She stepped forward for a quick hug, her voice muffled in my shirt when she said, “Thanks, Mama.” She let me go, then smiled and waved at something—or someone—behind me. “Hi!”
“Hey, Avery.” That voice. God, I hated how it made me buzz with awareness. Hated how just two words from him could make me want to fix my hair and double check that I didn’t have any crusted bits stuck to my eyelashes.
Avery turned, bounding up the steps to the porch as I swiveled, finding Callan walking in my direction.
He came to a stop a few feet away from me, but I wished he’d step closer. It felt like forever since he was at our house, and while yesterday was my day off and I tried to be as present with Avery on those days as possible, it was extremely difficult when I kept remembering him standing in my kitchen, or playing in Avery’s room, or cleaning the counter. This man had been to my house one time and I was daydreaming of him coming back.
What was wrong with me?
“Are you heading to work?” Callan asked. He was wearing a navy blue striped button up tucked into blue jeans. His boots looked so worn, I swore there had to be holes in the bottom.
“For a few hours. Charlotte’s watching Avery until I’m off. I figured you’d be working, given the time.” I wasn’t sure how he expected to help watch Avery when he worked similar hours to myself, but since he was technically self-employed, I didn’t really know what to expect out of his set schedule. That, and I also felt bad asking him.
“Yeah, no, I am. I’m in between lessons right now,” he replied, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck, which was shaded by his cowboy hat.
“Do you typically work all day?”
“Sometimes. There’s a couple days a week that I have a chunk of free time during the afternoon, and I give myself two days off. I’d work all seven, but my mom insists her kids take a break.” He dropped his hand back to his side.
“It must be nice being able to make your own schedule.”
“It is.” His cheeks flushed as he shifted on his feet and reached up to take his cowboy hat off, running his opposite hand through his hair. “I had a question. And before I ask, let me preface by saying you can say no if you don’t want to. I just, uh…” He glanced at the ground, kicking at a rock with his boot, then pinned those hazel eyes back on me. “I’ll just outright ask. Sage, would you maybe want to go on a date with me?”
My eyes widened as I was unable to hold back my reaction. Did he just… He just asked me on a date.
Callan Bronson just asked me on a date.
“Me?” He couldn’t have meant that.
His lips pursed together, concealing a smile as his cheeks turned a deeper shade of crimson. “There’s not anyone else around, Sage.”
“Right.” A date didn’t mean we were going to get any further than just one date. It was one date. There wasn’t any harm in that. Yet here I was, overthinking it, and he’d just asked me not even a minute ago. “Are you sure?”
He let out a small chuckle, nodding. “I’m sure.”
“It’s just, I’m a mom and I have Avery—”
His brows furrowed. “What does that have to do with me asking you out on a date?”
My lips parted in slight awe that he didn’t care that I was a mother before I replied, “I have a kid.”
“I’m failing to see your point here,” he said carefully.
“Why would you want to date a mom?” I blurted.
We weren’t even on said date yet and I was already blowing it.
He shook his head. Any nerves there before were now gone from his gaze. “You’re not just a mom, Sage. You’re a beautiful woman who, despite whatever odds were thrown at you, made it through and are doing your best to take care of yourself and another human. That takes guts, and I admire that about you. I want to get to know you, outside of being a mom and a barista or whatever you call your position at the cafe. You. I would like to go on a date with you.”
I stared at him as he stared right back, my mind reeling as my heart hung on to every word he spoke. I didn’t know how long passed, but my mouth finally decided to work, despite every other part of me still trying to comprehend his words. “Yes.”
“Oh, thank God.” He let out a relieved breath, his rigid shoulders slumping slightly with the release. He gripped the top of his hat before setting it back on his head. “You had me scared there for a minute.”
“Scared?” I asked, the corners of my mouth twitching.
Behind him, a car pulled up the driveway, slowing to a stop near the white barn. Callan glanced at it before turning back to me.
“Takes a lot of guts to ask a pretty woman like you on a date.” He slowly started walking backwards. “I’ve gotta run, but I’ll text you,” he said. His cheeks were still red, and whether he knew it or not, he didn’t seem to mind. The man wore his nerves on his cheeks, that much was for sure. Never in my life did I think I’d ever see a man blush, especially about me, but there Callan Bronson was, walking away from me after asking me on a date with his cheeks as red as roses.
I got the feeling mine were the same shade.
He was like a boy on Christmas, and my “yes” was on the top of his wishlist.
“You think I’m pretty?” I called before he turned around.
His teeth flashed with a smile. “I called you beautiful, didn’t I?”
I guess he did.
I couldn’t get this damn smile off my face, but neither could he.
He shot me a wink and turned, and I stood there watching him walk away before he disappeared. After a minute of attempting to process what just happened, I got in my car, heading toward town.
Callan Bronson just asked me on a date and I said yes.
Any moment now, I’d wake up and this would all be a dream.
After I had Avery and her father was arrested, dating never even crossed my mind because I didn’t think any man would want me after having a baby.
