“He is,” Slater agreed. “They will both make fantastic parents.” She felt a little bit sad for her own kids at the mention of her sister’s child growing up with both of his parents. That was the plan for her four children until it was all taken from her and now, she was just trying to get by as best as she could, being the best mom and stand-in dad she could possibly be.
“You’re a great mom too, Rain,” Slater said as if seeming to pick up on her sadness.
“I sometimes feel like a total failure,” she admitted. “I try to be both a mom and dad and fail miserably at both, I’m afraid.”
“I see how happy your kids are, Rainey,” Slater said. “You being a failure just can’t be true.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” she breathed. “But I know my shortcomings. I’m not the father that Jack, Jr. needs and I never will be.” The four kids came running back into the kitchen and he leaned into her. For a minute, she thought that he might try to kiss her goodbye and she worried about the kids seeing that.
“See you at nine,” he whispered so only she could hear. Rainey nodded and smiled.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said. “I had a lovely time on our date.” Now, it was Slater’s turn to smile. He winked at her, and she took Ella’s hand from Sarah’s. “Ready kids?” she asked. They begrudgingly nodded as they piled onto the elevator with her. She waved back to Slater, and he waved back. Rainey suddenly felt a little bit sad about their date coming to an end. She wished she could stay the day with him earlier, but now, she downright missed him. It was odd how spending less than twenty-four hours with someone would do that to her, but that was how she was feeling as she watched the elevator doors close on Slater to take her back down to the lobby.
At least she’d be seeing him again in just over eight hours. Eight long hours and she was sure that she’d be counting down every single second until she heard him at her front door.