“Thanks, but David should be here soon. He got off work about half an hour ago.” She gave him a weary smile, then looked at her son. “Daddy’s almost here. He’ll push you on the swing.”
“Okay!”
After they walked way, Sebastian turned to her. “Between you and me, I’m glad for the break. Swinging kids is hard work.”
“Are any of them yours?” Jade blurted, then winced at the slipup. “Sorry. That was...”
“Straightforward?”
More like dumb.“Yeah. Let’s go with that.”
He chuckled. “No kids. No wife either. You?”
“Neither. I mean, no kids or husband.” As per usual, this was going swimmingly. “I’m starving,” she said quickly, needing a distraction. Or escape, if she continued her absurdity.
“I could eat,” he said. “Time for a work break anyway.”
“You were working?” she asked as they left the kiddie area.
“Up until the swing kids held me hostage.”
She side-eyed him. “You’re blaming the children?”
“You have to admit they’re pretty cute. That’s how they disarm you.” They took a few steps and he asked, “So, were you lost?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just wondering why you were in the kids’ area.”
Good question. How should she answer it? “I ran into your sister. She said you were over here.”
“Of course she did.” He glanced at her again. “You didn’t come to the hoedown on a whim, did you?”
Time for some honesty. “No. I told Miles you wanted to wait until Tuesday.”
“And he didn’t like that.” He put his hand on her arm, stopping them both. Square dancing music blared in the background. “Is he pressuring you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what’s he doing?”
“His job, Sebastian. Just like I’m doing mine. Or trying to anyway.”
He tilted his head. “I’m not making it easy.”
She was about to agree with him, because he definitely wasn’t. Instead, she said, “I never expected you to.”
Sebastian’s only response was to nod, and neither of them said anything as they continued walking to the food stalls.
As they passed by the carnival games, she was glad for the silence. It wasn’t as awkward as it could, or should, have been. It was rather... nice.
Suddenly she stopped short in front of a Skee-Ball booth. Excitement coursed through her. “I haven’t played Skee-Ball in years.” She turned to Sebastian. “Do you mind?”
Looking a little surprised, he said, “Go ahead.”
Two of the games were empty, and she walked right up to them, digging in her purse for her wallet. “How much?” she asked the attendant.
“A quarter for five balls, fifty cents for ten, a dollar for twenty.”
