“I do.” No hesitation.
“And you’re going to sell the house and marry him.”
“Well, maybe. I need you to meet him.”
“You don’tneedme to. Youwantme to.”
“Yes, yes. Semantics. It would make me feel better if my son, whom I love, met the man of my heart.”
He leaned back and laced his hands behind his head. “Ah now. That feels good. This honesty between us.”
“Evan.”
He grinned. “Fine. And I’ll even let it go that Reid and Naomi got to meet him before I did.”
“Iknewthat would bother you. But I was afraid for you to meet him. I thought maybe if Reid liked him, you’d like him too. Reid was the litmus test, and Jerome passed. Reid thought he was terrific.” She paused. “But Reid’s not you.”
“That’s obvious. I’m much better looking.”
“And smarter too,” she teased. “Now tell me about this girl that has you blushing.”
His cheeks heated on command. “Her name is Kenzie Sykes. She’s been raising her brother all on her own for the past, ah”—he did quick math—“thirteen years. She’s smart, funny, beautiful, and runs her own business. She makes me nervous, Mom.”
“When a woman makes my unflinching son nervous, she’s the one.”
“The problem is we just met a few weeks ago. I know it’s sudden, but—”
“When you know, you know.”
“Yeah. She makes me feel the way Rita did. But with Kenzie, it’s…more. Probably because I know how precious love can be.”
“Losing what’s important shows you how much it matters.” She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced. “This is cold.” She frowned in thought. “And the waiter never did come back with my eggs.”
“Come on, Mom. Let’s go visit Jerome.”
“At the hospital?”
“Yeah. It’s time he passed muster.”
She shook her head. “Channeling your father with all that bossy talk.” His mother grabbed the bill before he could. “Fine. But I’m paying today. And after we’re done with Jerome, I want to meet this Kenzie. We’ll see if she’s good enough for my boy.”
“Yes, Mom.” He smiled, feeling better than he had in a long while.
“Come on, mama’s boy.”
He groaned.
“Or should I call you my dancing queen?” She laughed harder.
And he laughed with her.
Chapter 16
Saturday morning, Daniel stood with his sister and Rachel, up at a god-awful hour—it was anearlyten-thirty—to watch Will and Evan play soccer. The day looked grim, the clouds content to blanket the sun. A persistent drizzle came and went, bringing with it a wet cold. But with any luck, heavier rains would hold.
Since Daniel was trying out for the high school soccer team, Kenzie thought it might be a good idea for him to watch grown men fumble around a ball, wishing for the golden days of their youth. Not exactly how she’d put it, but that’s exactly what he expected to see today. Now if she’d taken him to a Sounders game, he might have been a heck of a lot more enthused.
Ten minutes into the first half, Daniel started to pay attention. The Legal Eagles—Will and Evan’s team—battled the Top Cops. He’d joked to Kenzie, “Three guesses as to who makes up a team called the Top Cops,” and laughed. Yet despite the cheesy team names, there was some real skill work on the field. The Top Cops were brawnier and more aggressive. Especially the women, which Rachel seemed to love. The Legal Eagles used more finesse, though Will and the lady next to him kept knocking into people and getting super close to illegal tackles.
