Nick raised his glass and held it out. “But you did it. Cheers!”
Harlow clinked glasses with him. “And cheers for this meal. It’s melting in my mouth. How in the world did you pull this off? French cuisine is difficult to master.”
“Have you actually tried?” Nick wiggled his eyebrows at her. Harlow didn’t even mind the fact that he was making fun of her inability to cook.
“Absolutely not. The closest I came was taking French for a year in high school. All I remember is oui and bonjour.” Harlow shook her head. “Although I would love to go to Paris one day.”
“When I was in college, I spent a semester in Provence. I worked at a French restaurant and shadowed a Michelin-star chef in his kitchen. He taught me to love cooking.” He winked at her. “Not to mention all the French swear words that I learned.”
“Sounds like a life-changing experience.” An image of a young Nick wearing a chef’s hat and working in a fancy French restaurant flashed before her eyes. Nick Keegan had lived an interesting life before settling down in Mistletoe, Maine.
“It was,” Nick said, lifting his wineglass and taking a lengthy sip. “Cooking centers me. It’s one of the constants in my world. That probably sounds strange, but I can always count on the fact that if I follow the recipe I’m going to end up with a good meal, whether it’s baked ziti for Miles or something more elevated. There are no curveballs.”
“That totally makes sense.” Especially for someone like Nick, who’d been blindsided by things out of his control. She still found it intriguing that he put himself in such high-stakes rescue situations after losing his wife so tragically.
All of a sudden, Miles ran into the dining room. “Dad! You have to come quick. The game is tied and it’s going into overtime. You don’t want to miss this!” Just as fast as he’d appeared, Miles was gone in a flash. The sound of his bare feet smacking against the flooring rang out down the hall.
Nick put his head in his hands and shook his head, then swung his gaze up. “I’m sorry about that. Miles and I practiced him not interrupting our dinner, so I think his excitement about the football game took over.”
“It’s fine. Why don’t we join him? I don’t need to be alone with you in order to get to know you better.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “You don’t mind?”
“Absolutely not. Honestly, just watching you and Miles together gives me a really good idea on who you are, not just as a man, but as a father. If someone doesn’t want to spend time around your magnificent kid, that’s a huge red flag.”
“That’s a good point,” Nick said. “This dating as a single dad is all new to me, so I’m learning as I go. But you’re right about Miles. Anyone who doesn’t want to get to know him is missing out.”
Harlow didn’t want to miss out on getting to know this special kid. She found herself wanting to know Miles as deeply as she desired to know Nick.
“Let’s go join him,” Harlow suggested. “I didn’t say anything before, but I’m a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks and I’m itching to see the score.”
“You’re not just being nice, are you?”
She let out a laugh. “No! I swear. I’m stoked to watch the game with the two of you. No offense, but I’m going to be cheering for the Seahawks.”
“Hey, you’re pretty amazing,” Nick said as he stood up and came around to her side of the table, reaching for her hand. Harlow felt all tingly inside at the skin-to-skin contact. She wasn’t sure it was a good thing to be so gaga over Nick. That’s when things got complicated. Harlow didn’t do complicated in relationships. She liked keeping things nice and easy. Malcolm always accused her of having surface relationships. In other words, no depth. What she was experiencing with Nick went a lot deeper than her previous connections.
“You’re not half bad yourself,” Harlow said, standing on her tiptoes so she could press her lips against his. Kissing Nick was an impulsive gesture, but as his lips expertly moved over hers, Harlow couldn’t deny the burst of happiness exploding inside of her. This was different from anything she’d ever known. Nick was special. And when she was with him, Harlow felt worthy of something better than she’d ever imagined. Feeling this way was new to her, and it was scary opening herself up to all the possibilities. She wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck and pulled him close as the kiss soared and deepened.
When it ended, Nick pressed a swift kiss on her temple. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one who wanted their embrace to go on and on.
Harlow gave Nick a stern look and said, “Don’t forget about that dessert you promised me. We can eat it while my Seahawks stomp on your Patriots.”
“Aww, trash talk. I love it.”
The sound of Nick’s laughter filled her ears as they headed down the hall to join Miles in the TV room. This time it was Harlow who reached for Nick’s hand, linking it with her own as they settled down on the couch. This was what she had never known in her life. A soft place to fall. A man who made her melt with his kisses. A man who wasn’t afraid to be emotionally vulnerable.
If only for a little while, Harlow was going to lean into Nick and all he had to offer.
Chapter Fifteen
Miles Keegan considered himself to be a fairly lucky kid. He lived in a pretty cool town, he had a lot of good friends, and his dad was the absolute best. How many kids had dads who worked in search and rescue? None that he could think of. His dad was a real-life superhero.
The only part of his life that was sad involved his mother. She was dead. Sometimes he forgot how her voice had sounded or the way she’d worn her hair. He shut his eyes tightly in order to focus. Braids. She’d worn her hair in African braids a lot. Her eyes had been the prettiest brown he’d ever seen. As dark as chocolate. Twinkling like Christmas lights. That’s what he remembered the most. The happiness.
Even though he was a little kid, Miles knew his dad was lonely. But ever since he’d met Doc Harlow, something had changed. He smiled more. His dad seemed happier, which should make Miles happy. But he was starting to worry that soon it would be the two of them with him on the outside. He knew his dad loved him, but what if he started to love Harlow more? What would he do then?
Watching the football game with Harlow and his dad had been fun, especially since the Patriots won, but it also made him feel kind of funny when he saw them holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other. His tummy had done a few flips just watching them together.
