Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Alexander
“Is that her? She’s really pretty.” Alvin peers out the window of the restaurant at the beautiful woman getting out of the back seat of a black SUV.
“That’s her.” Pride swells inside of me.
Olivia isn’t my girlfriend. We’ve only kissed once. I consider us friends, but I don’t know if she does.
None of that matters because tonight she’s already garnered the approval of my nephew.
She glances at her reflection in the large wall of windows. She looks amazing in a pair of dark jeans, a pink blouse and a black blazer.
It’s casual, but it’s also sophisticated.
“Here she comes,” Alvin announces as Olivia swings open the door and walks through.
She spots me immediately. The grin on her face is evidence of that.
When Alvin rises to his feet from the bench we’ve been sitting on, her gaze drops to him.
Her smile widens even more.
I stand and approach her with open arms. I pull her close for a quick embrace. “You look stunning, Olivia.”
She steps back to look me over. Black slacks, white button-down shirt and a gray blazer. I’m still dressed in the clothes I put on this morning before rehearsal.
“I’m Alvin.” Alvin needles his way in between us.
“I’m Olivia. It’s nice to meet you.”
Alvin crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re Trey Hale’s cousin.”
Olivia’s eyes slide to my face before she settles her attention squarely on my nephew. “I am.”
“You’re lucky,” Alvin stretches the words across his tongue.
“I’m very lucky,” Olivia agrees with a sharp nod of her head.
“Your table is ready, Mr. Donato.” The hostess approaches us with three menus in her hands. “If you’ll follow me.”
Alvin takes the lead, Olivia follows and with my hand resting on the small of her back, I fall in step beside her.
“You played catch with Trey?” Alvin peers at Olivia across the table. “What’s that like?”
“Scary.” Olivia laughs. “It was a long time ago. He was just learning how to throw a ball.”
“I’m learning.” Alvin winds his right arm up as if he’s readying to toss a baseball. “My dad and I play catch when he’s around.”
“Alvin’s dad drives a truck,” I say to clarify. “He’s on the road a lot, but I heard that he’s coming home the day after tomorrow.”
“You heard right.” Alvin takes a bite of his chicken burger. “I’ll have three whole days with him. My mom said I get to choose what we do.”
Olivia smiles softly. “Will playing catch be one of those things?”
Alvin chews, talking out of the side of his mouth. “Yep.”
He’s been open with her since we sat down. He ordered what she did, a chicken burger and a garden salad even though he always goes for a cheeseburger and fries when we come here.
He was quick to explain that his mom is handling parent teacher conferences tonight.
When Phoebe asked me if I’d watch over him, I happily agreed.
We spent the first two hours at the rehearsal hall. After introducing Alvin to a few members of the symphony, I sat him down at the piano so we could go over the song he wants to play for my sister.
He’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s committed to practicing before our next lesson.
“Do you think we could come here again, Alex?” Alvin rubs a finger over the corner of his lip to catch a drop of mayonnaise. “I’ll bring my mom and you can bring Olivia.”
I raise a brow to question Olivia silently.
She smiles wide and nods.
“It’s a date.” I hear the distant chime of my cell in my pocket. “I think that’s your mom, Alvin. It’s time to finish up and get home.”
Thirty minutes later, Alvin is holding tightly to Olivia’s hand as we approach his house.
Once we exited the restaurant, I was prepared to grab a taxi. Alvin wanted to ride the subway.
Olivia was the deciding vote, so we took the train.
It was the right call. The string quartet on the platform was good enough to warrant a stop and listen from all three of us.
I handed the male violinist my card. He’s young, but his talent is immense.
I’m hoping he’ll follow up with me.
I can’t offer him anything but free mentorship, but he has a gift. With nurturing it will turn into a career.
“There you are,” Phoebe calls from the front step of her house. “Did you have fun?”
“Loads of it!” Alvin drops Olivia’s hand and rushes toward his mom. He stops short of the step even though her arms are outstretched.
“I missed you.” She sighs, her hands curving to lure him closer.
“I missed you too,” he whispers. “We’ll hug when I go to bed, okay?”
“Deal,” she says quietly. “Did you thank Alex and Olivia for taking care of you tonight?”
He nods several times. “I can take care of myself, Mom. We were mostly just hanging out.”
An eye roll is the response he gets from his mother before she turns her attention to Olivia and me. “Thank you both. I appreciate you hanging out with him.”
“We had a lot of fun,” Olivia replies with a glance back at me.
“I’m going to take him inside now.” Phoebe’s hand reaches for the rusted handle of the storm door. “I hope you two enjoy the rest of your night.”
“We will,” I answer for us both. “I guarantee that we will.”