My phone buzzes with a text from Jessica.
JESSICA: Movie was shorter than we thought! Heading home now. You can drop the kids whenever.
I text back quickly.
LEXIE: Will head your way in about 10 min. They made a friend.
JESSICA: I’m hoping he's tall, dark and handsome, because YOU need a friend, sis.
I roll my eyes. If she had any idea.
I stand, gathering our things and heading toward the playground. As I approach, I catch snippets of conversation. Darren is explaining to Taylor how to make the walls of their sand castle stronger, while somehow simultaneously oohing and ahhing over all the random objects Adam brings him to inspect.
"Time to pack up, guys," I call. "Mom and Dad are home."
The expected protests and dramatics begin immediately, but Darren surprises me again.
"Your aunt says it's time to go," he says firmly but kindly. "Better listen to her. Those magic rocks will still be here next time."
To my shock, both children nod and begin gathering their things without further complaint. Taylor carefully stows her rock collection in the small backpack she insists on carrying herself while Adam makes one final adjustment to the sand castle before standing.
"Can he come too?" Taylor points at Darren, who's now standing a few feet away, giving us space.
I hesitate, glancing at Darren. He meets my eyes, and I see the question there, a hope I'm not ready to examine too closely.
"You can walk with us if you want," I hear myself say, but it sounds far off. "Their house isn't far."
His smile is immediate and warm. "I'd like that."
As we walk, the kids naturally gravitate to Darren. Taylor shows him every interesting thing we pass, and Adam asks countless barely intelligible questions that Darren answers with surprising patience. I hang back slightly, watching the interaction and wondering what I'm going to say when we're alone again.
"You know," I say quietly when the kids run ahead to examine a particularly interesting tree, "my sister and her husband are going to freak out when they meet you."
Darren raises an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, your brother-in-law is a Grizzlies fan, right?"
I'm surprised he remembered that, but I nod. "Huge. Like, watches every game, has the jerseys, the whole nine yards. Or, uh, whatever the hockey version is."
He laughs, the sound rich and genuine. "I'm always happy to meet fans." His voice drops slightly, eyes meeting mine."Especially fans who are related to a beautiful woman I'm interested in."
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I look away, focusing on the kids. "We should catch up to them before they decide to climb that tree."
Darren doesn't push, just falls into step beside me as we quicken our pace. His arm brushes mine occasionally as we walk, each contact sending a small jolt through me that I try desperately to ignore.
We reach Jessica's house all too soon, a tidy two-story in a family-friendly neighborhood with a small but well-maintained yard. The kids race up the path to the front door, Taylor already shouting for her parents before we even reach the porch.
The door swings open to reveal Jessica, her eyes widening comically as she takes in the scene. Her children, me, and the professional hockey player standing awkwardly on her doorstep.
"Hi, Jess," I say, trying for casual and failing miserably. "This is Darren. He was at the park and walked back with us."
Jessica's mouth opens and closes several times before she manages, "Holy—" She cuts herself off, looking at the children. "Cow?"
"Hi," Darren says with an easy smile, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Before Jessica can respond, Luke appears behind her, his expression changing from curious to stunned disbelief in the span of a heartbeat.
"Holy shit," he breathes, no self-censoring, then immediately winces as Jessica elbows him sharply. "I mean,wow. The Brick. On my porch. This is... wow."
Darren takes it in stride, shaking Luke's hand with the same warmth he showed the children. "Just Darren is fine. Taylor and Adam here were showing me their rock collection at the park. They're great kids."
