Chapter Two
Avery
“Landon Luke Croft, what did you do to my phone?” Avery Croft shook her phone in the air above her head.
“Nothing,” he called down the stairs of their Seattle townhome. His voice echoed off the hardwood floors and mint-green walls. Thankfully, they shared a wall with the world’s most forgiving neighbor, Evelyn, who also doubled as the world’s best babysitter.
She pulled the phone out of the air and swiped through the screens. “There’s, like, five new apps on here.” Her eyes landed on one icon with a heart, and her blood chilled to match the stormy temperature outside. Capture My Heart. “You have got to be kidding me,” she mumbled as she tapped the screen. Sure enough, Landon had uploaded a profile picture of her and filled out all sorts of information on the dating app. Oh yeah, it was all there.
Gender: Female.
Children: One.
Born: Seattle, WA.
At least he got the comma in there. His expensive private school education was paying off.
Her eyes bugged at the next section. What are you passionate about? He’d put baking, Hallmark movies, and roller coasters. Roller coasters! Really? Granted, Landon was ten, so his answers weren’t going to be those of an adult, but this made her sound like a fifteen-year-old with a baby.
Landon tromped down the stairs and stopped on the last one, which left them eye to eye. He was the tallest kid in his class, and she was five foot seven. She’d be looking up to her son before he hit high school. That was a depressing thought.
“Capture My Heart?”
“They said you get free dinner.”
She held back her eye roll. He was trying to be sweet. “Landon, just because they offer you something free doesn’t mean you have to take it.”
“But you’re always saying that we have to pinch our pennies.”
“Pinch pennies, yes. Give away our time, no.”
His full cheeks dropped and took her heart right along with them. How much longer would he look like her baby? Not long if he took after his father. Luke had shot up when they were in the third grade and always stayed a head taller than the other boys. She’d been by his side as a best friend, then girlfriend, and in college she’d become his wife. They’d gotten pregnant soon after, and she’d quit school to work so Luke could finish his degree. If only they’d done it the other way around. But they hadn’t known that Luke was going to die … they’d thought they had forever.
Forever wasn’t real, which was why she couldn’t stand to break her son’s heart. What did it matter in the long run if he’d downloaded a few apps? “I guess it couldn’t hurt to look at the offer.”
Landon hesitantly lifted his chin off his chest. Avery hugged him and then rubbed her knuckles over his corn-silk hair. “Don’t touch my stuff,” she said, quoting one of his favorite movies.
He shoved her hand away with a scowl. “Are you going to go?”
“Go where?”
“To dinner. It’s all set up. A place called Hattie’s Hat?” He wrinkled his nose.
“Maybe.”
He pulled his lips in tight for a sour face.
Avery turned him towards the bathroom off the kitchen. “Brush your teeth so we can get to school. I’ll look into this.” He slouched off.
Avery thumbed through the app. There was a chat room and a place to flip through profiles of people who lived close and those who did not. She wouldn’t mind a long-distance boyfriend, one who told her she was pretty and never showed up. She caught herself looking over her shoulder repeatedly, as if Luke’s spirit was standing behind her tsking his tongue. Which was ridiculous. He’d told her to find someone new—eventually. “A heart like yours,” he’d said, “must be shared to survive.”
Was five years “eventually”? She had no idea. What she did know was that she was lonely and growing lonelier with each year, each month, each day he was gone. So far she’d been able to put the loneliness in a box and keep the lid on it, but there would come a time when it would burst open and consume her.
A small number 1 lit up in the top right-hand corner of the app. Curious, she tapped on it. Her screen exploded with confetti and the words “You have a Blind Date” filled the space.
“What the …?” She tapped again and was offered some explanation.
You have been selected for our exclusive Blind Date platform. Your date is Walker Wilaby. You will be dining at Hattie’s Hat at seven on Friday. Press here to RSVP.
