That has her eyes going wide. “Do I like your daddy?”
He nods his head like it’s the easiest question in the world to answer. “Yeah. Do you like him?”
Lydia chimes in from her spot across the table next to Sutton. “Do you like my mommy?”
Sutton and I exchange a look, neither one of us quite knowing how to answer this.
“Do you want to answer?” Sutton asks.
I shake my head. “I think you were asked the question first.”
Sutton leans forward, clasping her hands under her chin. “I think it’s only proper for the gentleman to go first.”
That has laughter roaring out of me. Can’t argue with that logic.
“Lydia, I like your mommy very much. She makes me laugh.”
A wide, toothy smile splits Lydia’s face. She’s the spitting image of her mother. “She makes me laugh too.”
“Does that mean you like my daddy?” Troy asks again.
The nerve of this kid. But I guess that’s what being a kid is. You can ask whatever questions you want and get away with it because you’re cute.
“I do like him,” Sutton tells Troy.
It has a smile erupting on my own face. Who knew this would be my life? Two kids asking the adults if they like each other over pizza on a Friday night.
“Good. Does that mean we can play together more?”
“I want to play with Troy too,” Lydia says. “He has good toys.”
Sutton shakes her head. “You have plenty of toys at home, Lydia.”
“I know, but Troy’s toys are cool.”
The two of them go into a discussion of what their favorite toys are, leaving us to ourselves.
“Well, you can always come over and play with the cooler toys,” I tell Sutton.
That has her laughing, and it’s something I want to keep hearing from her. “Well, I guess if you have the cooler toys we have to keep hanging out. For the sake of the kids, right?”
I lean across the table, wanting to be that much closer to her. “Absolutely. For their sake.”
She leans closer to me, dragging her red cup closer to her and taking a sip out of the straw.
The overhead lights are harsh, but they do nothing to disturb the glow that I feel radiating from Sutton. I don’t knowif I’ve ever met anyone like her. She has the biggest and kindest heart of anyone I know.
“If we keep hanging out, does that mean we should make another playdate for the kids?”
I hold my hand out to her and watch as she drops hers into my palm. The slightest bit of contact sends me reeling.
“Maybe my parents can take the kids for the night and let them swim in the pool, and we can go out.”
“I want to go to a pool,” Lydia interjects.
“Me too! My grandma’s pool is the best. It has a slide and mine doesn’t.”
“Now we have to take them to the pool.” Sutton points a finger at me before grabbing another slice of pepperoni pizza and taking a bite.
