it now.”
The reply puzzled me, but if anyone understood that certain topics were off-limits when one was having a good time, it was me. “Has Adi told you she’s going back to school soon?”
Chris’s eyebrows rose like he was surprised by the sudden change of topic, but then a relieved expression swept across his features and he relaxed once more.
“No, she hasn’t.” He grinned. “Is she excited?”
“Very much so.” I rolled my eyes. “You’d swear being at home with me has been a hardship. Don’t kids usually beg to stay home from school?”
He shrugged, glancing at her having a ball up onstage again. “Some kids, maybe. If Adi’s dedication to her therapy is any indication of her approach to school, I can understand why she’d be eager to get back.”
“She really is.” I turned away from him to look at Adi as well. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a wider smile on my daughter’s face.
In fact, despite her injury, she’d been happier than ever since Chris had come into our lives. It made me a little worried that she might be getting too attached to him.
And it wasn’t just her getting attached either.
But I refused to let a little worry get in the way of our evening together. Chris had gone all out for us. If I kept thinking about what the fallout might be if he should suddenly be done with us once Adi’s therapy was completed, I was going to ruin the effort he’d gone through.
I also didn’t truly believe it would happen that way. Adi needed a good, stable male figure she could depend on to look up to in her life, and Chris looked like he might just be that person.
He and I talked while Adi performed with the servers. Once dinner had been served and I’d eaten more than one person should be able to fit in, Chris finally took the stage.
The song he chose was a classic, and although he didn’t have the best voice I’d ever heard, he managed to carry a tune just fine. The fact that he never took his eyes off us while singing about how he was standing before us in the dark, knowing this was his chance to show his heart might have contributed to my feeling that it was the best performance ever.
Even I got teary, and Adi and I both hugged him when he came back to the booth. We performed another song each before it was time for us to hang up the old microphones.
It wasn’t that late by the time we left the restaurant, but Adi was exhausted after all the excitement and so was I. Chris helped her into the backseat before coming around and closing my door.
He winked when he dropped into the driver’s seat beside me. “Thanks for letting me do that for once. You always seem to have it sorted before I can get to you.”
“You’re welcome.” I returned his wink, even though I felt a little salacious doing it, and was surprised when the move elicited a chuckle.
After he’d eased us into the light traffic around the restaurant, he met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Does that mean this was officially a date?”
“You booked out an entire restaurant for us. I’d say that qualifies as a date.”
His grin widened. “Excellent. I was hoping you’d say that. I’m supposed to wait a few days before I talk to you again now, right?”
“Traditionally.” I turned my back on the city lights beyond the window and studied the handsome profile of my date instead. With his chiseled features and lean muscles, he really made for quite the sight illuminated by the ambient light from outside. “I don’t subscribe to the traditional rules of dating, though.”
“How so?” He tilted his head but kept his eyes on the road.
“I’d like to spend some time with you. Just the two of us. Interested?” My voice was quiet in an attempt to keep the conversation private but Adi was staring absently out the window anyway. I was pretty sure she was sleeping with her eyes open.
Chris nodded in response to my question, drawing my attention back to him. “Sure. I’d love to. When?”
“If you’ve got tomorrow night open, why don’t you come over to my place? I’ll cook us dinner and we can talk.”
He frowned. “Talk? That doesn’t sound good. Am I in trouble?”
“Not yet,” I joked. “Talking doesn’t always have to mean something bad, you know?”
“It doesn’t have to but it usually does.”
“True.”