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“Yeah, Luce is there,” Drew confirms.
“And she commutes.”
He nods, popping another green bean into his mouth. “Yeah, she does. I offered to let her stay at my place during the week, but she said she was fine for now. If the drive gets too ridiculous, she’ll probably take me up on it.”
“Hmm.”
“Lucy issoin love with her new job,” Brynna gushes. “I saw her the other night for our monthly girls’ night, and she just couldn’t say enough wonderful things about it and you. Apparently, you’re the best boss that has ever lived, and she hopes to be with you for about fifty years.”
“That’s sweet. As far as I’m concerned, she’ll be with me for a very long time. So, you have a monthly girls’ night out?” The thought of that makes me grin.
“Oh, yeah, we do, with all the aunts and cousins. You’ll have to join us for the next one.”
“I didn’t mean to invite myself.”
“You didn’t. I invited you.” She winks at me, and it occurs to me that I don’t remember the last time I felt this immediately relaxed around someone. Brynna is sweet and smart and nurturing.
Drew is lucky to have her.
“The grill is ready!” My boy comes running in from the outside. “I’ve cleaned it, and it’s ready for the fish. Old Caleb wants to know when you’ll send it out to us.”
“OldCaleb?” I ask, completely mortified. “Please tell me you didn’t call him that to his face.”
“Of course, I did. We had to figure out nicknames so we don’t get confused.”
“Maybe we should come up with different ones.”
Chapter9
Drew
“This is the best cheesecake I’ve ever had,” London decrees after the first bite. “Please tell me you’ll share the recipe.”
“Happy to,” Mom replies with a satisfied grin. “Do you like to cook, London?”
“Bake,” she says with a nod. “I love to bake. I honestly don’t cook a lot, but I love a cozy, warm kitchen with something in the oven, especially at this time of the year.”
“She makes the best cookiesever,” Caleb announces. “We’ll bring you some.”
Mom winks over at me and then smiles at Caleb. “Well, I would love that. Thank you.”
When I first invited London and Caleb to dinner, I worried that I was rushing things. The look on her face was one of startled terror, and I tried to backpedal, in case she just wasn’t ready for this. It didn’t occur to me in the moment that she might misconstrue a casual dinner as something big. I just knew that I wanted to include London and her son in a nice dinner with my parents.
I’m grateful that she accepted. I can tell that both of my parents get a kick out of Caleb, which doesn’t surprise me. He’s a great kid, easy to have around and talk to. Sure, he asks a lot of questions, but he’s not obnoxious about it at all.
But seeing my mom with London has been the thing that I’ve enjoyed the most this evening. They laugh and chat like they’ve been friends for a long time. They have plenty in common, and there hasn’t been even a moment of uncomfortable silence since we walked through the door.
It’s easy and fun.
They fit here, in my universe.
“Your sisters will be disappointed that they didn’t meet London and Caleb,” Dad says as he pushes away his empty plate.
“They’re nosy,” I reply.
“They’re twins,” Caleb informs the table. “Do they look the same?”
“They do,” Mom says with a nod. “Come with me. I’ll show you some pictures.”
