Home to You

“I wasn’t sure how much you were willing to cheat, so I ordered you both.”

“Thank you.” I grab a straw, peel it out of the wrapper, and slip it into the glass of root beer. I take a long pull and fight the urge to sigh. I’ve missed pop. “Start talking, Hall.” I point at him and wrap my lips back around my straw for another drink.

“Well, you’re looking at the head football coach of the Hope Tigers.” He grins. “I also teach high school math.”

“Hot teacher.” I smile. “I’m sure your female students love you.”

He rolls his eyes and groans. “Some of them are so over the top, and they don’t care who knows it. I swear, I worry about their home lives.” He glances over at Chloe, which has me doing the same. She’s perfectly content sitting on her stool playing Pac-Man.

“Meh.” I wave him off. “Most of them are just horny teenage girls with a hot teacher fantasy.”

“You sound like you could be speaking from experience?” He raises his eyebrows.

“A girl never tells her secrets,” I tease.

“I thought I had all of your secrets?” His tone is teasing, but there is an underlying level of hurt in his words.

“What else?” I ask.

“Let’s see. Trina and I met nearly seven years ago. We dated, and she ended up pregnant. We got married and tried to make a go of it for Chloe. We divorced two years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. All three of us are happier. Trina and I realized we were better off as friends and co-parents. We both want what’s best for our daughter, and that’s not us being married. She’s actually engaged to a nice guy.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. The two of you should write a book on how to co-parent the right way. I commend you both.”

He nods. “What about you?”

“Not much to tell. I’m sure you heard about my injury and my fall from grace?”

He grimaces. “I know that everything I read and everything that passes the rumor mill is not true.”

“Normally, I would agree with you, but this time it was all spot on. Except for the fact that I caught them in my bed. It was actually my dressing room.”

“Ouch,” he says.

“Pretty much.”

“Are you home to stay?”

“No. At least I don’t think so. To be honest, the last six months I’ve felt… lost.” Longer if I’m really being honest, but I keep that to myself.

“I’m glad you’re here.” He reaches for my hand, but our waitress arrives with our breadsticks. “Chloe, come and eat.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“She’s such a happy little girl. You and your ex should be proud. You’re doing an amazing job with her.”

“Do you have kids, Miss Haven?” Chloe, the very observant five-year-old, asks.

“No. No kids.”

“How come?”

I glance at Sebastian, and he’s watching me as if he wants to know the answer as well. I decide to be as honest as I can without telling her the gritty details. “To have kids, you have to be married and in love.” Not 100 percent accurate but I get a subtle nod from Sebastian, so I know I’ve said the right thing.

“Who do you love?” she asks, taking a huge bite of a breadstick.

Your father. My breathing catches in my chest, and I realize that my offhand thought really isn’t offhand at all. It’s been ages since I let myself think about my time with Sebastian, but being home, sitting here with him, it’s all coming back with a flourish, and I know that I will always love him. There will always be a huge place in my heart for Sebastian.

“I loved a man once,” I tell her. “He was very special to me.”

“Did you marry him?”

“No, sweetie. I moved away, and we never got our chance.” I refuse to look at Sebastian as I grab a breadstick from the basket and shove a huge bite into my mouth.

“Aw, man,” she replies. “You’re so pretty, and you should marry my daddy.” She turns to look at Sebastian. “Daddy, you need to love Miss Haven so you can get married.”

I smile at her. “That’s not exactly how it works, Chloe, but thank you for the compliment.”

“She’s pretty, right, Daddy?” Chloe asks him.

“She’s beautiful. Always was,” Sebastian says. There’s heat in his hazel eyes, and they’re focused on me.

“Would you like some sauce?” I ask Chloe.

“Oh, I forgot it.” She giggles, and her previous request for her father to marry me is already forgotten. At least I hope it’s forgotten.

For the rest of dinner, Chloe controls the conversation. She asks me lots of questions about dancing, and thankfully no more talk about marrying her dad. The three of us polish off the breadsticks and the large pizza, and I have two root beers, with zero regrets. It is the absolute best meal I’ve had in ages.

When I try to give him money, Sebastian gives me his “don’t argue with me” look, and it makes me smile. Some things never change. We exit the restaurant the way we entered with Chloe on her daddy’s hip and his hand at the small of my back. He leads me to my car and waits for me to get inside.