Chapter 6 #2
“Oh…” Clover trailed off, and Cash tried not to roll his eyes. Clover wasn’t necessarily a picky child, but he liked what he liked, and that was that. He rarely experimented, but the second Sable ordered her minty ice cream, he was obsessed with the idea of trying new things.
“You want a bite?” Sable asked. She’d opted to eat her scoops in a cup instead of with a cone like the guys, and she extended her treat to the boy. “I haven’t started yet. You can try mine.”
“May I?” Clover looked up at his dad.
“Don’t ask me. It’s not my ice cream. She said you could,” Cash said.
“Here.” Sable dug her plastic spoon into the frozen dessert and handed him the bite. He accepted it eagerly, and Cash couldn’t control the laughter when his son’s entire face screwed up.
“I don’t like that.” Clover shivered and stuck out his tongue.
“Oh well. More for me then.” Sable shrugged and then scooped a massive bite into her mouth, screwing her eyes up at the brain freeze, and Cash couldn’t help but kiss her temple.
She was so sinfully sexy on their dates with her short skirts and plunged necklines, but here with his son, she was as adorable as the boy.
He knew he shouldn’t show affection for her in front of Clover.
It might get his hopes up, but Cash hadn’t even realized he was doing it.
Her face puckered with brain freeze, and then he was kissing her head.
She didn’t seem to mind, though. She leaned into his touch, fitting in with him and his son so comfortably that Cash’s chest ached.
What would it be like to be a family with her?
Was there a future where they got ice cream at the park every weekend together?
Or was he so single that he was jumping the gun with this woman?
“Dad, what does butter pecan taste like?” Clover said, oblivious to his father’s internal turmoil.
“Oh no,” Cash laughed. “You’re not going to steal mine now. You have your own cone.”
“But what if I like it?” Clover asked.
“Don’t look at me.” Sable shrugged at Cash as she licked ice cream off her spoon. She wasn’t doing it on purpose, but goddamn it, he wanted to be that spoon. “I shared mine.”
“Is this how it’s going to be?” he asked. “You two always ganging up on me?”
“Yes,” Sable and Clover said in unison, and Cash gawked at their matching expression. Dear lord, he was in trouble.
“Okay, fine. One bite, but you had better not complain.” Cash handed his son the ice cream cone. The boy went quiet after his lick, careful to follow his father’s instructions about not complaining, but Cash didn’t need words to hear what his kid was thinking.
“It tastes okay,” Clover finally said. “I like my vanilla best, though.”
“I know you do.” Cash ruffled the kid’s hair.
“But he tried new flavors,” Sable said. “That’s got to count for something.”
“True,” Cash said. “You’re a good influence.”
Sable’s cheeks paled at the compliment, and Cash pinched his eyebrows at her expression.
Had he said something wrong? Was this moving too fast for her?
It was easy to forget he was a father when they were sipping cocktails and making out in his truck, but was his compliment too much of a reminder that his boy would always be involved in their relationship?
“Dad, are we still making pizza for dinner?” Clover asked before he could overthink Sable’s expression.
“You haven’t even eaten your ice cream, and you’re already on dinner?” he chuckled as his son stepped onto the fountain’s border and walked around it like a tightrope.
“Can Sable come over for dinner?” the boy asked.
“I’m sure Sable already has plans,” Cash said. “We can’t expect her to spend the whole day with us.”
“Oh…” Clover trailed off, and Cash couldn’t tell who looked more disappointed—Clover or Sable.
He loved that his son liked Sable and was thankful he was okay with his father dating, but he didn’t want to overwhelm the woman.
She wasn’t in college like her appearance sometimes suggested, but she was still young.
She wasn’t ready to be an instant mother… was she?
“Do you have plans?” Clover asked her as he completed his circle around the water, ice cream dripping from his chin.
“Clover…” Cash warned.
“Not really,” she said, sitting on the bench to watch Clover’s balancing act. “Nothing important anyway. Dinner would probably be takeout or something microwavable.”
“Do you like pizza?” Clover asked.
“Who doesn’t like pizza?”
“So, Dad, can she come over for dinner?”
“Yeah, Dad,” Sable glanced up at Cash through her full eyelashes. “Can I come over for dinner?”
“Is this that ganging up on me you two warned about?” he asked.
“Yup,” Sable and Clover said in unison.
Cash shook his head and settled beside her on the bench, draping an arm around her shoulders as he bit into his ice cream cone.
“You don’t have to feel obligated just because my kid asked,” he whispered into her ear.
“I realize dinner at my house isn’t the same as when a bachelor asks you over to his place.
It’ll be a lot less wine and dine and a lot more fart jokes. ”
Sable giggled, almost spitting her ice cream out, and she buried her face against his shoulder.
“The fart jokes are the only reason I asked to come,” she said, her lips tickling his arm as she spoke, and Cash tightened his hold on her.
“But seriously.” She tilted her head until her chin rested on his shoulder so she could look into his eyes.
“I don’t want to intrude on family time or force my company on your son.
I understand why parents like to keep their dating and home lives separate, but if you’re worried about Clover bothering me, then your concerns are pointless.
He’s a good kid, and I like being around his dad. ”
“So, you want to make pizza with us on the weekend instead of going out and having fun?” Cash teased.
“Speak for yourself. Fart jokes sound like a wild Saturday night.”
Cash glanced over her head and spotted Clover on the opposite side of the fountain, watching a pigeon eat spilled pretzels.
He wasn’t paying attention to them, and Cash seized the opportunity.
He tugged Sable closer and planted a kiss on her lips.
She tasted of mint and hope. She tasted like home, and he desperately wanted her to be the home his heart found rest within.
She didn’t bat an eye at the fact he was a father.
She embraced his reality with open arms, and he’d never seen someone so beautiful in his entire life.
She was stunning in her risqué outfits, and she was breathtaking in jeans while making jokes his son would find hysterical.
Seemed Clover knew what he was doing when he introduced them.
“It’s a date, then,” Cash whispered as they parted. “We’ll stop at the store on the way home and pick up the ingredients.”
“So, is she coming?” Clover asked, returning to their bench.
“Yes, I’m coming,” Sable said as she wiped a smear of vanilla off the boy’s cheek with her napkin.
“Awesome. You can share my pizza. I never eat the whole thing, but Dad always eats his. One day, I’ll eat as much as him because the Fae boys in our family get really big.”
“You’re already really big.” Sable gently pinched his biceps, and Cash couldn’t help but smile at how his son blushed.
“You too, Dad.” She gripped his muscular biceps, and Cash flexed his arm, loving how her eyes turned molten at the sensation.
He was learning he loved almost everything she did, which made him nervous.
No woman was this perfect. Had he finally gotten lucky, or was this a repeat of Clover’s mom?
Had he found his happily ever after, or was the other shoe about to drop?