Page 61 of Falling for Love

The thought of him sent a shiver down my spine. His smile, the way he looked at me, like I was someone special—it was dangerous. But also kind of thrilling.

I reached for a dark green sweater, pausing halfway.

Wait. Was a sweater dressy?

Too dressy? I swapped it for a cream-colored one. Too plain? Back to the flannel.

“What am I doing?” I groaned, dropping onto the edge of my bed and burying my face in my hands. “It’s dinner, not a red carpet.”

Hayden zoomed his cars around in his room with honks and yelps while I lost all sense of decision-making skills. At least one of us was having a normal evening.

I stood up, grabbing a pair of jeans that weren’t too worn at the knees and the cream sweater. It was soft and fitted enough to make me feel put-together without looking like I was trying too hard. Satisfied—for the moment—I threw it on and went to work on my hair.

My reflection in the mirror stared back at me, hair in its usual loose waves. I debated pinning my hair back, maybe doing something fancy. But then I remembered the last time I’d tried fancy, and it ended up nearly burning the house down when I forgot to unplug the curling iron.

Lip gloss or no lip gloss? Did Liam strike me as the kind of guy who noticed lip gloss? Probably not. But then again, itcouldn’t hurt, right? I swiped a light pink coating over my lips, pressed them together, and examined the effect.

Good enough.

Satisfied with my outfit, I glanced at the clock. Liam would be here soon.

Another flutter of anticipation ran through me as I poked my head in to check on Hayden.

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a fleet of toy cars spread out before him.

Seeing him playing in his room made my heart tug a bit. I was so honored to be his mom.

“Hey,” I said, leaning against the doorframe. “How’s the race going?”

“Good,” he said, not looking up. “But I think Lance wants to play, too.”

Our rescue pup padded over as if on cue, his tail wagging as he nosed one of the cars across the floor.

I laughed. “Looks like he’s winning.”

Hayden giggled, then looked up at me.

“Are you going out to eat with Liam?”

“Remember? You wanted me to invite him over for your famous spaghetti?”

“Oh, yeah. Did you put enough basil in it?”

I chuckled and nodded. He always loved adding lots of spices.

A sly grin spread across his face. “You look nice.”

“Do I?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “Thanks, sweetie.”

“Are you going to wear those socks?”

I glanced down at my feet, then back at him. “What’s wrong with my socks?”

“Nothing,” he said with exaggerated innocence. “They’re just… green.”

“Well, I like them,” I said, ruffling his hair. “And they’re staying on.”

“Okay,” he said, turning back to his cars. “But Liam might think they’re funny.”

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