds like you’re both busy.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, a little. With having Noah, I want to make sure I don’t just jump right into something with someone. I have to consider him. So taking it a little slower isn’t a bad thing in my book.”
“Noah?” Lexi asked. “Are you a mom?”
I shook my head. “I am, but I’m not. Noah is my nephew and I have guardianship of him.”
Lexi’s eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t realize.”
I shrugged, not sure what to say. I didn’t go around sharing a ton of information about Noah, but he was included on my paperwork that I filled out with her on the first day.
So it wasn’t like I was hiding him.
Silence stretched between us, but this time it was awkward. I was sure Lexi wanted to ask why I had Noah—most people did—but I wasn’t in the mood to talk about that with her. I didn’t know her that well and I wasn’t keen on someone that was practically a stranger knowing my business like that.
She cleared her throat. “Well, I hope you’re able to get together soon.”
I smiled wanly at her. “I hope so, too.”
A few minutes later, Lexi snapped the top back on her salad and she walked off, leaving me alone.
I hated that I sagged in relief as she walked off. It wasn’t that I didn’t think she was nice, but that entire conversation felt weird. She’d never sought me out before to talk, and that she did today struck me as off.
I quickly finished eating my sandwich and opened my fruit container while pulling my phone to me and unlocking it again to stare at the message Jacob sent me.
The Slider (Boys of Summer Book 5) Page 10