“Damn. No boyfriend?” he asks, staring at me for confirmation.
“No boyfriend.” His face slowly breaks into a smile. A smile that makes my heart stop because it’s so damn perfect.
“Then, let me formally apologize for the way I acted that morning. I’m sorry for kicking you out on your ass to do the walk of shame. I was a dick.”
“Yeah, you were a dick.” He raises a brow at my statement and lets out a low chuckle.
“Let me take you out, make it up to you.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Landon. Things are complicated.” I shuffle my feet, nervous at rejecting him, but I know this is the right decision. For both Carson and me. We can’t get attached, and Landon is an easy person to get attached too. The morning we shared together proved that I’m in no way, shape, or form prepared to be in any type of relationship.
“What’s not a good idea about it?”
“Well, for starters.” I glance behind me. “I have a five-year-old that demands a lot of my attention and I rarely leave him with a sitter, you have a very grueling schedule with practice and games, I work full time, and it would just be too difficult and complicated and –”
“Bring him with us,” he cuts me off. His eyes are serious, and his body has shifted slightly toward me, in a pleading way. “We can do something fun, the three of us. No pressure. We can go to the park, go to the skate park, hell we can even go to Disney.” My eyes bug out of my head at that one. I’ve never been to Disney and neither has Carson, it’s expensive and it’s hard for me to get a handle on a decent amount of savings to even consider taking the two of us to Disney.
“Listen, Landon, your money isn’t important to me. Throwing around trips like Disney isn’t going to impress me. We’ve never been, and we’re okay with that. I’m not sure if I’m ready for Carson to be around anyone, not in a serious way.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was trying to bribe you into going out on a date with me, that’s not what I meant. I just meant we could do anything you wanted, anything he wanted. We can go anywhere he wants.”
“Anywhere I want?” Carson steps up beside me, clearly hearing the last part of his sentence. “What do you mean?”
Landon looks from Carson to me, unsure how to approach the topic.
“Nothing, baby. Landon was just saying how he wanted to hang out with the two of us sometime.”
“Oh, that’d be fun, huh, Momma?”
“A blast.” I give my biggest fake smile to Landon and he laughs. That sound could easily become a favorite of mine.
I have to protect myself from the possibility of heartbreak. For the both of us.
Chapter Eight
“How are you feeling?” my mom asks from the phone. I’m finishing getting ready so she is on speaker phone.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, about this date that you so clearly didn’t want to go on.” Chrissy. I should have known my sister would tell her my plans; we can’t keep any secrets from this woman. And we all know Chrissy has the biggest mouth in the south.
“I’m going to have to stop telling Chrissy things.” I roll my eyes as I pick up the curling iron and curl a piece of my thin, blonde hair.
“Stop trying to change the subject.” She sighs. “What’s so bad about going out here and there, Kelsi?”
“I just think it’s unnecessary, Mom. My focus should be on Carson and only Carson right now. He’s so young and he only has one parent that gives a damn. I can’t spend all my time going on dates that I know will lead to nothing.” I set the straightener down on my vanity and click it off. I glance in the mirror and stare at myself. Sure, I’m pretty. I’ve always been told that. I have bright-blue eyes and the perfect shade of blonde hair. I’m curvy where it counts but thin in other places. But, even with all of that, what does someone like Landon Prince want with me? He dates supermodels, daily probably. I’m just an elementary school teacher who is a single mom of a five-year-old boy.
“Nothing is unnecessary, my dear. Everything that happens in life, happens for a reason.” She’s been saying this for as long as I can remember, and I often agree with her, but this is one aspect I just can’t seem to budge on in my life.
“How can you say that though? What about Kyle? How can you justify his actions?” I grab the phone from the vanity and walk into my room to find something to wear. I have a decent-size closet and it’s filled with clothes that I hardly ever wear. I typically dress casual for school. Being an elementary teacher means I’m constantly moving with the kids, and sitting outside during a hot recess means I would rather be dressed comfortable than in fancy dress clothes and thankfully our principle agrees.
“Kyle was an ass, honey.” I giggle at her use of ass. This woman never uses curse words so when she finally does spit one out, it’s always a shock. “But, have you ever thought that maybe Kyle would be a shitty father and so he was removed in order to give Carson a better life?”
I stop myself in my closet as her words sink in. I’ve never thought about it, not really. I always wondered what type of father he would have been, but I was always so caught up on the fact that he abandoned us to even think that far ahead. Hearing it from her mouth brings it to my attention and she’s right. I’ve always known. He would have been an awful parent and probably bothered by a crying baby any time a basketball game was on. I would have ended up doing all the work just like I did with Carson anyways.
“Kyle would have been a shitty father to him, and you know it. He treated you horribly and didn’t even care enough to show up to the hospital when you gave birth and never bothered contacting you after. That isn’t a father,” my mother continues.
“I know you’re right. But, it’s still just hard to think of dating. Ever. To allow myself to get put back into that situation again.”
“Well, of course it is. You were screwed over by someone you thought you loved.” Her voice drops to a mumble. “Although, I have no idea what you saw in that jackass.” This causes me to laugh and she joins in.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Seriously though. You are a catch and you deserve to live your life the way you were meant too. Carson needs to see you smile and be happy.” I start to cut her off but she shushes me before I can. “I know you’re happy in your little bubble with him, but, honey, there are greater things out there and they’re coming for you. Mark my word.”
“I love you, Momma.” I grin into the phone. If I have ever had one constant in my life, it’s my family, and I wouldn’t have survived these years without them.
“I know you do, now tell me where he is taking you?”
“Actually, he’s taking me and Carson out tonight.” We spend the next half hour discussing how he is including Carson in order to be able to go on this date tonight and I have no idea where he plans to take us.
Chapter Nine
The doorbell rings, and without looking I know who it is. He’s right on time.