After taking a deep breath, I leaned forward in the mirror and concentrated on what I was doing, getting into the zone. I was out of practice, but in the end, I thought it looked pretty good. Not overdone, but the light charcoal lines under my eyes were just enough to make them pop.
I bit my lip, eyeing the rest of the contents in the bag. But I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough.
A minute later, my phone buzzed with a text from Nate to let me know he was pulling into the drive. I took a deep breath and grabbed the clear, cherry flavored gloss before I could chicken out. Staring in the mirror, I swiped it over my lips and my reflection offered up the first real smile I’d seen in a long time.
My heart pounded in my chest as I walked out the front door, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake in showing this part of myself to Nate.
23
NATHAN
Rage.
I had to trample it down as my boy climbed into the passenger seat, refusing to look at me. At first, I thought it was because of our conversation. It made me want to hunt down and kill every person who had ever hurt him, ever made him feel like he wasn’t worth the effort. Like he wasn’t worth being taken care of.
As his Daddy,of courseI was going to fucking pick him up and take him out for our date. It had never even occurred to me that people in his past would have expected him to drive himself. This precious boy deserved to be treated like he was special, like a prince.
For as long as he let me, I planned to be that person for him.
But watching him sit next to me, there was something different about him. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I reached over and gently took the seat belt from his trembling fingers, giving them a quick squeeze.
“Here, let me, little bird.” The words came out as a soft hush, as though a spell had been cast in the quiet of thecar. I clicked the belt in place and smiled as his cheeks flushed.
“Thank you, Daddy,” he muttered, eyes focused on his hands that he had dropped to his lap. He went to bite his lip, but stopped himself.
My eyes zeroed in on the movement, always mindful of his lips, but curious as to what had halted his nervous habit. I noticed his lips were shinier than normal, and at first, I just thought it was from him licking them. But I leaned a little closer and got the lightest scent of cherries.
A smile spread across my face as I realized my little bird had put on lip gloss. I hadn’t known that was something he liked. The knowledge made me more curious about the way he had his face hidden from me.
I reached out and cupped his chin with my index finger, stopping when his body went rigid. My head cocked to the side as I watched him breathe heavily, in and out, in and out.
“Little bird, please look at me.”
He hesitated for a moment, but slowly, he turned his head to face me. His eyes were wide as he met my gaze and I offered him a soft smile. My brave, sweet boy.
My thumb stroked across his cheek, just under his eye. “You look beautiful. Thank you for trusting me. I know it must have been a lot.”
He nodded, almost biting his lip again and letting out a groan of frustration. I chuckled at his antics and put the car into gear just as his stomach growled.
“All right, let’s get that monster in your belly fed before it bursts through and eatsus.” Aiden let out a laugh, his eyes sparkling, head ducking. I figured it was a job well done, a mission accomplished. Anytime I could make my little bird laugh and look carefree, I would take it as a win.
When we pulled up to the diner a few minutes later, I put up my finger, indicating for him to wait, when he moved to getout of the car. He shot me a confused look, but I got out and made my way over to him, opening the door and leaning down to unbuckle the seat belt for him. His cheeks flamed a brilliant shade of pink, and I wondered if it would be too bold to suggest him wearing more makeup.
I wasn’t sure what it was that drew him to it, or why it was something he had seemed to hide up until this point, and the last thing I wanted was to make him uncomfortable, so I didn’t say anything. But a piece of my heart did thaw at the shy look he cast my way as I slotted our fingers together and led him into the diner.
Hopefully, this time we would have a much more pleasant experience, without any more secrets being exposed.
While I loved the way his mind worked, I couldn’t help but feel a little too seen with how keen his observational skills were. But still, I wouldn’t change a thing about him.
There was something special about him that I couldn’t help but cherish and want to watch blossom.
“Table for two, please,” I told the hostess, with a smile, when we got inside.
She showed us to our table and while he seemed uneasy about the makeup, especially when a few people he seemed to know gave him funny looks, breakfast had gone off mostly without a hitch. Aiden had ignored the other patrons, not even giving them a polite greeting. His focus was solely on me by the end of our meal, and I couldn’t say I was upset about that.
“Did you enjoy your pancakes, little bird?” I asked him softly as I drove across town to the theater.
