He kisses his daughter’s sweaty forehead. “Today’s practice schedule got shifted around, and I had a little time before I need to get to the field house. Thought I’d grab us some subs. Are you hungry, kiddo?”
Hazel nods even though she ate a sandwich two hours ago, but we’ve been running around the house all day, so maybe she’s worked up an appetite.
Do I stay and watch them eat? That feels weird.
Awkwardly, I point toward the door. “Do you want me to head home and give you guys time to enjoy your lunch? I can come back when you’re done.”
He shakes his head, and a thick strand of hair falls rakishly over his eye. “I brought you a sub too. Unless you’re not hungry.”
My stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly. I slap my hand over it as Nick laughs.
Holding his arm out toward the kitchen, he smiles. “Join us, Abby. I feel like I’ve barely seen you since you started taking care of Hazel.”
“Stay, Abby!” Hazel yells. “We still have to make Play-Doh. You pwomised.”
“That’s right, I did promise, didn’t I?”
As Nick tucks her into the booster chair, he glances over his shoulder at me. “Doesn’t she already have, like, fifty-two tubs of that stuff?”
I chuckle. “Maybe, but I told her making your own is fun because you can mix whatever shade you want. I already bought the supplies, so it’s no problem.”
After he unbags the food, he motions for me to sit down across from him. “Save the receipts. I can reimburse you for whatever you spend.”
“It’s okay. Someday I’ll be a teacher, and I’ll never get reimbursed for school supplies.” It’s a never-ending complaint from my father. “Besides, it wasn’t expensive.”
“What grade do you want to teach?” he asks as he gets us three glasses of water.
“I’m not sure. Probably kindergarten or first grade. I want kids to enjoy their first few years. So many children dread going to school, but maybe if they have a fun teacher when they’re young, they’ll remember it’s a good place where they can make fond memories.”
Pausing, he smiles. It hits me like a sunbeam breaking through a cloud, and I’m momentarily dazed. “That’s really sweet, Abby. I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher.”
I clear my throat as I unwrap my sub. “Thanks. I love children.”
“You want a big family someday?” When I don’t answer right away, he apologizes. “Don’t mean to get too personal. You don’t need to answer that if you’re not comfortable.”
“It’s okay. But yes, I’ve always wanted a big family with lots of kids…” Until my fiancé turned into a giant cheating turd. Having kids was a dream I thought was in reach, and now I’ll probably die single.
His eyes go soft, and I shake my head. “Don’t you dare level me with pity, Nick Silva. And if you bring up that jerk’s name during an otherwise lovely day, I’m going to clean your toilet bowl with your toothbrush.”
He chokes on a laugh. “I wouldn’t dare bring him up.”
Ezra Thomas can go suck a lemon.
But now I’m thinking about how that man ruined me. Yes, it sounds dramatic, like I’m some eighteenth-century debutante who got debauched at a ball and now no one wants her, but that’s how I feel.
I should keep my mouth shut, but since the whiff of Ezra is in the air, I can’t help myself. “He hogged all of my attention during college, and now that I’m almost done with school, all I do is work, and I feel like I’m destined to be a schoolmarm with twenty cats.”
Wow, that was some word vomit. Embarrassed, I get up to grab some silverware so I can cut up Hazel’s sandwich. Otherwise, the filling will slide out the back.
Nick’s brows furrow. “Do you need to reduce your hours so you can have more of a social life?”
“That’s just it. I’m not really a frat party kind of girl. That’s all anyone here seems to do.” Hazel pulls out a slice of onion from her sandwich, and I hold out my hand and tuck it into a napkin.
Nick sighs. “I told the sub shop no onions.”
“It’s okay. I got this. Anyway, don’t worry about the hours. I need the money.”
“This is an extra semester for you, right? I had every expectation of graduating last May too. If I didn’t have a football scholarship, I could never afford it.”
