Page 91 of Falling for Love

“Absolutely,” I said, ruffling his hair. “But first, let’s eat.”

I led them into the kitchen, where the table was set, and the food was ready to serve.

Evie paused, her hand brushing against the back of one of the chairs as she took it all in. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” she said, her voice quiet.

“It’s not trouble,” I said, meeting her gaze. “I wanted to.”

Her cheeks flushed again, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or my words. Either way, it was impossible not to smile at her reaction.

“Mom, look!” Hayden called, pointing to the jars with candles flickering inside. “It’s like a restaurant!”

“You even have candles,” she said, looking over at me. “Very nice.”

“Courtesy of my sister. She helped a bit with the decorating.”

“Awesome.” Hayden beamed.

“We’ll just call it Liam’s Restaurant,” I said with a laugh, gesturing for them to sit. “Tonight’s special is garlic shrimp with linguini and garlic bread. For those who aren’t into shrimp, I have cheese pizza and a surprise dessert.”

“Surprise dessert?” Hayden’s eyes lit up.

“You’ll see,” I said, winking at him.

“So, you both like shrimp?”

“We love it,” Hayden said, nodding. “Right, Mom?”

“Yup.”

“But you said you have pizza,” Hayden said.

“Which would you prefer?” I asked, glancing at Evie’s son.

“Both.”

I smiled and looked at Evie, who nodded.

“Then both it is.”

As I plated everyone’s meals, I couldn’t help but notice how much livelier my place felt. The energy had completely changed into something I didn’t want to lose.

As we settled in, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Evie. She looked at ease here, her laughter blending with Hayden’s as we dug into the meal.

“I got an A+ on my diorama,” Hayden said.

He stuffed a shrimp in his mouth.

“No way. The one we all worked on?” My brows lifted in surprise.

“Yup.” He grinned proudly and spun some pasta on his fork.

I was impressed with the grade and his linguine skills.

“Maybe I’m good luck,” I offered.

“The teacher said she could tell I put a lot of effort in.”

“He loves school,” Evie said. “I’m lucky.”

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