Page 182 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Tonight has been fun.Easy.
We finally make it back to the car, and Lila reaches up, tugging Jack off my shoulders and depositing him in the backseat.
I reach out and muss his hair before Lila closes the door. “See you later, kid.”
Jack smiles through a yawn. “Are you going to take me to my breakfast now?”
My eyes dart to Lila, whose expression is filled with alarm.
“Now that you love my mommy, you can be my stairdad, right?”
“Honey, it’s not—” Lila starts, but then Jack shakes his head. “Chloe said that’s how you know when people love each other. They kiss. And I saw you kiss Mr. Hawthorne. If you love him, and he loves you, then he can be my stairdad.” He shakes his little head in frustration. “I mean my stepdad. That’s what you said.”
Lila sighs. “These things just take time, sweetie. It’s not that simple.”
“Why isn’t it simple?” Jack says, his lip quivering. “Why do grownups have to make everything so hard?”
Lila takes a slow breath. “Let me say goodbye, okay? Then we’ll talk on the way home.” She closes the door and looks at me. “I’m sorry he put you on the spot like that. This breakfast has him so keyed up about not having a dad.” She presses a hand to her forehead. “I thought this was a good idea, but maybe we should have—”
“Hey.” I reach out and grab her arms, giving them a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay.”
She nods, but her expression is still pained, her eyes filled with worry.
“Lila, I could take him to the breakfast.”
She looks up, hope sparking in her eyes, but then she shakes her head, her lips pressing together into a thin line. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Why not? I want to.”
Her shoulders drop. “It’s big, Perry. Just the two of you? Are you sure you would even be comfortable? And if tonight gave Jack the impression that we’re—that you’re—” She huffs, but she doesn’t need to say the words for me to know the only way that sentence can be finished.
If tonight gave Jack the impression that we’re in love, that we’re getting married, then me taking Jack to a father-son breakfast will only drive that impression home. The thought should scare me. No, scratch that. The thoughtdoesscare me. But not as much as the idea of losing Lila.
“Does it scare you to think that’s where we’re headed?” I ask.
She bites her lip. “It scares me to think of how I’ll recover if we’re not.”
If not for Jack watching us through the window, I’d pull her into my arms right here, kiss her until her fears aregone, whisper promises into her ear.I love you. I’m not going anywhere. Trust me. Trust us.
I settle for taking both her hands in mine and threading our fingers together. “If you aren’t ready, I won’t push. But I’d love to take him to his breakfast. I’m ready to try, Lila.”
She takes a slow breath and closes her eyes. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Apple-solutely.”
She rolls her eyes as she smiles and shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Yes. But you started it.”
She glances back at Jack, then lunges up for a quick kiss. “Thursday morning. Next week. You have to wear a tie.”
“I have a few of those.”
“Can you pick him up at the house? Actually, it’s probably better if you just drive my car. Then we won’t have to move his booster seat.”
“Sounds good.”
She opens the driver-side door, offering one final wave before backing up and pulling away.
