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“Of course not. Do you really think I’d stoop so low?” Of course she would, if it meant protecting her family. And while she might have considered doing that before dinner, it wasn’t why she’d asked him.
Mom nodded. “Under certain circumstances you wouldn’t think twice before doing exactly that, Taylor Walker. But if not so you can give him the third degree, what prompted you to ask him?”
Good question. She hadn’t planned on it when he walked in, that’s for sure. And while he was very handsome—okay, handsome didn’t do the man justice—she didn’t ask out every attractive guy she met.
His reaction to Mom’s not-so-subtle attempts to leave them alone, and his treatment of Reese made the decision for her. He hadn’t shrugged off Reese’s personal questions. Instead, he’d answered them. He hadn’t seemed annoyed when Reese dominated much of the conversation, either. In her experience, both men and women without children of their own often didn’t understand that kids liked to talk and share their day with others. Even when the day’s events were uneventful.
Dennis, the last man she dated, was a perfect example of that. After they’d been together for about two months, Mom suggested she invite him over for dinner so she and Reese could get to know him better. Much like she had the night Curt was over, Reese spent a good ten minutes telling them about her day, starting with morning work and ending with Ryan, a boy in her class, tripping and cutting his knee on the way to the bus.
The next time they went out, Dennis let her know what he thought about Reese and children in general. He’d gone on to remind her that Reese was her niece, not her daughter, and not her responsibility. She hadn’t bothered to fill him in on the specifics of the situation. Instead, she left his apartment without looking back. They never spoke again after that night.
This afternoon, she might discover Curt was as big a jerk as Dennis. She hoped not.
Rather than go into great detail, she said, “He seemed nice, so I asked him.”
Mom started petting Stripes, who let her know he appreciated it by purring. “He’s nice to look at, too. And his eyes. I could sit and look at them all day. It’s too bad he wears glasses. I wonder if he’s ever considered getting contacts. Or maybe laser eye surgery. Lots of people have it done these days.”
“Mom, you’ve got a serious problem,” Taylor said, laughing. Her mom had a thing for blue eyes. In fact, Dad used to joke and say Mom only agreed to go out with him because he had blue eyes.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
Oh, she’d noticed. And his eyes weren’t the only physical characteristic to capture her attention.
***
Curt had spent the last few days filling the dumpster out front with parts from the outdated kitchen. When he wasn’t doing demo work he sat in his office, working on his novel. He’d made a lot of progress on both fronts. In another few days he’d have nothing but the old appliances left in the kitchen. Demolishing a room was so much quicker and easier than putting it back together. In terms of the book, he’d added another eight thousand words. If he maintained the same pace, he’d have a first draft completed by the beginning of June, giving him plenty of time for revisions before he sent it off to the editor for her thoughts. She’d have thoughts, too, if her edits and comments on his last book were any indication.
For the next few hours, though, he didn’t plan on thinking about either project. They’d both be there when he came home.
A white Chevy Malibu stopped alongside his car be
fore he could do anything more than back out of his driveway. Immediately, Priscilla waved and put down her window. At the same time the back window went down, too, and a small hand waved at him.
“Hi. Mimi and I are going for pizza,” Reese said before either adult could exchange a proper greeting.
“Pizza is one of my favorite foods,” Curt said.
“You have to go to Luigi’s. Their pizza is way better than Dino’s. Mimi says Luigi’s makes it in a special oven. We’re going to Luigi’s now.”
“Hello, Curt. Trust her, when it comes to either pizza or tacos she knows what she’s taking about. Luigi’s uses a brick oven for their pizza. They have decent pasta and subs as well. They have a menu on the Internet if you ever want to call for take-out or delivery.”
“We’re getting ice cream after. I asked Auntie Taylor to come, but she said she was seeing you. Do you want to come? We can go back and get Auntie and all go together.”
In the front seat, it looked like Priscilla was trying not to laugh.
“Sounds like a lot of fun. Can I get a rain check?” He didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings.
“What’s a rain check?” Reese asked.
“It means can I go with you, your grandmother, and aunt another time.” He couldn’t recall ever needing to really consider his word choice. Of course, he didn’t have many conversations with first-graders either.
“You can have a rain check. But why do they call it a rain check if there’s no rain?” Reese asked, sounding confused.
“No idea.” He’d never considered it before, but the kid had a good point.
“Mimi, do you know?”
“I’m not sure either. Maybe we can look it up on the computer when we come back.”
