“Sounds good. I’ll see you all tomorrow then.”
“Love you,” Mom says as we end the call. I drop my phone on the bed and fall back against the pillows. Staring up at the ceiling, I think about living with him every day, taking care of Lexi together. It’s what we do now, but I don’t live there. I’ve spent the night a handful of times, but this is different.
“Hey, babe,” Evan says from the doorway.
Turning my head to face him, I smile. I can’t prevent it; he does that to me. “Hey, Lex with your mom?”
“Yeah, I actually asked her to watch her for a few hours. I thought maybe you and I could get out of here for a little bit.”
“Really?” I don’t even try to mask my excitement. We’ve pretty much stuck to the house all week, and not that I don’t love his family, but getting out for a few hours sounds great.
“Yeah, it’s nothing fancy. Just thought we could take a ride, maybe grab some dinner,” he suggests.
“Perfect. When do we leave?” I grin.
This causes him to laugh. “We can go now, baby. You ready?”
I look down at my skinny jeans and sweater. “Am I dressed okay for what you have in mind?”
“You’re perfect.” He leans in and kisses the corner of my mouth. “Let’s go say bye to Lexi and get out of here,” he says, grabbing my hands and pulling me from the bed.
Once I’m standing, he laces his fingers through mine and we walk down the stairs side by side. We find his parents in the living room on the couch, Lexi eating up their attention. “We’re headed out,” Evan says, stopping in front of them. I try to drop his hand, but he holds tight. Bending over, he gets eye level with Lexi. “You be a good girl. Daddy and Kinley will be back in a little while.” He kisses her cheek and she shrieks.
With my hand that’s not occupied by Evan’s, I reach out and tap her nose. “See you soon, sweet girl.”
Evan pulls me from the room and out the door. “Where are we going?”
“Well, there’s a diner not far from here that my grandparents would always take me to when I would come to visit. They have great home-cooked food—-comfort food.” He grins.
It’s right on the tip of my tongue to tell him I’ve had so many meals this week I don’t think I will fit in my wedding dress, but then I remember he doesn’t know about the wedding dress. “Sounds good.”
He opens my door for me like the gentleman he is, only this time, he leans in and kisses me before pulling away and closing the door.
As we drive to the restaurant, Evan reaches over and laces his fingers through mine. My heart flutters in my chest. I never had a chance in hell to not fall for him.
The restaurant is not busy for a Thursday night, so the waitress tells us to seat ourselves. Evan leads us to a booth in the back and I slide into one side as he goes into the other. “It’s all good here,” he tells me, handing me a menu.
“Chicken and Dumplings,” I say with way more excitement than I should have for a simple meal. “It’s been forever since I’ve had that.” Decision made, I close my menu and place it on the table.
“That sounds good, but so does the homemade chicken pot pie.”
“That does sound good,” I agree. It really does, but I’m still sold on the dumplings.
“Are you nervous about the wedding?” he asks after we place our orders.
“No. Are you?”
“Surprisingly, no.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “You’re my best friend, McKinley. You’re putting your life on hold in order for me to keep my daughter. The only thing I’m feeling is admiration. You’re an amazing person and I will never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me and Lexi.”
“You don’t have to. I love her, Evan. She needs to be with you. You’re my best friend too, and that’s what you do for your friends.”
“Thank you, McKinley Rae,” he says, his brown eyes holding mine.
The waitress brings our food and the conversation moves from how delicious it is to how much extra stuff we have to take home with us. “Really, Kinley, Mom has gone nuts with the shopping. It’s a good thing we didn’t fly,” he says, taking a drink of his water.
“Yeah,” I giggle. “She’s just doing what grandma’s do. She’s excited and she knows you’re doing this on your own.”
“I have you,” he counters.