When he picked me up, he was in a crisp suit. No wrinkled lines were in sight and his black shoes were shining in the darkness of my apartment. I looked up into his eyes and he grinned down at me, then offered his arm out for me to take.
If he hated how I looked, he showed no signs of it.
“So? How are the kids doing at your place?” I asked as he escorted me down to his car.
“They’re fine. I got them into bed before Paul got there.”
“And who’s Paul?” I asked.
“A friend of mine. Single father. His daughter goes to school with the kids.”
“Oh. Was his daughter with him?” I asked.
“She was. I’m sure everyone will have a fabulously late night coupled with a Saturday morning sleep-in session.”
“Those are always nice.”
“Especially when there’s a warm body to wake up to.”
He grinned down at me before he opened the car door. I sat down into the seat and we drove to the restaurant in silence. The kiss we shared kept bombarding my mind, distracting me from why I was really with him. Information on the kids. Making sure they were okay.
I had to keep them at the forefront of my mind.
The restaurant Ryan took us to was… incredible. ‘Upscale’ didn’t even begin to describe what it truly was. I was horrendously underdressed and felt idiotic for trying to dress myself down. People were staring at me, snubbing their noses and shaking their heads.
I pulled my cardigan tighter around my body as Ryan pulled my seat out for me.
“I have to say, you chose an interesting outfit for a date.”
“This isn’t a date. I’m here to talk about the kids,” I said.
“I picked you up. I’m taking you out for food. I’ll probably try to kiss you goodnight. It’s definitely a date.”
“Hardly,” I said flatly.
“So, you want to know about the kids.”
“I do, yes.”
“They’re well. Zoey’s driving the boys crazy, but she’s my little princess so it doesn’t shock me. Benjamin’s still struggling with his history, but I think I can catch him up.”
“You like history?” I asked.
“I thought this was about the kids,” he said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head as he kept going.
“Hunter’s a little quiet. He misses my sister, and I don’t blame him. He’s always been close to his mom and I know he’s in pain. But I got him to open up a little bit about it last night and I have a feeling he’ll talk with Paul more about it tonight.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked.
“Not really. He’ll talk when he’s ready. That’s how he’s always been. Benjamin and Zoey have no issues hashing out their problems with you on the spot, but Hunter needs time. Space to process.”
“I know the feeling. I’m the same way.”
“Funny, for someone who wants to talk about the kids, you sure are talking about everything else.”
“You really are an ass, you know that?” I asked.