Instead of sobbing, though, she guffawed. She literally laughed out loud at him, doubled-over and practically dancing in a circle. “Yeah, Alex, you need to step up your game.”
Relief filtered through him, making him a little giddy. “You think so, huh? Well, maybe you’re right.”
He lowered his head, ready to show her that he had plenty of game, but other voices interrupted him. No way was he getting caught making out on the Mall, not after he’d just avoided a ticket for illegally drinking. The guys at the office would never let him hear the end of that.
Chapter Five
Cameron shut the door behind her and dropped the picnic basket on the floor. She should have said no when Mom had suggested the outing. Alex had given her an out when they got to his car. Another check mark on her list: cared about her feelings. So many check marks, in fact, that Cameron couldn’t ignore the possibility any more.
And boy were there possibilities. As long as they could stay out of jail. She chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Good evening to you, too, Mother. I’m not sure I’m speaking to you right now. I can’t believe you conspired with the girls to send us on a picnic. And oh, by the way, did you know it’s against the law to drink wine on the National Mall? How did I learn that, you ask? From the two Park Police who approached our picnic.”
Mom’s eyebrows shot up under her hair. “Are you serious?”
“Thankfully they let us off with a warning, after a few choice words about the contents of our picnic. They were giving Alex pointers.”
“That’s pretty amusing.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Not to mention, sense of humor was on her list of attributes for the perfect guy, and Alex had multiple checks in that category. “Whose idea was it?”
“The girls. They wanted to do something special for you, and that word takes on a new meaning when you’re talking to ten-year-olds. They express their love by sharing their juice boxes and cutting the crusts off your sandwiches. I thought it was sweet.”
She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Yeah, it was.” But her amusement was short-lived. Tonight’s date was different. They’d turned a corner and changed from being the parents of girls who were friends, to… what? She couldn’t put her finger on exactly how she would define her relationship with Alex.
He had almost kissed her.
Mom rested her hand on Cameron’s arm. “I was about to make myself a cup of coffee. How about you join me?” She grabbed two mugs out of the cabinet. “The girls finally dozed off about thirty minutes ago. I tell you, one is exhausting, but two of them together, and I am wiped.”
“I didn’t expect you to handle it alone. I’d planned on being here. That is, until I was hijacked by two ten-year-olds and their sixty-year-old co-conspirator.”
Mom shrugged as she poured coffee. “Someone had to give you a shove. You’ve been saying for years that you weren’t ready to date again. But I’ve been watching you. You like this man. Even if you’re not ready to admit it to yourself yet.”
Cameron stared into the dark, swirling liquid.
“Talk to me, sweetheart. What’s going through your mind?”
After the past few weeks, Cameron could use an ear to bend. “I’ve always wondered if Josh’s leaving had more to do with me than his need for adventure. And then when I first met Alex, he was wearing his uniform. In my mind, I thought he would be like Josh. Always having his eye o
n the horizon, never content to stay in one place. Not wanting to be with me.”
“You have to know that Josh’s leaving had nothing to do with you.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to shut down my inner critic.”
Mom sipped her coffee. “And now that you’ve had a chance to spend some time with Alex, what do you think?”
“They’re nothing alike. Alex talked a little bit about his deployments and his guilt over leaving his wife and Mariana. Did you know she died while he was overseas?”
Mom pressed her hand to her chest. “That poor man.”
“Alex opened up to me in a way I hadn’t expected. You know Josh never wanted to talk about serious or emotional things. Alex doesn’t keep his feelings bottled up.”
“Sounds like you guys got to know each other a lot better.”
“We did. And you’re right, I do like him… but I’m scared?”