“Small gift, big box?” I guessed.
“Oh.” She looked down at the box. “I found aTransformerslunchbox for him the other week too. Not the most exciting gift for a nine-year-old.” TheTransformerstheme of the party balloons here today would suggest otherwise. “But Gray told me Jayden likes this new game on his phone, and you can purchase stuff in there, so I figured he could at least put an App Store gift card to good use.” She sighed and peered up at me with a smile. “I’ll crank it up for Christmas.”
Which…we might celebrate together, then?
“I think he’ll be happy.” I shrugged. “Last time I saw him, he was playing with sticks.”
She laughed.
Kidding aside, Jayden was cool. And he actually liked me—possibly because I was teaching him to kickbox. My nieces had zero interest in “gross, dumb boy stuff.” As if girls couldn’t kickbox?
“Anyway, I’ll…” I stepped aside. “I’ll let you go so you can say hey to everyone.”
“Well, I’d feel bad if Jayden thought I was holding his birthday gift hostage…” She sent me a teasing grin and took a few steps toward the others. Then she glanced back at me. “Don’t look at me when I eat cake.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You need to let that go. I told you cake was for birthday parties, didn’t I? I’d be more disappointed if you didn’t try it. My sister made it.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told she’s incredible.” She bit her lip. “Damn sweet tooth.”
I shrugged with one shoulder. “I was born without one.”
She flinched as if I’d slapped her, and she looked up at me with an expression that cracked me up. Like she was trying to figure out what planet I was from.
“You don’t like sweets atall?” she asked incredulously.
“Not really.” I smirked. “When Elise figured that out, she didn’t talk to me for a long time.”
“Understandable.” She scrunched her nose, and it was fucking adorable. “Do you have any vices whatsoever?”
Little did she know.
“I can scarf down a two-pound bag of cashews in one evening. That’s almost two days’ worth of calories. Pizza? Don’t get me started. If I sit down with a bag of chips, I ain’t sharing. I can eat sushi and fried shrimp till the cows come home. Anything deep-fried, I’m there.”
Judging by the look on her face, I’d earned back some brownie points. So that was good.
“Except you’re not, because you have self-discipline,” she noted. “I envy that.”
Fair. I did have self-discipline. I’d never had to battle addictions.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t indulge occasionally,” I replied. “And it doesn’t mean you can’t get self-discipline either. It’s a process.”
She sighed and looked over her shoulder toward the birthday party, then glanced back at me again. “You know, this is what I don’t want to lose by us suddenly being in each other’s lives. You’re easy to talk to, and I like our chemistry.”
That sure put a smile on my face. “So do I. Does that have to change, though? What’re you worried about?”
She shifted where she stood, and she thought about it. “For starters, having my PT watch me eat cake. It’s weird.”
I chuckled. “For starters, I wasn’t planning on watching you. But—for the record—I think the only weird thing here is that it’s your PT actually assuring you it’s okay to eat the damn cake. You seem to struggle with guilt when you have no reason to. The goal is to find a happy medium, Natalie. I’m not here to starve you—or make you miserable. A lifestyle change needs to be sustainable.”
She nodded slowly. “I hear you.”
“For what it’s worth, I’ll be on my best behavior.” I was going there. I was gonna sneak in an apology for how I’d acted. I wasn’t sure I’d get a better opportunity, and I wanted us to move forward. “Unlike…you know, when I spouted some arrogant nonsense the other day. I’m sorry about that.”
A slow smirk took over her lips. “Hashtag getting shit done?”
I winced and made a face, and I instantly felt like a dumbass. I was half surprised she hadn’t told me to fuck off. I’d wanted her to pay me some damn attention—but she hadn’t hired me to check out my abs.
Christ.
