“Leaving the room now,” she announced, glancing back at him.
He pushed off the couch so he could follow her into the kitchen. “Your lips are but a delicate blossom, whose petals I long to peel back.”
“If I wouldn’t have dumped you already…”
Brian grinned, leaning against the doorframe as she walked out. “Seriously though, be smart, okay?”
Nodding her head, she assured him, “I promise.”
“And don’t be a stranger. I’d say you could bring him, but… let’s be honest, he wouldn’t have fun here.”
“Not even a little bit,” she agreed. Then, impulsively, she leaned in and hugged him. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe you’re willing to do this for me.”
“No problem. If you get bored with the old guy, you know where to find me.”
Smiling softly, she squeezed his hand, thanked him one more time, then made her way back to her car.
Ethan hadn’t locked the door.
Delighted at the prospect of sneaking up on him and pouncing, she didn’t knock, instead letting herself inside.
Unfortunately, as soon as she eased the door shut she heard Ethan’s voice—and she didn’t think he was in the habit of talking to himself.
“Aw, really? That’s awesome.”
There was a hint of gentle devotion in his tone that told her he must be talking to one of his kids. The absence of chaos and noise led her to believe they were not present. Stepping forward and stealing a look around the corner, she saw that he was, in fact, on the phone.
“Yeah, you said that. That’s very cool.”
Shoulders slumping slightly, she turned to lock the door behind her and kick off her shoes before heading over to the couch.
Ethan did a double take at first, clearly surprised that she had let herself in, but she figured she’d explain when he hung up.
“Hey, buddy? Can you put your mom back on for just a minute.”
Well, that was even better. Ethan walked into the kitchen and she dropped her purse in the floor, leaning forward to dig out her phone. Since he was otherwise occupied, she figured she’d keep herself busy. Plus she needed something to distract her so she didn’t eavesdrop.
As soon as her app opened, she clicked the new notifications and saw Brian had just left a comment on her profile.
“Best girlfriend ever.”
Rolling her eyes and smiling in spite of herself, she commented back, “Aw, stop it.”
As she typed it, Candace liked the comment. A second later Brian responded, “How can I when I have such an amazing girlfriend?”
Candace jumped in, commenting, “Are you 2 losers really sitting next to each other and talking online?”
Willow laughed to herself and quickly checked out her other notifications. Mostly all to do with the picture Brian had posted of them at his place.
“Sorry about that,” Ethan said, suddenly much closer.
Closing out the app, she dropped her phone into her purse and watched him put two wine glasses down on the table.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“You said you wanted wine and roses.”
“I was joking!” She laughed when he handed her a single red rose.