“All right, then.Let’s go get you fed.”Jed winked at her over the top of Oliver's head.
Luckily, when they arrived at the restaurant, Little Italy, it didn’t take long for them to be seated.On the ride, Jed discovered that Oliver loved spaghetti and would eat it three or four times a week if his aunt allowed it.The hostess showed them to a booth toward the middle of the restaurant where Oliver slid into one side with Sadie slipping in next to him.Jed took a seat across from them.The waitress stopped by and handed out menus, giving Oliver one of those paper placemats with activities on it.She gave him some crayons and took their drink orders before hustling off to put in their orders.As Sadie predicted, Oliver ordered the spaghetti, she chose mostaccioli, and Jed opted for the cannelloni.Both he and Sadie ordered salads while Oliver snacked on rolls and colored on his place mat as they waited for their main courses to arrive.
“Are you ready for Christmas break?”he asked Oliver.
“Yes!I can’t wait for Christmas!”His smile fell as soon as the words left his mouth.
Jed exchanged a worried glance with Sadie.What did he say that upset the boy so much?She frowned, then settled her hand over his.“Oliver?Honey?Are you okay?”
He continued to stare at his paper, his drawing turning into more of a scribble.What the hell did Jed do?He thought it was an innocent enough question, but from Oliver’s reaction, he suspected he’d stepped into a minefield.
“I want my dad to be with us for Christmas.”His voice was so small and sad.
“Oh, honey.”Sadie’s eyes filled with tears.
“I really miss him.”Oliver’s head tipped up, and his eyes were full of tears as he looked at his aunt.One lone tear slipped free, and it about broke Jed’s heart.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, dropping her cheek to the top of his head.“I know you do because I miss him, too.”
This was their first Christmas without Oliver’s dad and Sadie’s brother.There were going to be so many firsts the man was going to miss out on.
“You want to play a game on my phone?”Sadie pulled back and asked.
“Yes.”He surprised Jed by smiling up at his aunt.He wasn’t fooled into believing the kid was suddenly all better.He was just moving on because standing still wasn’t an option.Not that he would have consciously thought that.It was just something kids did naturally.
She pulled her phone out of her purse, pulled up the game Oliver wanted, and handed it to him.“Just until the food gets here, okay?”
He grinned and nodded.“Okay.”
Jed and Sadie spoke about several different things, ranging from family Christmas traditions to whether he thought there would be snow for Christmas, to some of the more interesting people she’d met at Big Dick’s.He really rocked her world when he steered the conversation toward books.She’d been stunned to find out that he liked to read, but her jaw nearly touched the floor when he told her the names of a few of his favorite authors.The types of books he liked to read were pretty diverse, but he’d been on a kick of reading steamy books the old ladies were into.He liked to think it gave him insight into how women really thought about men and sex.It was so totally worth it to see her reaction when he outed himself for reading steamy romance.
He sat with his arm over the back of the booth, his focus on her.He couldn’t wait to blow her mind further.“Have you ever readThe Last Ridersseries?”
“You’veread Jamie Begley?”she whisper-shouted.She leaned over the table with her eyes all but bugging out of her head.He laughed, thinking it was the funniest thing he’d seen in a while.
“Yes.I’ve read most of the series, including theBiker Bitchesspinoff.”Her eyes almost bugged out of her head at this point.Who would have known copping to reading steamy biker books would impress a woman?
“Oh, my God!I can’t believe you’ve read those.”She fell back in her seat, then quickly bounced back up, leaning on the table again.Her enthusiasm was so damn entertaining.“Have you read theRoad to Salvationtrilogy?Or thePorter Brothers’ Trilogy?Oh!Oh!Oh!Or theColemans’ Legacy?”
Oliver momentarily looked up from the phone to see Sadie getting all excited.He smiled really big and shook his head before his attention dropped back to the game.
“No,” he chuckled, “but it looks like I’m going to have to.Which one should I read first?”
“TheRoad to Salvationtrilogy, definitely.It’s about one of the original Last Riders.You’ll love it.”
Before she could discuss it further, the waitress showed up with their food.As agreed upon, Oliver turned his game off and handed the phone back to Sadie.Everyone took a few moments to dig into their food.After a couple of bites, Sadie turned to him and asked, “How did you start reading Jamie Begley?”
“It was Lindsey.Trick discovered a stack of steamy romance books on her nightstand one night when he was over there.He took a screenshot of some of the titles.When he was alone, he downloaded one to his phone and was shocked to see what kinds of books she liked to read.He found that series particularly enlightening.”
A thousand questions danced through her eyes.He’d bet just about anything that this subject of conversation wasn’t over yet.He winked at her and tucked into his food.The rest of the meal went by quickly.He enjoyed talking to both Sadie and Oliver, and the little boy’s earlier melancholy never made another appearance.
Back at her apartment, he walked them upstairs and waited for her in the living room while she got Oliver set up to take a bath.He protested because Jed was there, but Sadie reminded him that tomorrow was the last day of school before break, and they were having Christmas parties.“You don’t want to miss that, do you?”
“No,” he grumped.
“Good.Let’s get your bath, and then you need to hit the sack.”
“Okay.Fine.See you later, Jed.”Oliver surprised him when he came over and threw his arms around his legs, giving him a tight squeeze.
