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As if reading his mind, Baylee said, “It’s easy to judge Erik, but I don’t. He’s not a bad guy. A child like Casey takes extra patience and care sometimes. Erik was barely able to care for himself and me let alone another person beyond that. He filed for divorce two years ago and didn’t want to seek counseling or work on things. We parted ways and I moved here. Started over. We didn’t live in a super small town there, but enough for people to know Erik. I didn’t want Casey to grow up in that shadow.”
The waiter returned, snapping Drew from his focus on Baylee. In listening to her story, soaking in the details, he’d forgotten anyone else was even in the room.
“Are you ready to order, sir?”
“Could you give us another minute, please?”
“Of course.”
The waiter moved away again.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t even looked at the menu.” Baylee picked hers up and started reading.
Drew could only stare. He’d known strong women in his time. Hell, he was raised by one. But this gorgeous creature, who sat across from him, had her husband walk away from her and their son because he was basically too immature to handle being a grown-up and she had no harsh words. Nothing but acceptance. How was that possible?
“Okay. You’re looking at me funny.”
He blinked. “Sorry. I’m just processing everything.”
“Well, instead of processing, why don’t you tell me what you think looks good on this menu so we can order.”
They did and Drew called the waiter over to take down what they wanted for dinner.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about things that bring down the evening. You’ve made these nice plans for us. I want you to enjoy them.”
“Do you always think of other people before yourself?”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“I would. You always put Casey first. You take good care of your mom. The friends in your life adore you…”
“That’s because I bake for them.”
“No. It’s because you’re… you.”
Another smile that lit up the night crossed her face and she slid her top teeth over her bottom lip. A move that made him want to kiss her senseless, public restaurant or not.
“Let’s talk about you. Let’s talk about baseball.”
With the way her eyes brightened, there was no way he could say no, but he hoped she wanted to ask about the sport, not how he was doing.
“How have your training sessions been going with, Tyler? Is that right? You said your trainer’s name is Tyler.” She took a sip of wine and leaned back again in her chair.
Okay. She did mean how he was doing. However, the thought of sharing with Baylee didn’t send fear through him the way it did with others. He was willing. Something he hadn’t been in quite a while.
“Yes. My trainer’s name is Tyler. He came with me from New York. He’s staying in a hotel in San Jose near the training facility.”
“He doesn’t mind that you’ve decided to stay longer?”
“It’s seventy-two degrees here. It’s not in New York. He’s fine.”
Her laughter warmed his insides.
“Training is going fine.”
“Hmmm, I know you aren’t a man of many words, but I have a feeling there’s more to this than ‘you’re doing fine.’”
Their waiter set plates down in front of them. Drew’s steak with baked potato and Baylee’s fresh halibut made his mouth water. He hadn’t noticed until that moment how hungry he was.
