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Tawney
Alex was asleep upstairs, Amber watching over him. And I was waiting outside on the porch in front of my bookstore for Slater to show up. I was nervous as hell. Multiple times, I’d tried to cancel, but Amber wasn’t letting me have it. Besides, she had a valid point. I didn’t have his phone number, and it would be extremely rude for him to come all the way over here just to be turned down.
A Jeep pulled up out front and parked. Leaving the vehicle running, Slater got out and walked around the front of his truck. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a plain white t-shirt, a pair of flip-flops on his feet. I smiled, glad I hadn’t dressed up too much. My hair was hanging down around my shoulders, but besides some gloss on my lips and some mascara on my lashes, I hadn’t done my make-up.
I was wearing a simple, white dress that made me look a lot slimmer than I normally felt.
“You look amazing,” he breathed as I walked down the porch steps to stand in front of him.
I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear, my cheeks warming under his compliment. “Thank you.” I ran my eyes over him, unable to help myself. God, he looked sogood. “You do, too.”
He grinned and brushed his lips to my forehead before opening the passenger door of his Jeep. I slid in easily, and soon, we were on the road. “There’s a place in Savannah I want to take you to. It’s open pretty late, surprisingly. Do you like sushi?”
I nodded. “I love sushi.”
He glanced over at me for a moment before looking back at the road. “Good because that’s where we’re going.”
We were quiet after that, the sound of the radio filling the silence. Sometime on the way, his hand found mine, and he linked our fingers together. Warmth rushed through my veins, and subconsciously, I tightened my fingers around his, craving his touch.
I was already in so deep, and I barely knew this man.
* * *
I usedmy chopsticks to grab a piece of sushi. “Where are you originally from?” I asked him.
“Right here in Savannah. Just graduated from Savannah State University last year with a bachelor’s degree. I was lucky enough to get hired where I did my internship at.”
I frowned at him. “How old are you?”
He chuckled. “Twenty-two.”
My eyes widened, and I choked. He quickly reached over and patted my back. My cheeks burned in mortification as I finally managed to swallow my food. “Twenty-two?” I asked him, still sounding a bit strangled. I quickly gulped down some water.
He nodded. “Why? Is that an issue?” he asked, his voice a bit quiet this time, more somber and a bit sad.
I leaned back in my chair for a moment. I wasthirty. I was eight years older than him. How was it that someone so much younger than me could make me feel the way he did?
“I’m thirty,” I told him. I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Does that bother you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all.” Sincerity rang in his voice, and I could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. Heactuallylikedme.
“What about the fact that I have a seven-year-old son?”
Slater shook his head, not deterred in the slightest, which surprised me. “Nope. I’d love to meet him one day when you’re comfortable with that though. I love kids.”
My heart clenched in my chest. He had no idea how amazing he already was.
I drew in a deep breath and opened my mouth to ask him if it bothered him that I’d already been previously married, but the words got lodged in my throat. I shut my mouth again, pressing my lips into a firm line.
I wasn’t ready to blurt that out yet or talk about it. Icouldn’ttalk about it. If I spoke those words, it would just hurt all over again. And I wasn’t ready to hurt again quite yet. The anniversary of his death was already drawing so close. If I opened that floodgate and let all that anguish swarm my system, I’d never survive this anniversary.
“If you’re okay with my age,” I finally said, forcing a smile to my lips, “then I’d like to give this a try.”
He grabbed my hand and held it in both of his. “I promise I won’t let you regret this, Tawney.” He pressed his lips to my knuckles. “Thank you.”
I swooned. How was this man so great?
I picked up my chopsticks again, needing to lighten the mood. “So, has anyone ever told you that you look like a young Tom Cruise?”
