“I have been contemplating locking myself away in a little chest to avoid being an adult.”
That caused Jalen to laugh. She had that feeling now and then. So, she definitely could relate.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked. She was curious about what was going on, though she had an idea.
“So, a little while ago, I was on the phone, leaving my house, and my neighbor apparently asked me out on a date. I said yes, but to the person I was speaking with over the phone, and now I don’t know how to let him down gently. I just keep postponing it.”
That was exactly what Jalen had expected it to be. Rohan had told her she still hadn’t found the courage to just let the man down, easy or otherwise. However, Jalen figured that if by this point, he still didn’t understand that she didn’t want to go with all of her ducking, dodging, and postponing, it would be partially his fault if he was disappointed when she let him down.
“I get you not wanting to hurt his feelings, but this has been going on for a couple of months now, correct?” Jalen questioned. She remembered Rohan mentioning this to her a little after they’d started seeing each other, and that was almost four months ago now.
“It has, but I’ve never been able to just reject someone. I usually just procrastinate my way around it until they give up.”
“Vivian,” Jalen stated with a small laugh. “That’s terrible.”
“I know, I know.”
“If he’s waited and been patient this long, he obviously must like you.”
“I suppose he does, and he’s a nice man, he really is, but I’m not looking to date anyone at this moment. I’m enjoying being single.”
“Then, I think you owe it to him to tell him that.”
Vivian groaned. “Rohan said the same thing, but you’re both right. Actually, telling him it was a misunderstanding and I’m not looking to date anyone right now, would fix one of my man problems.”
“Look at you. Having men lining up left and right,” Jalen teased, and Vivian laughed.
“He’s lining up, but not for that reason. I have a persistent employee who wants to be made a partner in the marketing firm.”
She furrowed her brow. “I’m confused. I thought Rohan was your partner.”
“He is. However, he’s chosen to keep that from everyone because he feels he works better with his team when they think he’s just a project manager.”
“But they know he’s your son, right?”
“They do, but it was easy for them to get past.”
Jalen nodded in understanding, picking up her drink and taking a sip. She could see how keeping the fact that he was theirboss away from them would make things more productive. Some people got nervous when working with their supervisors.
For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them talked until the food was brought to the table. Jalen directed where each plate went before she stood to go find the girls and have them come eat.
As they sat around eating, they allowed the girls to dominate the conversation. It was mostly the younger four, but Landon and Kodi would throw a few things in now and then. All of her sisters had gotten along well with Alynn when they’d gone to the park and over Thanksgiving, and she was happy for that. Just as her sisters were a big part of her life, she knew Alynn was the same for Rohan.
She was also glad that she and Vivian had hit it off, and the older woman was taking such a liking to her sisters as well. Jalen had never been in a relationship where she met someone’s parents. The few she’d been in had never made it to that point. Though she wasn’t sure what “that point” even was. For all she knew, she’d met Vivian far sooner than most people would have.
Once they finished eating, the girls were eager to play more games. Jalen handed Kodi some more money and told them that once they ran out, that was it. When the waiter came back for them to settle the bill, Jalen asked for two separate ones. However, Vivian told her that since she’d invited them to lunch, she would be paying.
She would have normally argued, but it was something about the way Vivian raised a brow at her that let her know she would not be winning the argument even if she tried. Instead, she let it go.
Once the bill was paid, they moved to a couch in the game area to free up the tabletop for other restaurant guests.
“So, I wanted to ask if you would be comfortable enough to let your sisters have a sleepover with Alynn at my house.”
“A sleepover?”
“Yes, she’s staying with me from the twenty-sixth through the twenty-eighth, and I know she’d enjoy it if they were there with her. Trent is flying out for work, and he’ll be gone for those days.”
Jalen thought about it for a moment as she bit her lower lip. It wasn’t that her sisters had never been to sleepovers before. Well, Mikal and Landon had. Kodi had never really found the intrigue in them, and the twins, in her opinion, weren’t quite old enough for sleepovers yet. But she figured it was the younger three she was asking about.
