He frowned. “That’s not necessary.”
“Are you kidding? You rescued me today and Audrey has been a lifesaver for the past two weeks. The very least I can do is buy you both a taco.”
While he looked like he wanted to protest, she was glad he didn’t.
Their food was ready quickly and Ryan and Audrey carried their trays to an empty table.
The meal was delicious, as usual, and the conversation even more enjoyable. She was laughing at a story from Audrey about a mix-up in one of her classes when Lydia suddenly jumped up from the table.
“Daddy!” she shrieked, racing toward something behind Holly.
She whirled around to find Troy looking shocked as their daughter hurtled toward him. He managed to transfer the shopping bags he held in both hands to one so he could give Lydia an awkward hug with the other.
“There’s my girl. Hi, Lydia.”
“I missed you, Daddy.”
“I missed you, too.”
He kissed the top of her head then looked up. A weird expression crossed his handsome features as he took in their little group.
“Hi, Holly. How are you?”
“I’m good.”
And wondering why you didn’t bother to reach out to your child the moment you came back to town instead of waiting twenty-four hours then accidentally bumping into her.
“How was your drive from Portland?”
“We hit some snow in eastern Oregon but it wasn’t too bad.”
She was suddenly very conscious of Ryan watching this rather stilted interchange with interest. Troy appeared conscious of Ryan as well.
“Hi. Have we met?” Troy asked.
“Don’t think so.” Ryan’s voice was laconic, slow and very sexy. “Ryan Caldwell. This is my niece, Audrey.”
“And my friend,” Lydia chirped.
Audrey gave her a warm smile. “Yep. We’re best buds.”
Troy had left town before Kim and Audrey moved to Shelter Springs, she remembered. He wouldn’t have met either one of them.
“Are Brittany and Hudson with you?”
His features softened. “Yes. She has the baby with her. They’re with her mom. I left them looking in Amanda Taylor’s lotion shop when I came over in search of a Diet Coke.”
Apparently his drink of choice hadn’t changed.
“Daddy, guess what? I want to see Santa Claus.”
Lydia’s speech was always a little harder to understand when she was excited—or when someone wasn’t accustomed to her cadence or patterns.
“You want what?” Troy asked, brows knit in confusion.
“She said she wants to see Santa Claus,” Ryan said. “We’re going to head over there as soon as we finish eating and watch one of the youth groups perform on the stage.”
Holly did not miss his use of the inclusivewe. She knew it was deliberate, connecting them all together in an exclusive club where Troy wasn’t a member. She wanted to kiss him, right there in the middle of the crowded food court.
