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“Thanks, baby—but that one’s yours. I’ll take the next one.”
Lawson gave her hip a squeeze with one hand, pouring another scoop of batter in the skillet with his other. “Did we wake you?”
“Yes, but I needed to get up, anyway.”
“You have plans?”
“I’ve got a few appointments at the salon today. Evie and I should get ready soon,” she replied, looking up at him.
“You two free tonight?”
“As far as I know. Why?”
“I was thinkin’ we could grab somethin’ to eat, then drive around for a while and look at Christmas lights.”
“I want to see Christmas lights,” interjected Evie.
Nora glanced at her daughter and then met Lawson’s eyes once more. For a second, she wondered if she was awake or still dreaming. Giving him a little more of her weight, she tested his hold of her to be sure he was really there. When his grip around her tightened, she murmured, “I want to see Christmas lights, too.”
“Then it’s a date.”
An hour later, Nora thought about Lawson for the entirety of her short drive to the salon. She replayed their kiss goodbye, which had been tender and intimate just as much as it had been oddly familiar and on the verge of routine. It was strange how things with Lawson felt new and old at the same time. He’d been her first and only serious romantic relationship in thirty-one years. While Creed had been a mistake she’d made when she was sad and lonely, Lawson had been her safe place, her home, her man, and her true love for ten years. Even after they broke up, Nora knew there would never be another Lawson. It was impossible, their history making it so.
Somehow, six years had been swallowed up in a single kiss. They were starting over, but they weren’t starting from scratch. He’d been right in that however far apart they’d grown in their years since their split, they still saw who each other was because they’d taught each other what to look for when they were growing up. It was romantic and terrifying all at once.
Nora-Jean wasn’t as fearless as she’d once been. One of the hazards of adulthood was becoming more cautious and guarded. Much as she loved Lawson, she wasn’t ready to believe there was nothing left but the rest of their lives. It felt true that the two of them were bound to be all or nothing, and the two nights they’d spent together was proof they hadn’t chosennothing; but life was more complicated than it had been when they were teenagers.
She thought of Evie, and then the scene she’d walked in on that morning flashed before her eyes. Nora-Jean hadn’t grown up with a father in her home. She had a couple vague memories of him coming around when she was little, but his absence was a part of who she was. As a mother, she wanted better for her daughter. While she accepted the reality where her child would be as fatherless as she’d been, she stuck close to her Uncle Wayde and Aunt Darlene so Evie could have something akin to grandparents and a family structure on which to rely. But seeing Evie with Lawson that morning had changed her perspective.
Evie deserved to have a father to love and to love on her. Nora couldn’t deny how much she’d longed for a Keaton or a Sterling in her life when she was younger. Seeing Lawson with Evie, hearing the way he made her laugh, it made her want Lawson more—but it was also what terrified her the most.
She had declared that Creed would meet the daughter he’d abandoned over her dead body. Given that she’d barely had a moment alone in the past forty-eight hours, she hadn’t had a chance to really think about whether or not it was the right thing to do. Now, she still wasn’t thinking about it, more worried about how Evie made her relationship with Lawson twice as risky. If they didn’t work out, three hearts would be broken.
“Mommy?”
Nora pulled in a deep breath as she pushed aside her thoughts. Lifting her gaze to the rearview mirror, she caught her daughter’s eyes in the reflection. “Yeah, baby?”
“Are we gonna get out now?”
When she looked through the windshield and saw she was parked in front of the salon, Nora shook her head and willed herself to focus. Much as she needed a day off and time alone with her thoughts, she had appointments to keep and a child to keep entertained while she worked.
“Yes. We’re gonna get out now. Let’s go hang out with Ms. Barb.”
His apartment never quite felt like home. It was a place to sleep; a place to house his meager belongings; an address to establish his residency in the town where he belonged. But after two nights in Nora-Jean’s bed, walking into his apartment made him realize how pathetic it really was. He’d intended to spend the day on the couch, resting after the long week he’d had. Except, after he’d showered and dressed, an hour parked in front of the television made him restless—each minute longer than the last.
Mercifully, his phone sounded with a text alert before he could go stir crazy.
Moretti: Was your offer to help with these lights legit?
Lawson chuckled, both amused and relieved, and stood to his feet as he constructed his reply.
Me: On my way.
Thirty minutes later, Lawson was parked in Moretti’s driveway and knocking on his front door. He didn’t have to wait long before Finn Dobbs was opening it. Hanna’s twin brother was nearly a foot taller than she was, but they had the same shade of light brown hair and a matching set of mis-matched eyes—one blue, one green. Dobbs and Lawson worked in separate departments at Vollucci Security. Dobbs reported to Fuchs on the tech side of things, but their paths had crossed often enough for Lawson to know he liked the guy. He didn’ttalk unless he had something to say, which made them kindred spirits.
“Hey,” he muttered, stepping aside in silent invitation. “I see you got suckered into this project, too.”
“I guess you could say that,” Lawson replied through a crocked smile as he crossed over the threshold.
