“See ya.”
The girls had planned to get together to download about Ali’s wedding and honeymoon and Jess’s new engagement to resident law enforcement hottie, Ethan Steele. It seemed Brynn would now have her own news to share. She definitely needed to tell them about her flashing Axel and grabbing his junk. Maybe she’d even tell them she was contemplating dating again.
Just the thought of it made her stomach drop. Maybe that was a bad idea.
The click of Lucy’s nails on the wooden planks snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Axel standing at the steps of the deck, looking even hotter than he had when she’d opened the door. Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, Lucy walked straight over to Axel, plopped down in front of him, and stared up at him adoringly.
“Whoa, you’re like a ninja,” She placed a hand over the heart that was beating out of her chest.
His hair was slightly damp, and he’d changed into a pair of jeans and a faded gray T-shirt that clung to all the right areas of his upper body. Her inner teenage girl swooned at the sight. He had a magnetic sex appeal that made being in his presence both exhilarating and problematic.
Yeah, she definitely had some things to tell her friends.
***
After sharing adelicious pizza, salad, and some small talk, Axel leaned back and took in the view of the backyard. Lights were strung above them, there was soft music playing from a speaker sitting in the center of the harvest table where they were seated. The evening breeze caused the branches of the trees that lined the back of Brynn’s property to sway.
It was effortlessly perfect. Just like Brynn. He didn’t believe in things or people being perfect, but Brynn was and so was this night.
“This is really nice.”
“Thanks.” A look of pride flashed across Brynn’s face. “It’s actually the first time I’ve used it since I finished it.” She tapped her foot on the gorgeous cedar wood planks.
He hadn’t been talking about the deck, but he was impressed. “You built this?”
He hadn’t meant to sound so shocked. If Izzy had heard him, she’d be giving him hell. He could hear his sister’s voice now. Why does that surprise you? Do you think just because she’s a woman she can’t build a deck?
Izzy was born a feminist. She’d been overcorrecting Axel’s wheel every time she thought he was drifting into a chauvinist lane since she was a toddler. When she’d turned two and he’d taken her to pick out a toy for her birthday, he automatically went to the doll section. She’d tugged his hand and led him over to the trucks and informed him she could like trucks even if she was a girl.
“I did.” Brynn beamed with pride and then chuckled. “I thought that I’d use it to entertain, have dinners and drinks with my friends, but it seems I highly overestimated my social life.”
“Your son doesn’t like to eat out here?”
“No.” A grin pulled on Brynn’s lips as she took a sip of her wine. “He enjoys air conditioning and television, two things the outdoors do not provide.”
Axel loved seeing her talk about her son. Her face lit up.
“I actually started a no television rule during dinner, hoping that we could use the time to, oh I don’t know…talk. But now he spends the entire time on his phone Snapchatting with Fiona,” she sighed.
“Fiona?” Ryder was the same age as Izzy. If he had a girlfriend that meant Izzy was at the age she might be getting a boyfriend. “Is that his girlfriend?”
“I think it’s heading in that direction.” She pointed at him and her face grew serious. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key and a wide smile spread across her face.
“Are you okay with things ‘heading in that direction’?” He knew that Izzy was growing up and that he’d be naive to think that she wasn’t interested in boys.
Or girls, Izzy’s voice popped up in his head.
That was the other thing she was always on him about. He was not supposed to label anyone or make any assumptions about anyone’s orientation. Or gender. He loved that she was always standing up for equality and fighting for everyone to be treated with dignity and respect. His sister might only be thirteen but she was already a badass social justice warrior.
Brynn looked like she considered his question for a moment. “Yeah, I am. She’s a really sweet girl. Her mom is a little high strung and she doesn’t approve of how much time they spend texting and Snapchatting, which means I field a call from her about once a week. But other than that I think it’s great.” The hint of sadness in Brynn’s voice betrayed her sentiment.
He couldn’t even imagine how he’d feel if Izzy was his daughter. If he’d raised her alone, as a single parent, like Brynn. It must be hard for Brynn with her son growing up.
Hoping to lighten the mood, he looked out at the overgrown yard and asked, “Do kids even play outside anymore?”
“No.” Brynn shook her head and Axel noticed the red curls fall in her face. “They don’t. It’s crazy. I had Ryder so young, and I was terrified. But one of the things that I told myself was that at least I’d be able to relate to him since we’d be so close in age. My mom was in her late thirties when she had me and I always felt like there was a serious generation gap between us. I figured the one bonus of being a teen mom was I wouldn’t have that. But, sadly, with how much technology changes every few months, I still feel like I’m trying to play catch up all the time.”