tell anyone. I have a reputation to protect.”
They exchanged a look before they burst out laughing. The rest of our dinner went on in much the same vein. We didn’t talk about anything serious, but I learned a lot about them. I made sure to include Adi in the conversation and realized that they laughed a lot when they were together.
When we eventually left, Adi’s eyelids were drooping, and since it was a Monday, I figured we’d better not push things too late. I wasn’t really ready for the night to be over, but it obviously was.
Adi even fell asleep in the car but did her best to pretend like she hadn’t when April woke her up at their apartment. I walked them up, stopping when we reached the door.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said, making eye contact with each of them.
Adi glanced up at me. Then her gaze darted to April before coming back to mine. “Are you going to kiss my mother?”
“That choice isn’t mine to make, kiddo.” God knew I wanted to, but given how hesitant she was about dating, I doubted just going in for the kiss was a great idea.
My suspicion turned out to be right when she pulled Adi inside. The door closed until I could only see a sliver of her face. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll see you at work.”
“Good night, April,” I said. “Good night, Adi.”
“Good night, Chris,” the little girl called from inside before I heard her footsteps shuffling away.
April gave me another smile. “Good night. Thanks for taking us out.”
She closed the door in my face, but I still thought the night could’ve gone a lot worse.
In fact, I’m ninety percent sure I might have a shot at another date.
Chapter 14
APRIL
“Have you brushed your teeth, baby?” I walked into Adi’s room to find her climbing into her bed.
One of these days, she wasn’t going to want the pale pink comforter she’d had since I moved her into her own big-girl bed. But for now, she pulled it up to her chin with a relaxed smile on her face.
She nodded as she rolled onto her side to face me, her hand beneath her cheek. “My teeth are brushed. My hands are washed. I put on clean pajamas and I went to the bathroom.”
“I don’t even know why I ask anymore. You never forget anything.” She was getting too big too fast for my tastes. “What would you like to read tonight?”
Walking to the small bookshelf against her wall, I ran my fingers along the well-loved spines and hoped she chose something with princesses. After the night we’d just had with Chris, I was definitely feeling me some happily-ever-afters.
The me from a few weeks ago would also bitch-slap now me if she knew how warm and fuzzy I was feeling. Adi lifted her head a fraction of an inch and caught my eye.
“We don’t have to read tonight. Can we talk?”
Those three words extinguished the warmth in my stomach and the fuzzies turned to stone so fast, it was like they’d gazed directly into Medusa’s eyes.
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” I went to sit at the foot of her bed, resting my hand on her blanket-covered ankle.
She sat up and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Why didn’t you kiss Chris? I think he wanted to kiss you.”
My eyes became as round as they’d ever been. I’d expected Adi would have questions about the dinner. I just hadn’t expected that to be the first one.
Inhaling a deep breath through my nostrils, I rolled my lips into my mouth and did my best to come up with an honest answer. “I didn’t kiss him because I’m not dating him. He’s just my friend. Nothing more.”
Her head dropped to the side as she studied me. The thing about my daughter was that she was a lot smarter than even I gave her credit for most days.
Leaning forward, she took my hand and gave me a look that said today was one of those days. “Why aren’t you dating him? You deserve someone good, Mommy. Chris is good.”
My heart melted into a puddle of goo that cracked and broke as it dried. “It’s not that simple, honey. Adult relationships are more complicated than they look in the movies. Dating someone doesn’t just happen, and it doesn’t always end well.”
She frowned. “But I like him.”
“I like him, too.” I stroked my thumb over her knuckles and gave her a soft smile.