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“And you shaved.” Talk about stating the obvious.
“Yeah, was getting a little tired of the beard, too.” He held out the two bakery boxes. “As promised. One wild berry pie and one chocolate chip pie from the Java Bean.” Curt dropped his voice to a whisper, and his gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes. “I missed you.” He moved closer, his nearness kindling a fire inside her.
Despite the topic of their last conversation, she’d missed him, too. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He gave her a dazzling smile, which left her wanting to fan herself. “Have you talked with your mom yet?” he asked, his voice still low.
“Yep, and she doesn’t believe me. She thinks I’m trying to pull some prank on her.” Once Mom took one look at Curt tonight, she’d realize Taylor had been telling the truth.
Reese flew back down the stairs and joined them again before Curt commented. “Let’s eat. I’m super hungry.” She didn’t wait for either adult before skipping down the hall for the kitchen.
“You heard her,” Curt said with a chuckle.
Mom stood at the stove when they walked in.
“Curt brought dessert, Mom,” Taylor said, anxious for Mom to turn around and see Curt’s new look.
Priscilla set down the pan she pulled from the oven. “You didn’t need to do….” Her voice trailed off when she turned and saw Curt standing there. “I thought Taylor was pulling my leg.” She tossed her oven mitts aside. “From day one I thought you looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Taylor thought maybe you reminded me of someone on television.”
“Sorry I wasn’t completely honest from the beginning, Priscilla. I hope you can forgive me.”
What would Mom say now? Typically, Mom looked for the best in people and overlooked the mistakes they made. Lying, though, she’d always found harder to forgive.
“Let’s consider it water under the bridge.”
Curt glanced at each person seated around him. Other than Priscilla’s initial surprise, none of the Walkers were treating him any differently than they had Saturday night or all the previous times he’d been with them. Even the mild aloofness Taylor exhibited this afternoon was gone, all good signs he hadn’t ruined his relationship with her, something he’d worried about after she left his house. Time to think wasn’t always a good thing, and she’d had plenty of it following their little chat. Tonight she’d greeted him with a smile and touched him every opportunity she got. Like now. After refilling both of their iced teas, she ran her hand across his shoulder before taking her own seat n
ext to him again.
“I’m having my birthday party at Skate Kingdom. It’s a roller skating place. Auntie Taylor already helped me write the invitations so we can mail them.” Reese sat at the opposite side of the table. Much of her dinner remained on her plate because she’d been so busy talking. “If I give you one, will you come?”
She gave him the same look as when she wanted to play soccer. How Taylor and Priscilla ever told the girl no was beyond him. All she had to do was give him that look and the word okay slipped out of his mouth. This time he tried to restrain himself because a party inside a loud and crowded roller rink sounded damn close to hell.
“I haven’t roller skated in a long time. I don’t think I know how anymore.”
“They have special skates. They make it easier, and I’ll help you. So will Auntie Taylor.” Reese looked expectantly at Taylor. “Will you help Curt at my party?”
“Curt probably wouldn’t like Skate Kingdom. Maybe instead he can have dinner and cake with us, and you can just celebrate with your friends at Skate Kingdom.” Taylor used her best diplomatic tone. He’d heard her use it before when addressing Reese. “We always take Reese out for dinner and let her pick the restaurant. After, we have cake here.” Her hand slipped under the table and squeezed his thigh. He took the gesture as her way of telling him it was okay to say no to Reese this time.
Reese ignored her aunt’s suggestion. “You’ll love Skate Kingdom. They play music while you skate and sometimes turn on these special lights and your clothes glow. You can play video games, and we get to eat pizza.”
“Pizza, huh? Does sound pretty great. Can I check my calendar and get back to you?” His request bought him a little more time.
“I’ll get you an invitation.” She hopped from her chair before anyone could stop her.
“You don’t really have to go,” Taylor said in a low voice, so it didn’t travel outside the kitchen.
“I know.”
Reese handed him an invitation decorated with pink soccer balls, the party details neatly written in, and then returned to her dinner.
“Thanks. And speaking of invitations, my cousin Trent called me right before I came over. He’s having a cookout this weekend.” When he’d seen his cousin’s name, he almost didn’t answer the phone. Considering what was going on when the guy left, Curt guessed Trent was calling to again say he should’ve listened to him earlier. Surprisingly, no such comment came. Instead, Trent invited him to a party in Newport.
“It’ll only be family. A few of my cousins, my uncle Mark and his wife, and Trent’s in-laws. We can all drive down on Friday when you get home, spend a few nights at my condo, and come home Sunday night.”
Curt didn’t think Taylor and her family would be comfortable spending the weekend at his cousin’s house, even if there was room. And he wasn’t sure there would be anyway.
“Won’t your cousin mind a couple of party crashers?” Taylor asked.
