Page 18 of Blind Date with a #FIREFIGHTER
“Sure.”
“The change of clothes, is two sets enough, and can I just leave them in his locker?”
“That’s great, so yes and yes.” I hear the hint of laughter in her voice and imagine her playful smile I love so much. I’m not sure she knows how cute she is when she smiles and laughs.
“You said you work a twelve-hour shift overnight on Friday. Will you come for dinner Saturday evening? That gives you the day to rest. I’m grilling and we’d both like to have you over.”
“Alex, I?—"
“Please. I feel like I messed up our blind date dinner the other night and you even paid. I make a mean steak with baked potatoes. We both want you to come and we can talk and relax on the back patio. It won’t be a late night because I have a shift in the morning.”
“Okay, but you have to let me bring something.”
“Bring dessert.”
CHAPTER 10
Thea
What the hell was I thinking? I ruffle through my closet again. Okay, the capri jeans with a long sleeve print tee and a cropped jean vest. Casual, trendy, and… well it looks okay on my round body.This is friend zone. You are not competing with his model slim ex.
Grabbing my homemade lemon bars and the vanilla ice cream I grabbed as a backup for Aaron, I put them both in the cooler bag and head to my car.
Pulling into the driveway next to his pick-up, I smile when Aaron runs out of the house yelling. “She’s here. She’s here, Dad.”
I’m barely out of the car before he’s wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me. I pause to hug him back. Alex joins us, taking the cooler bag from me and placing his palm on my low back as we all walk back inside.
“Everything is ready except the steaks. I wasn’t sure how you liked yours cooked and they don’t take that long anyway. Come sit outside and we can visit while I finish up.”
Aaron is showing me his new books and telling me how excited he is to be starting at my school. Then he asks a millionquestions about the other kids and his friend Nicci. He wants to be sure she’ll be there because he wants to show her his new firetruck book. Dinner is easy and relaxed. Bedtime comes before we know it and Aaron talks us into each reading three books to him before lights out.
The evening has cooled down and we go back out to the patio and sit on the all-weather couch. Alex puts the child monitor on the table.
Turning toward me, he smiles. “He was a touch wound up tonight and very excited to see you again.”
“I was glad to see him. He’s really a delight. You may have your hands full, his vocabulary is advanced, and he already knows how to read several words.”
“Shocking since I had no clue what I was doing.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“After I screwed up so badly trusting Cersei, I got some counseling and then worked with some children’s specialists who gave me advice and turned me on to books and videos on positive parenting and active listening and communication. Having you tell me he’s doing well… It makes me feel like maybe I didn’t screw him up too badly.”
“You weren’t the one screwing him up,” I cut in.
He studies the iced tea in his hand. “I was an only child. My mom was a stay-at-home mother who kept the books for my dad. My dad worked all the time running his own business. It’s all I knew and thought that was how it was done.
“I should have seen it, Cersei’s neglect. But I was too focused on my job and making enough money to support us and rise up the ranks to give us a better lifestyle. I didn’t see what was going on until it was almost too late.
“I know better now about what a relationship should be. About balance from both parties. I’ve grown up, too.” The look in his eyes darkens. “I know what I want in a woman. A partner.”
Oh no. Oh no, I can’t go there. I place my glass on the table. “I should go.”
He studies me. “I’ve learned something else along the way. Talking, being open and honest with the people you work with and care about is important.
“What just happened, Thea? We were doing fine, learning about each other and now you’re scared. Talk to me.”
“I—It started to feel like you might be coming on to me.”
