“And who’s Liam?”
Layla had shaken her head in bemusement. “Trilogy Alpha Teamring any bells? Liam is the Seal who saves the day…time and time again. While looking like a dreamboat. Ask Ivy and Chase. They’ll know.”
“Okay, but how do you know Silas? Did you meet him?”
“Not directly. He showed up in a Lexus after the big storm last month. I saw him at Rise and Grind and thought he looked familiar. In a famous way.” She’d furrowed her brow as if that detail was important. “Ted thought he looked like a football player, and Davey confirmed it. He got Silas’s name from his credit card and googled him.”
“That’s got to be illegal,” I’d huffed.
“Oh, please. It’s not like Davey was going to do anything with the information. He was curious and sad to find out the football guy was straight as an arrow and married to a beautiful model. Or recently divorced. I think it’s this Alli person.”
I’d shrugged, thanked her for the coffee, and headed for my office. I’d been tempted to forego reading the Rutland schematics and bounce over to Google, but I hadn’t. I’d met the real guy, and I’d liked him. End of story.
That was small-town gossip for you. A guy showed his face a couple of times and ended up being a topic of conversation for weeks afterward. That would have happened even if he hadn’t been semi-famous.
And see? This was the kind of segue my mind took lately.
California = Silas = sex = what? A diversion, a temporary friendship, respite from loneliness?
I shook off my fanciful thoughts, hoping I hadn’t left Ivy hanging for too long.
She poked at the rigatoni noodles in the pot and plucked one out to test. “It would be fun to go to Disneyland. Mom was talking about it. I’ve only been on a plane that time you took us to Florida. It was sort of scary.”
“Planes are the safest mode of travel,” I assured her, setting the colander in the sink. “Your mom didn’t mention California to me. When was she thinking of going?”
Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe spring break. Pasta’s done!”
I was sure I had the kids during their spring break this year, and the notion that Sarah might usurp my time with them gave me a stomachache, but I didn’t press. It wasn’t fair to grill Ivy or second-guess my ex’s intentions based on nothing at all.
Then a week later, Sarah asked if I could take Chase to his dentist appointment.
“I’m so sorry. I know this is an inconvenience, but I have a Girl Scout commitment with Ivy that I can’t get out of, and Frank has an important meeting. He can always reschedule if necessary. I thought I’d check with you first to?—”
“Of course I’ll do it,” I interrupted, annoyed at the insinuation that I’d find a trip to the dentist with my son an inconvenience and at the mere mention of Frank. Not a bad guy, but…just whatever.
I blocked out a couple of hours on my calendar and drove to Fallbrook to pick Chase up from school and take him to Dr. Baker’s office. I knew it wouldn’t be a fun outing. Chase hated going to the dentist, and he was extra anxious because this trip involved having two cavities filled.
Needless to say, my usually convivial son was a grump on the way there and back. I couldn’t bribe him out of his mood with a post-appointment ice cream, so I took him to the comic book store to kill half an hour before Sarah and Ivy would be home.
Mike’s Comics had been one of my favorite hangout spots as a kid. I’d gravitated to Godzilla and Marvel comics, but Chase was a fan of intergalactic adventures. We sat side by side on the lumpy sofa in the middle of the cramped space, sifting through sample editions Mike kept on hand.
“Do you think I could be a good pitcher?” Chase asked out of the blue.
“Absolutely.”
“Did you ever pitch?”
“No, I was a first baseman, sometimes shortstop. But once I could play football, that was all I wanted to do,” I said, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. “How’s your mouth feeling?”
“Terrible,” he groused as only a put-upon nine-year-old could. “I can’t feel my lips.”
“Sorry, buddy. It’ll wear off soon.”
He sighed heavily, head bent over the comic again. “Do you think I’ll be as tall as you someday?”
“Yep. Maybe taller.”
That earned me a megawatt grin. “Really?”
