“I don’t know if I’m quite ready to date again.” Lori stood to avoid the puppy-dog-begging-for-a-treat expression on Shelby’s face. “I need more caffeine to make this big a decision.”
While pondering, Lori ended up in front of the brownies. She successfully avoided temptation and poured herself more coffee. While taking a long sip, she hoped the caffeine would hit fast and give her some clarity. And maybe a little courage too.
Was she ready to date again? She had to get back out there sometime if she didn’t want to end up all alone in a house with fifteen cats one day. Not that she had any cats now, but she’d always had a soft spot for kittens.
She’d sworn after Joe had died she’d never marry again. Or choose the wrong guy and get cheated on. Her trust issues were deeply seated. Watching her mother deal with her father’s cheating had just made her even more reluctant.
But eventually, Emily was going to leave, and Lori would be alone. And then she’d be even older, and more set in her ways. Nope. If she was going to do it, it needed to be sooner rather than later. But then, maybe springtime would be a better time to start. New beginnings and all that.
Lori glanced at the brownie her hand had snatched up of its own accord, and then put it back. Just thinking about dating again obviously made her want to stress eat.
When she returned to the table to tell Shelby she wasn’t quite ready to take the next step; her phone dinged with a text. She read the screen and sighed. “Emily is running a fever. The school nurse said she had ten kids in her office, so could I please hurry.”
Shelby nodded as she finished off the last of her brownies. “Go. I can take your twelve thirty appointment.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.” After she’d gathered her things, Shelby stood and grabbed Lori’s arm.
“No worries.” As her sister-in-law dragged Lori toward the glass doors, Shelby said, “I’ll tell Jason yes to next Friday. That gives you a week and a half to find the perfect dress. See you later.” With one last shove, Lori found herself standing in the cold air on the snowy sidewalk.
Pregnancy had made Shelby a whole lot pushier. But maybe that was just what Lori needed to convince her to jump back into the dating game again.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a disastrous date.
Deek tugged on the school’s front doors. Of all days for Asher to be sick. Deek rarely had meetings with clients in person. They happened online mostly, but his biggest account had flown in a contingent of executives and designers to meet with him just for the day. They’d rented a conference room in a downtown hotel and were catering in lunch to save time. They wanted to bang out the details for their highly anticipated fall launch. They weren’t happy campers about the interruption.
He needed to get back to his clients, but what would he do with Asher? Deek’s dad wasn’t well enough to take care of Asher on a typical day, much less when he was sick.
Damn Annie. It was times like this that he resented Annie and her decision to ignore that they had a son who needed them both. She never had to miss work or take Asher to doctor appointments or soccer games, or… He should stop. It didn’t help to moan and groan about it. Asher was just going to have to come back with him to the hotel. If luck was with them, maybe this strain of flu wasn’t a barfing one. Just the high-fever kind.
That reminded him that he’d have to add a stop at the drug store and grab something to treat Asher’s fever too before he got back to work.
He hurried down the shiny hallway with classrooms lining the sides and arrived at the main office. There must’ve been six moms gathering up their sick kids. One of them was Lori. She glanced up and waved.
Suddenly, he didn’t feel so alone in his quest. She knew what it was like to be a single parent too, and somehow just knowing they were both going to have screwed up days made him feel better.
“Hi, ladies.” He glanced at Lori’s daughter, whose cheeks were flushed with fever. “Sorry you’re not feeling well, Emily. Asher seems to have the same thing.”
“Thanks.” She wrapped her arms around Lori’s waist, hugging tight. Not at all like the outgoing girl Emily usually was. Asher probably felt just as bad.
Guilt washed over him for even thinking of taking Asher back to the meeting with him.
A slow smile lit Lori’s face. “You clean up nice.”
He’d actually worn a suit. And a tie. The importance of the meeting dictated he drag himself to his closet and make an effort. T-shirts and jeans were so much more comfortable, though. “Big meeting today. The Universe of Zeldane is at stake. But you didn’t hear that from me. Highly hush-hush until next fall.”