Page 84 of The Tryst

“Tell me,” I say, eager to keep the spotlight on him.

“Cynthia is going to come with me to the auction. She wants to help out backstage.”

I squeeze him harder, sharing his excitement. “I guess things with her are definitely going well then?” I ask when I let go.

“They are. But you’ll forgive me for cheating on you, right?”

I laugh to cover up my feelings. “Of course. But she better not emcee it with you,” I say, wagging a finger, keeping the mood playful.

“You’re my auction emcee. She’s my date,” he says, sounding proud.

“You’re not going to propose again at the auction, are you?”

He laughs. “Probably not. But I do think the whole slower-speed approach worked. Work has been tough for her since her boss at the bowling alley is a hard-ass. Plus, she’s saving to go back to college. She’s balancing a lot. She admitted that’s what freaked her out when I proposed.”

“I’m glad she told you that.”

“Me too. It helped,” he says, and then his smile brightens more, so it’s nearly contagious. “Oh, and my dad’s going to meet her tomorrow night.”

That’s…wow. Ishouldsay a simplethat’s terrific. But I’m feeling too many things at once—surprise at this news, a little disappointment that Nick didn’t tell me, then foolishness for thinking he would. We’re not havingthatkind of relationship. We’re not having any kind of relationship.

His relationship is rightfully with his son. “That’s great,” I say, meaning it. These two men care so deeply for each other. I should not get in the way.

David beams, nodding a few times. His enthusiasm makes him look even younger than his twenty-one years. “Yeah, I’m stoked. Especially since my mom has no interest in meeting her. But no surprise.” He’s trying to sound blasé, but I’m not buying it.

“She’ll come around,” I reassure him, even though I truly have no idea. With Rose, it seems like, well, like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

David shrugs lightly, as if he’s taking it all in stride. “It is what it is. Even though she’s a bartender, she’s kind of shy when she’s out of her element. And my mom is a little, how shall we say, intense. My dad’s good with people though. But you know that already,” he says, and wham.

One mention of his dad and me, and tension slams into my bones. Does David know something? Is he onto us? Did Raven say something to David? They aren’t that close, but you never know. I’m on alert as David adds, “And thanks again for getting those golf clubs from Kip.”

“It was my pleasure,” I say, then wish I could take it back because of the double entendre.

“Maybe you and Dad could grab some of the final items later this week?”

Yes, god yes.

But no, just no. Nick and I agreed to stop. “Why don’t you send me the list? I’ll grab them in my car,” I say.

“But then you’d have to park at, like, five different places in the city.”

Solving a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute would be easier, but still, I say, “I really don’t mind doing it. I could even ask Harlow or Ethan. Or Jules. Or Camden.”

I might as well list everyone I’m friends with.

But David waves a dismissive hand. “You know what? I’ll go with you. It’ll be fun.”

David Adam Bancroft is the happiest person I’ve ever known. My heart warms up just being near him, and I’m aching to tell Nick that he did right with this kid. That no matter how complicated the situation was when David was born, somehow, his dad—maybe his mom too—managed to give their son what he needed to become this good, upbeat, kind young man.

But truthfully, I know David’s heart comes from one person—his father. David is the man he is because of Nick.

And that makes me happy. But a little sad too.

* * *

Central Park is fifty-one blocks long and three blocks wide, and every time I walk through this centerpiece of the city, I feel like it contains so many secrets in plain sight. Secrets that its forty-two million visitors a year walk past day in and day out.

I almost feel like I could disappear in there, and sometimes that’s what I need. That evening, with the sun still high in the summer sky, I head into the park on my way home, walking along the lake, past joggers and cyclists and after-work exercise warriors till I reach the edge of the water. A little bit beyond, I find an empty green bench under a tree. I beeline for it before anyone else can claim it.

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