I have no clue if the old man actually loved me. He never said if he really did. I assume he did not. I have never felt like I was loved, only a burden to others. My mother left her mess at his doorstep and never looked back.
But, I adapted. I was strong enough to get by. I survived.
I glance up at the clock on the wall and realize that it’s already four-fifteen. Fifteen minutes until I’m supposed to be at the Stevens. I grab my small purse and head towards the front door. After locking the door and heading down the steep stairs, I contemplate talking myself out of going…again.
Going to the Stevens house for dinner does not mean I’m opening myself up. It does not mean I’m opening myself up, letting people in, or will be found. It means I’m hungry and Mrs. Stevens offered me dinner. That’s it. Simple. End of story. The end.
As I slide down into my hot seat, I know that I’m making more out of this dinner invite than necessary. My new boss and her family invited me to dinner. I will go and enjoy their company for a couple of hours and then return to my quiet, safe little apartment above the bakery. I throw my beat-up, used car in reverse and head towards the Stevens’ house.
I wonder if Nate will be there.
I pull into the long driveway, following the directions that Mrs. Stevens wrote down, with one minute to spare. As I turn off the ignition, I close my eyes and take a deep calming breath. In and out.
It’s now or never so I slide out of the car and head towards the front door. The noise assaulting me is the sounds of family. Sounds I’ve never really heard before nor understood. I hear laughter and children playing.
As I walk up the stairs, the front door opens as if the person opening the door was waiting on me.
“Hey, you must be Lia?” I hear as the screen door opens for me.
The man before me is tall and well built. He has blond hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Eyes the color of the ocean reflecting off a tropical beach. He’s muscular, yet nowhere near the Popeye I-eat-all-my-spinach muscles that Nate sports. Nate. Now there’s a man who can get my blood pumping with just one passing glance from those striking blue-green eyes.
“I am,” I reply as I step inside the cool air, shaking off the mental images of Nate and his eyes. This house is magnificent. Not overly huge, but large enough for a family. It spews warmth and laughter. The warm walls are filled with photographs and it smells of home-cooked goodness and sugar. This place is nothing like the small house I grew up in.
“I’m Will,” the man says as he reaches out his hand. It’s large and warm and envelopes mine completely. “Nice to meet you finally. Mom and Avery talk about you all the time,” he added with a smile. No dimple.
“Avery has mentioned you as well,” I tell him as he leads me towards the back of the house.
“I hope you don’t mind the heat. Mom set up the kiddie pool and sprinkler for the kids so we’re all out back watching them play,” Will says as he opens the back door just off the kitchen.
“I don’t mind,” I say as I step back out into the August heat.
“Lia,” Avery says, drawing my attention towards the small pool nestled underneath a big shade tree.
I toss my boss a wave and head towards her. She’s squatting next to the pool, splashing the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen.
“This is Ryder,” Avery says with a huge, proud smile.
“What a sweetheart,” I say, smiling at the toddler who is splashing in the shallow water.
“Oh, don’t let his charming face fool you for a second. He’s one hundred percent his father. He’s bossy, pushy, and loud,” Avery says with an adoring smile. Her baby may be all of those things, but I can tell she wouldn’t change a thing about him. Or his father.
I laugh and splash a little water at Ryder. “Well, he sure is a cutie,” I tell her.
“The blond girl over in the sprinkler is Brooklyn. I think I mentioned this at the bakery, but everyone calls her Bean. And the other little guy is my nephew, Grant.”
I gaze over at the two kids frolicking around in the sprinkler and give them a smile.
“Trav, can you come over here and watch Ryder? I want to introduce Lia to everyone,” Avery says to another impossibly tall man, relaxing in a chaise lounge.
The guy gets up and walks over to Avery. “This is my brother Travis,” she says.
“Hi, Travis,” I say, extending my hand.
“Pleasure, Lia. My wife, Josselyn is the brunette over there,” he says pointing to two women sitting under an umbrella table.
“Come on, Lia. Let’s go meet the girls,” she says as we head towards the two women. “Thanks, Trav,” she calls over her shoulder. I turn back around to see Ryder splashing and laughing in fits of tiny giggles as he tries to soak his uncle.