Home is Where the Heart is(8)

Gabby piped up and asked her own question, skipping straight past any form of greeting. “Did you happen to see Cassie tonight?” she asked out of pure nosiness.

Jordan’s eyes moved in Gabby’s direction. “I said hi to her as she was heading out the door. She seems really good.”

“Uh-huh,” said Gabby sarcastically. She bet he would like to see her again; she just hoped Cassie didn’t feel the same way. Her friend didn’t need his presence in her life, not when she had worked damn hard to get him out of her head in the first place.

“Well, it was really nice to see you again, but….um, I have to go. Are you coming too, Nick? You said you’d give me a lift so I wouldn’t have to walk home by myself.”

It was a lame excuse, and Gabby had walked home alone countless times before, but she didn’t want to play catch-up with her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. She was team Cassie all the way.

Gabby hoped Nick would take her teeny, tiny, subtle hint and realize she didn’t really want to spend the rest of the evening making small-talk and reminiscing with a guy who left her to pick up the pieces when he broke her best friend’s heart.

“Yeah, I’ll take you home. You want to leave now?”

Gabby nodded her head in response, prompting Nick to slowly rise from his sitting position on the bar stool, slapping Jordan on his shoulder in a friendly way.

“It was good to see you, man. Give me a call before you head out of town and we’ll grab a beer together,” said Nick, while Gabby turned toward the exit and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, you too, and a beer would be good. You still got the same number?”

“Sure do. Shoot me a text sometime. Anyway, I’ll catch you around,” Nick hollered at Jordan while following Gabby toward the exit, leaving Jordan all alone at the bar for a mere minute or so before people began hounding him for a photo or autograph.



The following morning, while Cassie was getting ready for work and running around after Jake trying to get him ready for school, Nick burst in through the front door with an enormous smile on his face and an extra-effervescent pitch to his voice when he announced his arrival.

“Uncle Nick!” Jake threw himself into his arms.

Nick bent down to his godson’s level. “Good morning, buddy. Are you ready for school?” He ruffled his curly hair.

“Yep!” Jake exclaimed with a big, toothless smile, his arms stretched out around Nick’s neck.

“Or he will be, once he brushes his teeth,” Cassie added with her hands to her ear as she fixed her earring, walking into the entranceway of the three-bedroom duplex she and Jake resided in.

“You heard your mum—you better go make your teeth all nice and shiny.”

And with that, Jake was jumping out of Nick’s hold and running off in the direction of the bathroom.

Once Cassie heard water running, she knew he was doing as he was told.

“Thank you again for agreeing to take him to school. I’ve got to be at the bakery early this morning so I can get a head start on a cake for one of the special functions we’re catering,” she said, giving herself a once-over in the hallway mirror hanging on the wall near the door. She took a moment to fix the lustrous pink lip-gloss on her lips.

Nick got back on his feet, ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair, and studied his friend vaguely.

“It’s no trouble. There’s one good thing about having my own business—I’m the boss. I can pick what time I start depending on how busy I am. Besides, I love Jake as if he’s my own child; I would do anything for that kid.”

As Nick uttered the words, Cassie smiled precipitously and said, “And he loves you too.” She tapped him on the shoulder as she passed him, and he followed her into the kitchen where she finished gathering a number of items to put into Jake’s school bag, including his Lightning McQueen lunchbox and matching hat. “We both love you and are so very appreciative to have you and Gabby present in our lives. I honestly don’t know what I would do or where I would be without you.”

“Speaking of Gabby, do you expect to hear from her today?” Nick asked out of the blue. Cassie’s eyes lit up in surprise. Nick didn’t usually bring up anything involving Gabby. She wondered why he would want to know whether she was talking to her today. She shrugged one shoulder, feigning nonchalance as she took the elastic band from around her left wrist and used it to tie her long blonde hair together into a high, twisted bun.

“Well, I haven’t yet, but the mornings are usually frenzied enough without the added bonus of a conversation with my best friend. But I’m sure I will be seeing her later. She usually stops by before work for a quick chat and to grab a coffee to go. Why?”