Janae nodded and welcomed his change in conversational topic.
“Did you speak to James’ father? How does he feel about me teaching James the game?”
Her brows lifted as she nodded. “I did. He was of course disappointed he couldn’t do this with James, but he didn’t want to force his son to miss out either. He asked me to thank you for asking his permission, though. It meant a lot to him.”
Relief bled through Adam. He’d never had the pleasure of meeting James’ father, and Janae didn’t talk much about him except to say his job kept him away a lot. No matter their lack of formal introduction, he wanted to make sure he didn’t cause any issues for Janae.
“By the way,” she continued. “What made you ask? Most people wouldn’t have thought to.”
Her question was valid, and his answer was simple. “I just thought about how I’d feel if someone was impeding on my time with my kid if I had one. I would at least want the option to say yes or no.”
He could tell by the cautious smile on her face that she was attributing this all to him trying to get in her good graces.
“That’s mighty enlightened of you.”
“I’ve been around kids and their families long enough to navigate some of the tricky dynamics you can encounter. Most of all, Henderson loves the kids, so I’m not trying to stress out their parents unnecessarily.”
That got a chuckle out of her, and the sweet sound of it madehim want to plant his feet where he stood and never leave her presence. Fortunately for James, that wasn’t what Adam came here for.
“Thanks for following up for me with James’ dad. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna leave you to work your magic with the food while I teach your boy how to hoop.”
She folded her arms, lifting a brow as her brown eyes connected with his, sharing a moment of playfulness. “Who says I can work magic with food?”
“Janae, as long as I’ve known you, everything you do is magic. I somehow doubt cooking is the thing that will trip you up.”
He walked over to her, leaned down, and placed a gentle kiss at the top of her cheek. His skin barely touched hers and his body was already burning, ready to make the chaste kiss something a lot less friendly.
“I’m gonna head out before I find myself in trouble.”
She looked up at him with a building storm in her eyes as she said, “I think that would be the safest option for both of us.”
Chapter 20
“That’s good, but you gotta learn to dribble without looking at the ball.”
They’d been outside for more than an hour, and James was getting the hang of dribbling quite nicely. As a dancer, the boy seemed naturally in tune to the way his body moved, so getting him to understand the basics of dribbling with his dominant and weak hand was coming along better than most. That didn’t mean he didn’t still need work.
“If all you do is look down, you’ll never be able to look for an opening to drive to the hoop or to see an opening to pass to one of your teammates. So, the next time we hook up, I’m gonna blindfold you if I need to so you can stop looking down at the ball as you move forward.”
James nodded, and Adam bumped his shoulder against James’ and gave him a smile. “Great job today, young man. You did really good for someone who doesn’t know the game that well yet.”
Adam could see the encouragement beaming through James as he stood taller. “Thanks, Dr. Henderson. Do you think we could do this again?”
“Sure,” Adam answered. “Let me connect with your mom so we can coordinate our schedules.”
“Food’s ready, fellas.” As if she’d heard Adam mention her, Janae’s voice traveled to the backyard, instantly drawing their attention.
“I don’t know about you, James. But with the way your ma had that kitchen smelling earlier, I don’t want her to have to call me twice. What about you?”
James laughed and led the way back through the patio doors and into the house. He went into the mudroom while Janae directed Adam into the half bath to wash up for their meal.
By the time he returned to the breakfast nook, a small area bathed in bright white walls with sunlight pouring in from the above skyline, the squared table was filled to the brim.
“Janae, this is a lot of food.”
“You have obviously never fed a teenager. You’d better make you a plate fast before James inhales it all.”
Adam lifted his eyes to James, who already had a heaping plate in front of him and a bulging jaw as he chewed to his heart’s apparent delight.
