Sally rubs her hands together. “What can I get for you guys?”
I peek over at Noah and tilt my head toward the counter. “Do you know what you want?”
“Hmm …” He taps his finger against his chin. “So many yummy choices.” His attention flicks to Georgia. “How many am I allowed to have again?”
“Two,” she answers.
He holds up four fingers. “Please. I won’t eat them all today.”
Georgia shakes her head while fighting back a smile. “Three, and that’s final. We’ll have to stash the third one somewhere in the house.”
He jumps up and down and starts pointing at his cupcakes of choice for Sally—Funfetti, Oreo, and chocolate.
Just as I’m about to order the cupcakes I’ve missed so much—my ass, not so much—my name is called. I jump at the familiar voice, and my hand flies to my chest at the same time as Seth walks toward us from the back room. He stops next to Sally, wearing a stunned expression on his face.
It’s not that we ended on bad terms. The shock is from not seeing him in so long, and I wasn’t expecting it. I’m not rehearsed in the whole running into your ex thing since I haven’t had many exes.
Sweat rings while running into your ex.
Good times.
I’ll be taking six of those cupcakes to eat away my embarrassment later.
Noah peeks over at me with a raised brow. “How do you know him?”
As my mind is scrambling for the best lie, Seth laughs.
“I used to be Jamie’s boyfriend,” he answers for me.
“Well, shit,” Georgia whispers, bumping her shoulder against mine. She lowers her voice. “You could’ve told me we were walking into your ex’s lair.”
“Boyfriend?” Noah says, sticking out his tongue. “Yucky yuck.”
I give Seth a look, and he holds up his hands in innocence.
“What, babe? Just answering the kid’s question.”
Seth’s face is unshaven, and his hair is shaggier. He looks good, mature, and the goofy smile on his face reminds me of why I was so attracted to him. We dated for almost two years, and this was where we met. I used to study here while eating my frustrations out on my homework. Sally had insisted on fixing me up with her son, but I’d declined. The next day, Seth had sat down at my table with my favorite cupcake in his hand and asked me out.
He was a good boyfriend, yet the day he asked me to move in with him, I broke things off. I was too busy with med school, and he wanted more than I could give.
He deserved more.
Medical school and a love life don’t go hand in hand.
“Cupcakes are on the house!” Sally squeals, packing up a box of cupcakes, adding plenty of dark chocolate, peanut butter ones.
“In that case,” Georgia says, “can you add two more red velvets?”
I elbow her side as Sally snatches another red velvet. “No, you don’t have to do that.” I grab my wallet from the bag and pull out my credit card.
Georgia stops me. “I was totally kidding. I invited you on this sugar-binge trip. It’s only fair I pay for it. Plus, you ran into your ex. You can’t make a girl pay for sugar after that happens.”
“It was good to see you, Jamie,” Seth says, winking at me before returning to the back room.
Sally refuses to take either of our cards, and five minutes later, I reluctantly accept the free cupcakes.
“You know, he’s still single and ready to mingle,” Sally adds, wiggling her brows.
Georgia cracks up while I cover my face in embarrassment.
Our next stop is the park.
We sit at a picnic table, and Noah devours his cupcake in seconds. The frosting is smudged around his mouth when he asks Georgia for another. She shakes her head, and he frowns when she insists he let his stomach rest.
“I’m going to go play then,” he says, grabbing his cupcake liner and crumpling it in his hand. “Johnny from school is over there.” He tosses the liner in the trash and takes off toward the playground.
I swipe my finger through the frosting on my cupcake and glance at Georgia from across the table. “What did Cohen tell Noah? Who does he think I am?”
She shoves a bite into her mouth and slowly chews it before answering, “A friend of mine.” There’s a hint of apology on her face before her expression turns serious as if something hit her. “And to be clear, you can be my friend—as long as you make sure your skank-ass sister stays away from Noah.”
The protective aunt bear is coming at me, claws slightly drawn in warning.
“Heather lives in Vegas,” I rush out, the need to assure her that’ll never happen powering through me. “She, uh … married the man she left Cohen for and has only been home a few times.”
“Good. I hope she stays there forever.”
I only nod.
I have never been close with Heather, and our relationship turned sour after she left Noah. It put a strain on our family, nearly broke us, and she didn’t talk to my parents for a year. It was two for me until my parents begged me to reconcile with her.
I did it for them, not her.
Making up is my tolerating her the few times she comes around—those visits typically when she needs money because her piece-of-shit husband can’t hold a job.
“It was a big deal to him, you know,” Georgia adds, “Cohen letting you see Noah. For years, he’s called you the sworn enemy.”
I lick frosting off my finger. “I never did anything to him.”
“Directly, no, but your family did.”
“We were in a tough spot. Heather swore they were putting Noah up for adoption. It terrified my parents.”
“Cohen assured them plenty of times that wouldn’t happen.”
“We had Heather in our other ear, swearing he’d change his mind after Noah was born because he wouldn’t want to do it alone.”
She scowls. “You should know my brother’s character better than that.”
“I know.” I release a heavy sigh. “It was chaotic for us, and all we had was Heather’s side. Cohen would be a single father, and he was always in bars—”
“Whoa. I’m going to stop you right there. Cohen isn’t always in bars like he’s out partying. He works in one.”
“I know that—”
“And now, he owns one,” she adds, talking over me.
I pause, biting into my cheek. “Really?”
She nods.
I wait for her to tell me which one, but she doesn’t. Not surprising. They’re only giving me a glimpse into their lives, but I’ll take it.
Is that desperate?
Maybe.
But this is what my family has wanted forever.
Noah has been the topic of countless conversations.
Now, I know what a great kid he is … and I want to know him more.
“How late does Cohen work?” I ask Georgia.
We’re back at his house, high on sugar, and Noah and I just finished a Lego house.
A badass Lego house if I do say so myself.
“It depends.” She checks her watch while sitting cross-legged on the couch. “My guess is, he’ll be home around nine. Archer, his partner, is working the late shift tonight. I work there too, and if I’m not working, I’m hanging out with Noah or in class.” She smiles in pride. “We have a group-effort thing.”