“Nana wants to take us on a trip?” Charlotte bounced off Gabrielle’s lap.
“Nana. I thought we discussed making plans firm before we tell the kids something.” I tried to spear her with a hard stare, but she waved away my lecture.
“Oh, you were about to agree, and you know it. You’re the one feeling guilty for letting go for a weekend.”
“Please, Uncle Felix.” Charlotte grabbed my hand and swung it back and forth. I was outnumbered, and Gabrielle wasn’t wrong. I had been about to say yes. And if I was feeling guilty, it had less to do with concern for the girls than feeling conflicted about how much I did want a weekend to myself.
“All right. You can go. I guess I’ll find something to do to keep from getting lonely.” I made a pouty face for Charlotte’s benefit, but my brain was already racing ahead, an image of Calder glowing neon-bright.
“Yay!” both Charlotte and Gabrielle cheered.
My eyes flitted to where my phone lay on the table. Maybe he wouldn’t even be free, but I couldn’t deny the way my pulse thrummed. We’d had two dinner meetings since our weekend at the cabin, and the stolen kisses in my car had been delicious desserts, but I wanted more. Damn it. I liked him too damn much and should work on distance, but I was already mentally composing an invite.
Forcing my attention back to the matter at hand, I pointed at Gabrielle. “And I’m going to want an itinerary and phone numbers for the hotel and the theater and—”
“Yes, yes, darling. All of that.” Making a vague gesture with both hands, Gabrielle continued to beam.
Calder would be good at a trip schedule. Again, I glanced at my phone. A vision of the two of us taking the girls somewhere had my eyes fluttering shut, taking a second to appreciate something that wasn’t ever coming to pass. But he was adorable with his spreadsheets, and unlike Gabrielle, he was realistic with time estimates. He wouldn’t overcommit, yet he’d schedule in plenty of fun.
“I’m going to go tell Madeline!” Charlotte raced away as I opened my eyes. I didn’t have room for such fanciful thoughts or this new yearning in my chest.
“I hope you’re happy,” I said to Gabrielle.
“Very.” Her expression turned sly. “Is there a doctor-related reason you keep looking at your phone?”
“I’m waiting on some test results.” It wasn’t a complete untruth. I was on call for the weekend, which meant more patient phone calls even if I didn’t get called in.
“Liar.” Her eyes sparked like a cat with a shiny new toy. “Tell me about this friend.”
Trying to make my face impassive, I shook my head. “Nope. Nothing to tell.”
“Bring him around. I’ll be the judge of that.”
“You got your way about the trip. Be happy with that.” Grabbing my phone, I pushed away from the table. The idea wasn’t terrible. Calder was effortlessly charming, and he’d make enduring Gabrielle’s whims way more fun. But introducing the two felt distinctly like the relationship territory we were trying to avoid. Nope. Not happening. “Girls! Let’s get ready to go.”
“Go on now. Be sure to check on those...test results.” She waved me away. And despite all the reasons I should temper my expectations, my pulse was already galloping as I counted down until I could text Calder the news.
Chapter Twenty-One
Calder
“You win.” Max folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. We were playing cards in the dining nook, which seemed so cozy with Felix and the kids but felt cramped with four adults.
Our other buddy RJ untangled himself from the bench. “I’m bushed. Tonight I’m gonna try pushing two of the smaller beds together upstairs. I think you were expecting Gremlins, buddy.”
“They’re great fun for kids,” I said absently as I shuffled the deck.
“Yeah? You expecting some anytime soon?” Max laughed like such a notion was high comedy. A month ago it would have been, but strangely, I’d been missing the girls all weekend. They appreciated my pancake efforts and laughed at my jokes and gave me excuses to play, whereas lately my crew seemed to live to give me a hard time. And shop talk about work seemed to have an edge that hadn’t been there before.
“Boy. You and kids. That would sure make your mom happy.” RJ joined Max in chuckling.
“Don’t remind me.” Yet even as I groaned, I could totally picture my parents around Felix and the girls. My mom would love the girls and dote on them, and even my stoic dad would get a kick out of the things Charlotte said. Parental approval was a crap reason to start dating, but if I could convince Felix to keep this friendship going, it might be a nice side benefit.
“We’re going to turn in too.” Max’s friend, Ember, slid out of the bench, followed quickly by Max.
“Really? We were just getting started!” Setting aside the cards, I frowned at the three of them.
“We’re getting old, dude.” Max clapped me on the shoulder.
“Never.” I laughed but it sounded forced, even to my own ears.
“It was all that mountain air.” RJ shook his head before stretching his back and legs. “I’d forgotten how hard skiing is on the knees.”
“Okay, maybe you are old.” I rolled my eyes at him. Privately, though, I agreed. My ankle had recovered from its sprain, but skiing had woken the injury back up, and it had ached all evening. I’d thought about messaging Felix to ask if I should ice it, but I didn’t want to worry him. It was my own fault for letting myself get talked into one more run.
“You are too.” Max nodded sagely on his way down the hall. “Father Time comes for us all.”
“Go take your pop psychology truisms to bed.” I waved all three of them away to a chorus of good nights. Maybe they were right. Maybe we were getting old and that was why the weekend didn’t seem as fun as it would have even a few months ago.
I quickly cleaned up from the poker game and put the kitchen to rights, wishing I had Felix to clean with. Wishing again that he’d been able to come. I understood that the girls had to come first, but I was still disappointed. Worse, I wasn’t sure that he was as bummed as me. Hell, maybe he was relieved to have had the excuse.
A heaviness settled over my shoulders, lingering as I checked the woodstove and settled in on the couch. However, the second my phone buzzed with a message, the weighty feeling lightened. Finally. Felix and I had texted most nights the last few weeks, and I’d hoped he wouldn’t skip tonight.
How is it going there? Felix asked.
Good. But it would be more fun with you here. I could have lied or not admitted to missing him, but honesty tended to get me further with Felix.