Chapter 21
Jaxon
I’mnotsurewhat came over me this morning when I had Kate pressed up against the door. Andy could’ve woken up and walked down the stairs at any moment, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to kiss her.
Sleep lined her eyes, and her hair was a mess.
As I watched her head back to her house, all I could think about was when I could kiss her again. I saw a glimpse into a future I could have if I just grabbed it. The scariest part was that I didn’t feel ridden with guilt. I know that my love for Courtney will never waver. Like Dani said, I carry her with my heart, but I’m tired of sitting back and watching life pass me by when everything I want is right in front of me.
When Andy woke up around seven thirty, I told him we would spend the day with Kate, and his smile lit up the room. I had to occupy him by putting on Toy Story on the TV so he would stop asking if it was time to go pick up Kate.
Andy and I knock on Kate’s door promptly at eleven. She nearly knocks the wind right out of me when she opens the door. I openly admire her and have no shame in it. My eyes travel up her body, starting at her pink-and-black Chucks, the form-fitted denim that clings to her small curves, a black T-shirt tucked into the top of her jeans, and a maroon bomber jacket. Her signature aviator sunglasses rest on top of her head.
“Wow, you look pretty,” Andy says first. The kid took the words right out of my mouth.
“I wasn’t exactly sure what we were doing today, so I thought I’d dress comfortably. Is this okay? I can go change.” She nibbles on her bottom lip as she takes in her outfit.
“It’s perfect.”
“Well, okay then.” She tucks her house keys in her purse. “Shall we?”
Andy steps in front of me, and I stumble over my feet. He lifts his elbow to Kate for her to loop her arm with his. Because of their height difference, she wraps her hand around his arm. Thankfully, he doesn’t know the difference. She giggles, covering her mouth with her other hand. Where the heck did this kid learn this move?
“So, Mr. Andy.” She looks down and smiles at him. “Where are we going?” My eyes dip down to her ass and the way her jeans cling to it. I bite my fist to suppress a moan.
“Umm.” He looks back at me. “Daddy.” He waves his little hand for me to come closer. “Where are we going?” He attempts to whisper, but it seems much louder.
“Since it ended up being a gorgeous day, we thought we’d go check out Soundside Park.”
I open the back door to the truck to help Andy into his booster. Kate attempts to walk around me, but I hold my arm out to stop her. She glares at me, and I want to kiss that scowl right off her face.
Once Andy is all buckled, I shut the door and move to the passenger door.
She throws her head back in laughter. “Seriously? This again?”
She reaches for the handle to lift herself up, but I steady her hips, stopping her, and lean in to her ear. “Babe, I told you, I’m a fucking gentleman.”
“Oh yeah, quite the gentleman with that mouth,” she retorts. This damn woman. I’ll show her how gentlemanly I can be with my mouth.
“I know this probably isn’t your ideal first date, huh?” We’ve been walking the trails for the past thirty minutes. Andy is walking in the middle, holding each of our hands.
“Is this a date?” She bunches her brows together. Shit, I kind of thought that was obvious.
“Umm—” I freeze.
“I’m only kidding. And what do you think my ideal first date would be?”
“Hmm, to be honest, I’m not really sure.” I don’t want to say I think she’s a simple girl and she takes that the wrong way. What I mean is that I don’t think Kate is one for fancy dinners, but then again, she’s always surprising me.
“This is perfect, honestly. I like simplicity.” I do a double take and wonder if I’d said that aloud versus in my head. She looks around the park and smirks. “You know, it’s funny. My brother actually brought Dani here for their first date. There had been a food truck festival on the other side of the park.”
That sounds nice, especially as we get closer to lunchtime.
Andy pulls away from both of us to chase a group of ducks on the grass beside us.
“Be careful, buddy.” This kid is always keeping me on my toes.
“I will, Daddy,” he shouts over his shoulder. “Come on, little quackers,” Andy laughs. And then he bends his knees and starts quacking like a duck, causing both me and Kate to crack up laughing.
We stand there watching my son laugh at his own jokes. When I look at him, it’s amazing that I helped create him. He is the perfect part of his mother and me. There is an innocence to him I hope he keeps as long as possible. Children don’t have a care in the world, leaving them free to enjoy themselves, like laughing at ducks.
Our fingertips brush, and the old me may have pulled away, grabbed Andy, and run in the opposite direction. But this Jaxon, the one whose inner monologue is telling him to live a little, be adventurous. He is taking the reins now.
I lace my fingers with hers, and the corners of my lips flick upward at how perfectly her hand fits in mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that while Kate is still looking straight forward at Andy laughing, there’s a bigger smile reaching her eyes.
All this time, I’ve focused on Jaxon McAdams, the dad. Not Jaxon McAdams, the man.
I decide to take a shot in the dark and spin to face Kate. Her body instinctively turns to mine.
“What?”
“Nothing. I was just wondering something.” With my free hand, I brush a stray hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear.
Kate steps closer to me so that our chests are brushing against each other. “And what were you wondering?”
I glance over at Andy one last time before turning to face Kate and leaning down at the same time she pushes up on her toes.
“I was wondering, if I kissed you right now, would you kiss me back?”
She is just a breath away from my lips now. “Why don’t you find out and see?”