I held in a laugh as I dug out my wallet. “Regular coffee with half-and-half is fine.”
Drew grabbed my wrist and shook his head. “On me.”
I pushed the money into his hand. “I do still owe you. I kept you at the test kitchen for an hour past your shift.”
“You stayed. Consider us even,” he whispered in my ear as he placed the money in front of me.Shit, he smelled good.I rubbed the back of my neck to get the tiny hairs to lay flat again.
My eyes followed Drew as he ambled up to the counter to give the barista our order. He caught me ogling—again—before heading back to our table with a smile and two cups in his hand.
“So, Sara. Let’s see where we left off.” He set the coffee in front of me with a handful of sugar packets. “I didn’t know which sugar to get you, so I grabbed a couple packets of each. You come from Queens, you transferred here . . .”
“And I’m thirty-two . . . and have an eight-year-old daughter,” I blurted as I grabbed two sugars and emptied them into my coffee, blending with the stirrer as I avoided Drew’s reaction.
“So that’s the reason for the long break.” He nodded. “What’s her name?”
Another surprised smile stretched my lips. I usually got the “wow, you have a kid, what’s that like?” from single friends or younger coworkers that didn’t understand the concept of being a parent. Lisa, and now Drew, didn’t make me feel awkward or odd because I was a mom. It was a wonderful, if foreign, feeling. Drew asking her name caused a warmth to spread in my chest I couldn’t explain. Plus, he was still sitting here and not running for the hills yet.
“Victoria.” I wrapped my hands around the cup and took a sip.
“And her father is . . .”
“Taking care of her in Queens with his soon-to-be wife.” I held back a smile at the relief washing over Drew’s face.
“New stepfamily, huh?” He winced. “She’ll get used to it. Took me a little while when I was a kid, but now I don’t even think about it. It’s just normal.”
“You have a stepmother?”
“Stepfather. My mother had me when she was really young. She still gets mistaken for my sister sometimes. She met my stepdad when I was about six.”
“Do you see your father?” Drew’s mouth strained for a moment before he set his cup down.
“I’m sorry.” I grimaced. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s okay. Yes and no. I see him once in a while, but he’s never been what you’d call a full-time parent. My mom had it pretty hard for a while. I’m glad she found someone like Phil and had it easier when she had my sister.”
“How old is your sister?”
“She just turned seven. I was eighteen when she was born.”
A quick math equation ran through my head. Drew was seventeen when I had my daughter and was seven years younger than I was. I was already working two jobs when he was only a kid. The ease I was starting to feel in his presence evaporated.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Where’d you go?” He nudged my ankle with the tip of his foot.
“Nowhere, nothing.” My coffee cup almost slipped out of my hands as I set it back down.
“I don’t care that you’re thirty-two and have a daughter. I know that’s why you keep mentioning it. Does it bother you that I’m twenty-five?”
“No,” I clipped as I lied. Josh was a couple of years younger than me. I didn’t realize it the night I met him, and two years is a world of difference away from almost a decade, especially now. Drew was in the prime of his young life, and I had extra years and a load of baggage I couldn’t see a man his age wanting anything to do with. But this was only coffee, right? Why was I getting so ahead of myself?
I sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly before I brought my eyes back to his. “I’ve never been the most social person, at least since Victoria was born. I worked two, sometimes three jobs, and didn’t have time for friends or small talk or . . . coffee.”
Drew’s eyes grew wide. “Three jobs? Wow, you’re a warrior.”
I shrugged. “My daughter wanted to go to dance school, and her recital costumes cost the same as my utility bills. So, the extra hours and skipping a meal or two paid for a lot of sequins.” I laughed but Drew didn’t laugh with me.
“Victoria is lucky to have such an amazing mother. I’m glad you found a way to go back to school.” He gave me a heart-stopping, but sincere smile.
I nodded. “Me too. I owe her father a lot. He took her in, so I could take the internship at McQuaid’s and finish school. I’m in the accelerated program, so I’m only here for a year.”
