Page 69 of Whatever You Want

“Do you think Brina can come over and play later?” she asked, handing me the wrapper once she was finished.

“I think she might be with her mom tonight,” I said, brushing the crumbs off my legs. “But I’ll check with Logan when we get home. Does that sound good?”

She scrunched up her nose. “I guess.”

She didn’t seem happy about that, but at least she wasn’t whining or complaining.

I pinched the tip of her nose, causing a giggle to break free. “All right, now come here so I can take a quick picture of us.”

She groaned, but I didn’t care. She was getting so big and changing every day. I was afraid if I blinked, I would miss something. After snatching a couple of quick selfies, I smiled at her goofy grin. She was missing one of her top teeth, and a new one was coming in next to it.

I glanced at the time and pushed to my feet. “It’s getting late.” I crumbled up the bag and walked it over to the trash can. “Ready to get going?” I bumped her shoulder as a little orange golden retriever dropped a tennis ball right at our feet.

“Rex,” the owner hollered as he jogged over. He slowed his pace as he got closer, grabbing the dog by the collar. “Sorry about that.” He picked the ball up and threw it across the grass, and the puppy took off after it.

“No worries. He didn’t bother us, right, Madison?”

She pushed her bike to the side as the pup came running back. “Can I play with him for a few minutes?”

“I don’t mind.” The man smiled politely. “He’ll probably enjoy it.” He pulled the ball out of the dog’s mouth, wiped it off on his shorts, and handed it to Madison. She wrapped her fingers around it and threw it as far as she could.

“Wow.” The stranger’s head tilted to the side, his eyes going wide. “She’s got quite an arm for a girl her size.”

“Thanks.” I sat down and pressed my hands under the wooden bench. “She plays softball.”

He nodded. “I can tell. Let me guess, pitcher?”

I laughed. “What gave it away?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He whistled. “Maybe that fact she can throw better than most teenage boys I know.”

Pride swelled in my chest. “She’s a natural.” I smiled while watching her closely.

“I’m Will, by the way.”

The wind was picking up, so I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Ava.”

He looked at my bare finger and smiled. “So, is it just the two of you today?”

I knew interest in a man’s eyes when I saw it. Now that Logan and I were officially together, I wasn’t sure how to navigate this. Did I announce right off the bat that I had a boyfriend? Yeah, that wouldn’t sound presumptuous at all. He hasn’t even hit on me yet.

“Yes, it’s just the two of us. She had a doctor’s appointment today, so I took the rest of the afternoon off.”

“Hopefully, your boss didn’t give you too much trouble.”

I grinned. “I am the boss.”

He laughed. “Beautiful and successful. That’s a great combination.”

Will spent the next few minutes telling me about his job as a freelance writer for a local newspaper and about his recent divorce. I let Madison play fetch with the dog, all the while keeping a friendly distance. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, so I looked at my phone and decided it was time to go.

I stood from the bench, gathered up our things, and called Madison over. “It was nice meeting you.”

Will’s dimple popped out. He had a warm personality and was easy on the eyes, but he was no Logan. “I’m headed out too. We’ll walk with you to your car.”

I retreated a step back, hoping I wasn’t misreading things. “You don’t have to do that.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. “I’m going that way anyway, so it’s no trouble at all.”

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