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“Mommy made brownies,” Hazel said as we got closer to her mother’s table.
I bugged my eyes out comically wide. “Brownies? I like brownies almost as much as blondies.”
She giggled again, her happiness so damn infections I was starting to forget that I’d been dreading coming here. My shoulders were looser, the pit in my stomach dissolving. “Me too. What’s your favorite kind of cake?”
I had to think about that one. “Hmm. I guess I’d have to say chocolate. You?”
“Same.”
There was a short line of other students ahead of us, so I drew us to a stop to wait our turn and picked up her line of conversation. “What are your favorite pizza toppings?” I pointed at her face just as soon as her mouth popped open. “And you can’t say cheese. That’s a given.”
She cast her eyes to the side and tapped her chin. Fucking adorable. “Oh! I know! Canadian bacon and pineapple.”
A person’s mind didn’t normally think Hawaiian when asked about favorite pizza toppings, but those were two I could get behind. There was just something about the combination of salty and sweet that worked for me, and combined with Junior’s famous sauce? Well, that was a winner every day.
I looked at her as we got closer to the table and shot her a wink. “You’ve got good taste, kid.”
She ducked her head almost bashfully, her cheeks tingeing pink just like her mom’s sometimes did.
Finally, the kids in front of us moved, leaving nothing more than a table between Hardin and me.
Her eyes were wide and pointed at where Hazel’s little hand was cradled in mine, bewilderment etched across her seductive features.
“Mommy!” Hazel shouted, releasing my hand and skipping around the table.
Hardin blinked, as if pulling herself out of a stupor, and returned her daughter’s smile as she crouched down to give her a tight hug. “Hey, Hazelnut. Did you enjoy the safety talk?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Uh-huh.”
“That’s good.” She brushed the loosened strands of hair back from her daughter’s forehead and looked at her with the kind of love only a mother could have for her daughter. I knew, because I’d seen it on my own wife’s face more times than I could count when she’d looked down at our little girl.
I felt a sharp pain in the center of my chest and reached up to rub the ache away.
“It was really important that you listened today. Did you learn a lot?”
“Yeah.” Hazel’s expression went solemn for a second or two before that sunshine returned. “Guess what else I learned.”
“What’s that, baby?”
Hazel’s brilliant green eyes came to me as she hugged tight to her mom’s hips. “Ford likes the same kinda cake I do,andthe same pizza toppings! And he likes your blondies and your brownies. In that order, just like me!”
Hardin turned her head slowly, an inscrutable expression shifting across her face. “Is that right?”
I shrugged, one corner of my mouth hooking upward in a smirk. “What can I say? Hazelnut and I both have great taste.”
Just then, Hardin’s attention drifted to something over my shoulder, and when I turned to look, I noticed Plum Soccer Mom staring her down, cattiness carved into her features.
“I think the jury may still be out on that one,” Hardin said, the words coming out as flat as her expression. That look said it all. She’d seen the woman flirting with me and was under the impression I’d been flirting back. I wanted to set her straight, but I wasn’t sure this was the place to do that.
Hazel’s voice cut through the tension building between her mother and me. “Did you bring your big fire truck Ford?”
“We sure did. We’ll take you out in groups in a little bit to have a look.” Then an idea hit me. A brilliant idea that would not only give me time with the woman without customers filtering in and out of a busy restaurant, but would also give me a chance to explain the situation with Plum Soccer Mom. “But you know what? If you can get your mom to bring you to the station this weekend, I’ll give you a personal tour myself. How’s that sound?”
Hazel’s eyes went so wide it was a wonder they didn’t fall right out of her head as she sucked in a gasp. Her head tipped back so she could look up at her mom while she jumped in place. “Can we, Mom? Can we, can we, can we? Pretty please?”
Hardin’s smile was sad, and I knew she was going to have to let her daughter down and hated the idea. She crouched down to get to eye-level. “I’m sorry, honey. We both have plans this weekend, remember? You’re going to your daddy’s.”
Hazel’s face fell, her little hopes dashed. “Oh yeah. And you have a date.”
