“I haven’t dated anyone since Nolan’s dad. I don’t know how this works,” she says timidly.
“It works however you want it to work. Just know, I’m all in. You and Nolan are a package deal, and I knew that the moment I saw the picture of him at your station. It doesn’t scare me or make me pause in any way, shape, or form.”
She turns to kiss me. “Thank you.”
I hold our kiss, making sure she knows I meant everything I said.
“It starts with today,” I say, trying to lift the mood a bit. “Can we all go to lunch together?”
When she doesn’t answer, I pipe in again, “We can totally pretend that I justhappento be at the same place as you guys and maybe you can offer for me to join you.”
She laughs and drops her head to my chest. “We don’t have to go that far.”
“Hey, I just want you to know that I’m up for anything.”
She picks on the strings hanging off the blanket. “I don’t know if he’ll even understand what dating is. I’ve never brought guys around. He has his uncle Jamie, and the other guys at Station 47 have all welcomed him in, but that’s about it. Well, of course, my dad, too, but that’s a grandpa thing,” she says with a chuckle.
I hold her tighter. “Me being gone for stretches at a time might be a good thing. It will force us to go slow. We can just take it day by day. We’ll start with lunch today. Do we ride together, or should I meet you wherever we want to go?”
She thinks, and I give her the time she needs to work through whatever is going on in her head.
“We can go together. I’ll go pick him up from my sister’s and go home, and then I’ll text you when we’re ready so you can come get us.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Sounds like a plan.”
Christy
I leave Evan’s place with the biggest smile on my face. I keep trying not to think about us or get my hopes up, but it’s just so hard when I’m with him. It’s like I want to pinch myself to make sure this is all real.
Every time he kisses me though, I know it’s real. From my toes to my fingertips, I feel every ounce of how real it truly is.
I texted my sister, telling her that I was on my way, but I did not expect her to be standing at the curb, waiting for me to pull up.
When I do, she instantly opens the door and hops in. “Tell me everything—and I mean,everything…” she says, all sultry, making me laugh.
“Hi. Good morning. How’s my son?” I tease.
She raises her eyebrows at me in adon’t give me that shitway, and I laugh even harder.
I drop my head back on the rest with a sigh. “It was amazing. He’s amazing.”
“So, like, you guys …” She leaves that question hanging in the air.
I smirk, then look at her. “Twice.”
“Ah!” She claps, bouncing up and down. “Was it everything you’d dreamed of?”
“So much better. He’s just …” I can’t put it into words. “I don’t know. I’m trying to keep my feet on the ground here. Everything is just too perfect.”
She grabs my hand. “There’s nothing wrong with perfect.”
“Perfect is scary.”
“Perfect is real. I knew the first time Jamie kissed me that it was different.”
My eyes meet hers.
I want to hear more, so she continues, “They say, when you know, you know. What has he said?”
