Tilting my head back, I laugh so hard it hurts. “I can’t wait to tell her you said that.” I hold a hand over my heart. “Anyway, she has a little girl, and the aunt situation kind of stuck. I like it, though. I love that child as if she was my own.”
“Do you not have any kids?” Caleb asks, lifting his mug to his lips.
Shaking my head, I stir my hot chocolate again. I’d love to be married with kids right now, but I wasted too many years with the wrong guy. “Not yet,” I reply. “I wanted kids, but the guy I thought I was going to marry decided he didn’t want the responsibility of having them. I loved Mark, but I couldn’t give up on having a family.”
Caleb huffs. “I’m sorry, Bree. The guy’s an idiot. No amount of freedom would ever make me rethink being a father.”
“You’re a good man.” He laughs, and it’s nice seeing him smile. He hasn’t changed much over the years. His dark brown hair has a couple of wisps of gray mixed in, but it’s not a lot. I don’t think he was able to grow much facial hair in high school, but now he has stubble, which looks rugged and sexy. It’s crazy how people can change over the years.
“What do you do for work?” I ask him.
He finishes his hot chocolate and sets his mug down. “I’m a web designer. I used to work for big corporations in Charlotte. I made a ton of money doing it, but after my wife died, I decided to leave it to focus on raising Alyssa. It turns out some of my clients didn’t want to lose me, so I now I freelance and work from home.”
“Sounds like a win-win to me,” I say. I drink the last of my chocolatey goodness. “You know, I’ve always thought about doing my own website. Maybe I could hire you to design one for my gallery?” He opens his mouth to speak, but I hold up a hand. “That is, if you’re not too expensive.”
Chuckling, his eyes light up. “I’d be happy to. I could stop by there tomorrow morning if you’re free.”
I don’t know why, but the thought of him coming to see me makes my heart flutter. “Perfect. I was going to drive to Norfolk to visit the art school, but I can hold off.”
“Why are you going there?”
I shrug. “I like to scout out new talent. My Christmas showcase is coming up, and I want something different to give the people. The paintings do amazing, and I usually sell out of them, but I don’t want the town getting bored with the same things. I want some sculptures or unique photographs to display. When I find new artists, it gives them a chance to be seen.” Caleb stares at me, almost as if he’s shocked at what I just said. “What is it?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nothing. I never knew this side of you.”
This makes me laugh. “I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know about each other, Caleb. I haven’t seen or talked to you since high school.”
His gaze darts over to his mother and Alyssa before coming back to me. “There’s something I want to show you tomorrow. It’s kind of a hobby of mine.”
This piques my interest. “What is it?”
The grin he gives me makes me smile. “I want to keep it a secret for now. And who knows, if you like what you see, maybe we can work out a deal with the website.”
Now I’m definitely intrigued. “Sounds perfect to me.”
Alyssa runs up to the table, and Ruth comes up behind her. “Daddy, I made a friend.”
She hops into the booth beside him, and Ruth walks up. “We should probably get this little Miss to bed. It’s her first day of school tomorrow in a new place.”
I smile at Alyssa. “You’re going to have tons of fun. I know you’ll make plenty of friends.”
Alyssa beams and bounces in the booth. I slide out and set some money on the table, but Caleb pushes it back to me. “I got this, Bree.”
Ruth picks up my money and hands it to me, winking. “Thanks,” I say to her. Then I turn to Caleb. “I really appreciate it.”
He shrugs. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See ya then.” I say goodbye to Alyssa and Ruth and head out the door with a smile on my face. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.4CalebI knew the moment Alyssa stopped chatting from her booster seat, she had fallen asleep. The drive from downtown to our new house took us nine minutes, apparently six minutes too long for her, but in those three minutes, she recounted her day and how much fun she had. More so, Alyssa was excited to go to school tomorrow now that she had a friend. Which is much better than the tantrum she threw when I told her she would have a new teacher and classmates.