Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
PRESLEY
No. No. Ugh, definitely no.
Why don’t I own anything that would work for a first date?
Not just any first date. A first date with Kade.
The sound of laughter filters into my room. Poppy is watching cartoons in the living room before the babysitter comes over tonight.
Well, Betty. Because my normal girl is gone for the night.
Fishing my phone out from the pile of clothes littering my bed, I fire off a text.
Presley
Help!
What should I wear tonight?
Georgia
Need us to come over and help?
Please
Joey
Already on our way
Joey
I have Max with me
Rylee
Good
Rylee
Aunt Rylee needs some snuggles
Georgia
But also help Pres for her first date
Rylee
That too
You guys are life savers
Tossing my phone to the side, I tighten my robe around me and head into the kitchen. “You ready for some dinner, Pop?”
“What am I having?”
“How about your egg scramble you like?”
She nods, flipping back around on the couch. “Okay.”
Making her dinner helps distract me from the matter at hand.
I blow out a breath as I pour the eggs into a hot pan with peppers and spinach.
For being a picky eater, Poppy likes weird things.
Thank God she didn’t fight me on what she wanted, since I’m a bit stressed out about my evening plans.
Going on a first date with my high school sweetheart.
With Kade.
This could either be a great thing or a terrible idea.
When we talked at the diner the other day, the last words I ever expected came out of his mouth. A date? I’m trying to keep the nerves at bay because I want it to go well.
What if we start to rehash the past and things go badly? It wouldn’t just be me now that it affects. It’d be Poppy too.
Am I being selfish going out with him? Maybe we should just keep things friendly for our daughter. Before I can second-guess myself anymore, a knock sounds at the door as I’m scooping the scramble onto a plate.
“Hi, Aunt Joey. Hi, Max,” Poppy greets them.
Max and Poppy head to the couch to watch a show they both like, playing with the stuffy that Max brought.
“I could hear you overthinking this from miles away,” Joey says, laughing.
“Ugh. I can’t help it. Does Max want anything to eat?”
Joey shakes her head. “I’m taking him to dinner with my parents after.”
“Okay.”
Walking over to the sofa, I hand Poppy her plate and press a kiss to her head before heading back to my room with Joey.
“Alright. What are your options?” Joey plops down on the clothes-covered bed.
“I have no idea.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “Nothing I have is appropriate for a first date.”
“What are the two of you doing?” Joey asks as the front door opens again and Rylee’s excited squeal precedes her. Georgia’s voice also floats through the air.
“Hi, babes.” Georgia bobs into the room with clothes in her arms. “I figured I should bring some things for you because you’d hate everything you have.”
I drop a peck on her cheek. “How’d you know?”
“Please. I sensed your nerves over the phone.”
I smack a hand to my face. “Am I really that obvious?”
“Yes,” they all answer in in unison.
“Can you blame me? I’ve been with two men my entire life. One of them being Kade. What if things have changed?”
“They have,” Rylee points out.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I roll my eyes at her.
“It has though. You have a daughter. Kade is back in town. It’s na?ve to think things haven’t changed. But how do you feel about him, Pres?” Georgia asks.
How do I feel about Kade?
Like he’s been the missing piece all these years. That no matter how much I tried to move on from him, he was always there, floating in the background. My life was mostly good, but there was always something that wasn’t complete.
“Clearly feelings are still there,” Rylee says.
“How do you know?”
“That look on your face? It’s easy to see how you still feel about him.”
“I agree,” Joey says. “Don’t force things and take it easy. I promise, it’ll be okay. Canceling at this point will do more harm than good.”
I smile at them, sitting on the bed. “How’d you know I was considering it?”
“I could see it written all over your face.”
“I don’t want things between the two of us to affect Pop. He wants to have a relationship with her.”
“And he will.” Rylee squeezes my hand. “Now, stop stalling and try on some of these clothes.”
“Try the green sweater first,” Georgia says. “I think the off the shoulder will drive Kade nuts.”
“Okay.”
Heading into the bathroom, I slip off my robe and pull the sweater on over my head, giving my hair a fluff.
Paired with my jeans and a light coat of makeup, it looks amazing.
“Stop stalling and come out!” Joey calls. “We want to see how you look.”
Stepping out of the bathroom, I’m met with cheers and catcalls.
“Damn, girl.”
“Kade is going to lose his mind.”
“You look hot.”
Hearing their words of praise helps me feel better. Gives me the confidence that I can do this tonight.
“Wear your cute short brown cowboy booties and you’re all set,” Rylee says.
“You sure?” I smooth a hand down the soft material.
“Yes. You look amazing, Pres,” Georgia says.
Poppy bursts into the room with Max on her heels. “Wow. You look pretty, Mom.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“Now, get going before you chicken out,” Joey says.
“You know I do have to wait for Betty to get here, right?”
Rylee gets up and pushes me into the living room. “We will wait for Betty. Now go!”
“Where are you going, Mom?” Poppy asks.
“To dinner with a friend.”
She looks around. “But all your friends are here.”
“She’s going out to the ranch,” Joey says.
“Joey!” I hiss. The last thing I want is to tell Poppy that I’m going out with Kade. I don’t want to make her think we could have a future together.
I mean, it’s one date. I don’t need to get ahead of myself.
“You’re having dinner at the ranch with a friend,” Rylee says so Joey doesn’t say anything else.
“If you see Kade, tell him I want to go fishing again.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll be sure to let him know.”
“Now go!” my friends yell behind me.
Stepping into my shoes, I don’t put up any further argument. Because no matter how nervous I am for this date, I’m excited.
Because it’s another chance with Kade. The man who stole my heart and never gave it back.