Maeve blushes and looks down at the ground. I reach for her hand, locking my fingers with hers, and give her hand a gentle squeeze. She looks at me, her eyes bright but show so much fear. She’s been hurt, but so have I.
“Dinner, at my place. Six sharp. I’ll text you the address.”
“You don’t have my number,” she says quietly.
“I do. Logan gave it to me. He says, and I quote, ‘It’s about time my mom goes out on a date.’”
“He did not.” She covers her face with her free hand. On the inside, I rejoice. I’m still holding her hand, and we’re in public. According to Logan, this means we’re dating, but even I’m not naïve to think this to be true. Hell, we hardly know each other, but I am smitten.
“He did.” I lean forward and brush my lips against her heated flesh. “I’ll see you later. I’m really looking forward to this evening.”
I step away, but not before I hear her say, in the faintest of voices, “So am I.”7MaeveI have one hour before I have to be at Kyler’s for dinner, and I have no clue what to wear. Logan was ecstatic about my date, so he left early to go to my parents’ house so I could get ready. Seeing Kyler interact with Logan today at the festival made me see him in a different light. We had a breakthrough last night with our conversation on my front porch, but today, I got to see who he really is. The way he was with Logan is what I’ve always wanted for my son, to have that male figure to look up to. I have to tread carefully, though. I can’t bring people into Logan’s life just to have them not stick around. It’s not fair to him. Even though Ethan pays child support, in a way, I hate him for depriving our son of what he really needs.
Looking in the mirror, I hold up a cream sweater and a dark brown one to see what they’ll look like with my jeans. My mother appears in the reflection and nods at the cream one. “I think that one will look great with your jeans.”
I toss the brown one onto the bed and slide the cream one over my head. “Thanks. What are you doing here?” I straighten up my hair and face her.
She smiles and nods toward the kitchen. “I made a carrot cake for you to take to Kyler. Thought you could have it for dessert tonight.”
“You are really pushing for this to work, aren’t you?”
Her eyes twinkle. “Maybe. I really like him, and I know he’ll be good to you and Logan. Something tells me it’s what he wants too. I think you should give it a chance.”
My heart flip flops in my chest, but then it gets squashed when I feel the fear. “What if it doesn’t work out, Mom? I don’t want Logan to get attached to anyone who isn’t going to stick around.”
She shrugs. “I understand, but you can’t live in fear. Taking chances is a part of life. You’re not the only one who’s been hurt, Maeve. Kyler’s taking a leap of faith too.” Her lips pull back. “Now you have fun tonight. Logan will stay with us, so don’t worry about coming home early.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “What exactly are you saying?”
She giggles. “Oh, nothing. Just if the need arises …”
“Okay,” I say, holding up a hand to halt her next words. “I get it.” The thought of sex makes me nervous. I haven’t been intimate with anyone since Ethan, and that’s been almost a year ago now.
My mother laughs again. “Have fun, sweetheart. We’ll talk tomorrow.” She walks away, and I hear the front door shut. I take one last glance in the mirror and blow out a sigh. Am I ready for this? What if tonight does lead to sex? Don’t get me wrong, I’m way past due for a night of fun, but I can’t be stupid. If we were in Baltimore, it wouldn’t be so bad, but word spreads like wildfire in a small town.
“You can’t live in fear,” I murmur to myself. Easier said than done.
Once I slip on my boots, I walk into the kitchen to see the giant carrot cake on the counter inside the cake carrier. My mom even went all out and decorated it with little carrots made out of icing. I grab my phone off the counter and text Kyler.
Me: On my way. Do I need to pick up anything?
He texts back a few seconds later.
Kyler: Nope. I’m good. Come on over.
I pick up the cake container by the handle and hold a hand underneath to give it extra support. Years ago, my mom had made a cake for one of our family functions when my grandparents were still alive, and when she picked up the cake carrier, the snaps broke, and the cake fell to the ground, splattering all over the place. Ever since then, we’ve taken extra precautions when it comes to transporting food.