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“Oh, really?” Mom widened her eyes in that way she did when she was trying to get more information from Cameron.
“Lizzie and his daughter Mariana are talking about having a sleepover this weekend, if that’s all right with you?”
“I think it’s great that Lizzie wants to have her friend over. And while they’re here, you and Mariana’s handsome father can go have dinner. I’ll watch the girls.”
“I didn’t say he was handsome.” Shoot, Cameron had fallen into Mom’s trap again.
Mom patted Cameron on the hand before opening the fridge. “Whatever you say, honey.”
Cameron’s phone dinged faintly from another room. She vaguely recalled dropping her purse beside the front door as she tried to find Boomer. Cameron glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Oh, no. My call.”
* * *
Cameron climbed into bed hours later and grabbed her journal off her nightstand. Today had been a disaster—start to finish. She wasn’t even sure how to describe it. As she flipped to a blank page, her gaze landed on the list that she had tucked into the back of her journal more than a year ago, when she’d first considered dating again after all these years. She’d revised it from time to time, considering the qualities in a man she wanted to date. After the debacle that was her whirlwind relationship with Josh, she was determined to make better, more sensible choices about the men in her life. Regardless, she couldn’t help the doubts from creeping in that it was something about her that made him leave.
She scanned the entirely reasonable items on the list such as: responsible, good with kids. She mentally added a few frivolous items, mentally assessing Alex with each addition. Handsome: check. Tall: check. Great smile: check. Down at the bottom of her list, though, as if she’d been afraid to write it, was: permanence.
And that right there was the deal breaker. Alex was in the Army. Members of the military moved around. Anyone living in Northern Virginia knew that.
She didn’t even need to look at the rest of the list. She tucked the paper back into her journal and then stared at a blank page. But Alex’s face popped into her mind. She slammed her journal shut. No way was she writing about today. Putting her feelings on paper would make the fact that she was attracted to him real.
Chapter Two
Alex shifted the bottle of wine into his left hand and rested his right hand on Mariana’s back. He felt a bit creepy, walking up to a strange house to have dinner with a woman he’d barely met. But Mariana said Lizzie’s mom had suggested a dinner to “get to know each other” before the big sleepover. Since they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers, it made sense that she’d had Lizzie ask Mariana.
There were no lights shining in the windows of Cameron’s house. Had something come up? He’d be glad to reschedule for another day, one when he was a little more prepared to see the woman who’d occupied his thoughts since he’d met her at school.
But the same little red Corolla that had dashed into the parking lot two days ago sat in the driveway. That didn’t bode well for his quick escape.
“Mariana, are you sure we’re invited for dinner tonight?”
Mariana hurried across the driveway and onto the sidewalk. “I’m positive, Daddy.”
“Next time, just give Lizzie my number and have her mom call me?” Better yet, he’d take care of that tonight, himself. But it was a bit too late now. “And that phone is for emergencies, not for socializing.”
“Now I can use it for emergencies and to, you know, talk about homework and stuff. Besides, you’re going to love Mrs. Baldwin. She is so cool. She made the best cupcakes for our September birthday party. And she always writes cute notes and puts them in Lizzie’s lunchbox. I wish I had a mom like that.”
Alex came to a dead stop and turned to Mariana. He crouched down so he could look her in the eye. “Honey, have you been thinking about your mom recently?”
Mariana’s gaze dropped to her feet. “A little. I was just thinking that it would be nice to have a mom again. Someone to braid my hair, to go shopping with. I mean, I know you do those things with me, but it’s not the same as having a mom.”
He pulled his daughter to him. She’d been five when Valentina died. They talked about Valentina a lot in the days and weeks after her death, but when Mariana stopped asking, Alex stopped bringing her up. Since her mom had clearly been on Lizzie’s mind recently, it must be time for more discussion. “I know you miss her, honey. So do I.”
Mariana was a tweener now, and in a few years, she’d be a full-fledged teenager, with teenage girl problems. He was so not ready for this. Soon she’d want to date boys. Oh, geez. This single parenting thing was not for the weak.
Mariana broke away from him and hurried up the walk with a spring in her step. As if they hadn’t just shared a serious moment. He could not figure this girl out sometimes. “Just think, if you and Mrs. Baldwin got married, she could be my mom.”
Wait, what? Here he was worried about Mariana and she was trying to marry him off to Cameron. And it was too late to ask Mariana what was up, because she was already stabbing her finger on the doorbell. Several times.
He stepped onto the porch beside her. “Mariana, that’s enough. I think the entire neighborhood heard the bell.”
The door swung open. Cameron stood on the other side, wearing a multi-colored blouse tucked into a straight skirt that hit just above her knees. Her heels highlighted long legs that had been hidden beneath yoga pants the other day.
She tilted her head and her brows darted together, like she wasn’t expecting them. “Alex?”
Alex’s gaze shot to Mariana, who was scanning behind Cameron. Likely looking for her partner in crime. “We’re here for dinner?”
"Lizzie. Lizzie!”
