He smiled back, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “How about I take you up on that after dinner? We’re going to miss our reservation if we don’t get going.”
It was unlike him to pass up sex to go to a restaurant, but I didn’t press. Instead, I gave him a quick kiss and finished getting dressed. The sushi place where we had reservations was across town, so we grabbed an Uber.
“I think I might’ve found an apartment,” I said once we were seated at our table.
“I didn’t even know you went to see any.”
“Just online viewing. I mentioned to Josh that I was going to look around, and he had a list of apartments in my inbox by the end of the day, even though I hadn’t asked him to look into it. I really liked one of the places.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s in Kipps Bay, close to the PATH train, so I can get to New Jersey for games and practices pretty easily. The building has a twenty-four-hour doorman, a gym, and a rooftop space open to tenants. The unit has a small walk-out balcony off the living room, and it’s only about six blocks from Talia and Wyatt.”
“That sounds great.”
“I think I’m going to go see it tomorrow. If I made the appointment for late afternoon, would you want to come with me?”
“Sure. We only have a walk-through tomorrow, so I should be done by one.”
The waitress came and took our drink order, leaving us with menus. I’d been here before, so I knew what I wanted and didn’t need to look. “I went to visit my grandfather this afternoon, and he said you’ve been helping him. Something about getting an appraisal of the cars he wants to donate?”
Christian nodded. “Yeah, it’s hard for him to get around, so I went while they did the appraisals.”
“What kind of cars are they again? Like sports cars?”
Christian shrugged. “I’m not much of a car guy. Just the old and expensive kind, I guess.” He set the menu down. “What are you getting?”
“The Amazing roll.”
“I’ll have the same.”
I laughed. “Do you even know what it is?”
“Nah, but I’m not picky.”
I sipped my water. “Are you selling the cars and giving the money to the charity, or donating the cars themselves?”
“Coach is going to talk to Camp for Kids and see what they want to do when the appraisal comes in. They might want to hold on to some since they tend to appreciate over the years.”
“Camp for Kids? I read about that program in the team’s charity log. Two of the players went to visit the camps in upstate New York this summer… Tyrell Pough and Randall Emory, I think.”
Christian nodded. “The team’s been sponsoring the program for as long as I’ve been around. Coach was always a big donator and supporter, and he got John involved.”
I shook my head. “It’s just another thing that’s difficult to reconcile in my mind. My father cared for at-risk kids enough to donate money so they could get off the streets and go to summer camp, yet he watched me live on the streets and in a shelter. How does a man care more for kids he’s never met than his own child’s well-being?”
Christian traced his finger around the top of his water glass. His face was somber. “I don’t know. I’m starting to wonder if I knew the real John Barrett myself.”
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “I’m killing the mood. Let’s change subjects. I have some good news.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Wyatt got an offer from Ohio State today—a football scholarship equivalent to a full ride!”
“That’s great. I bet he gets others. He’s really good.”
“He is. But he might’ve gone unnoticed, like many other talented kids do.” I reached across the table and weaved my fingers with Christian’s. “Thanks to you, he didn’t.”
“Schools would have found him eventually.”
“Maybe. But they didn’t have to find him, because you led the way. I’d planned on putting some money aside for Wyatt to pay for college, but I’m certain Talia wouldn’t have been happy about it. She worked for everything she has and thinks it’s important for Wyatt to do the same. But kids come out of college these days with so much debt. Anyway, I know I’ve said thank you before, but I was thinking maybe after dinner I’d thank you by showing you how appreciative I am.”
Christian smiled, but yet again I felt something lurking in the background.
“Are you sure it’s just the game coming up that’s bothering you?” I squeezed his fingers. “Or maybe it’s the prospect of getting another year older since your birthday is coming up.”
He looked down at our joined hands. “It’s just the game.”
I don’t know why, but my gut didn’t necessarily believe him. Though I chalked it up to my wariness with trusting people and tried to put it out of my mind for the rest of the evening.