That didn’t mean I didn’t drag it out, though.
I did.
Riiiiight out.
I carried the bags downstairs to where Chris was waiting for me. “Here. This one has his soccer stuff in. It it’s possible, can you please wash it? Otherwise it just stinks the entire house out.”
He took the bag from me. “There’s a washing machine at the rental. I’ll throw it in when he gets home. Shoes, too?”
“No, they’re fine. Just everything else. And make sure he showers. And brushes his teeth—dear God, getting him to brush his teeth properly is like telling a cat to get off the sofa.”
Chris’ lips twitched. “Anything else?”
“No sugar after eight. If you think the morning tooth brushing is hell, try the evening tooth brushing fight. Make sure there’s at least one bottle of miniature hard liquor for that, because you’re gonna need it.”
“Hard liquor. Understood.”
“And he’s, um, still not a big fan of Carrie.”
Chris rubbed his jaw. “Not a problem. Neither am I.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I’m sorry?”
“We broke up,” he said, not looking me in the eye. “I ended it, actually. This week, after we spoke. She was mad I was spending my weekends here with Leo instead of going home and accused me of trying to get back together with you.”
I snorted. “Sorry. That was about the last thing, not your breakup.”
His lips twitched. “I figured.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why? She’s been awkward about it for a while and we’d been having problems, but the complaints about the weekends with Leo was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“Especially since she lives with you and your son doesn’t.”
He actually looked mildly ashamed. “Exactly. Anyway, like I said, we’ve been having problems and it was coming.”
I smiled understandingly, even though there was a younger London inside of me yelling, “Ha! Bitch! Serves you right!”
If you couldn’t guess, Carrie was the reason we broke up.
Cheating bastard.
I swallowed back the very immature pettiness I was feeling. Gloating was not becoming on anyone, and if Chris wanted to be cordial, then I wasn’t going to be a bitch.
Not out loud, anyway.
“Well, I’d say I hope you work it out, but I really couldn’t care less.”
All right, I’d be a little bit of a bitch out loud.
To his credit, he fought a smile. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed a bit.”
“I was taught not to lie.” I scooped up his mug with a genuine grin and put it in the sink. “You should probably think about going. The school know you’re picking him up, but Leo thinks you’re getting him after practice.”
“Gotcha.” His eyes sparkled with a glint of happiness. “It’s good to see you, London.”
“Well, don’t get too used to it. I only intend to have fleeting visits from here on.”
Laughing, he got up and gathered up his keys along with Leo’s belongings. “Want him to call you?”
“Only if he wants to. I’m obviously not home tonight like I said, but if he wants to say goodnight, text me and I’ll run outside before bed.”
“He’ll want to call you.”
“I know. Bed no later than ten, okay?” I followed him to the door. “Or eleven-thirty at least. I know what you’re like.”
“Popcorn and whatever movie marathon he wants? No, not me.” Chris stepped outside with a laugh, and I joined him on the driveway. “We both know he’ll fall asleep on the sofa at nine-thirty and I’ll have to carry him to bed.”
“True.” That was his party trick. “Well, have fun, and don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
“London, I can manage.”
“I know you can.” I looked up at him. “But I might have forgotten something, so I can always bring it or meet you or—”
“London.” He rested his hands on my shoulders. “I promise I’ll call you in the highly unlikely event that you’ve forgotten something or if he’s missing you and just wants to talk, all right?”
I let out a deep breath. “Okay.”
Chris leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and I narrowed my eyes at him. That wasn’t on my approved list of interactions, but before I could tell him to stop that crap, he was already in his very fancy rental car and pulling out of the driveway.
Well, that was it.
I was officially childless for the weekend.
And now I had to go speed dating again.
Fantastic.
***
“I cannot believe she roped us into this.” Piper paced the length of my bedroom with her hands on her hips. “That’s it. No more free food for Holley. She can kiss my ass.”
“It’s a miracle you make any money with all the food you give away.” I held up two dresses. “Which one makes me less attractive?”
She stopped by the window and studied them. “You could wear a trash bag and you’d be the prettiest person there.”
“Only second to you and your trash bag,” I shot back.
“No joke, I actually considered it for a moment. I don’t want to be here. At all.”
“I’m not particularly up for it, but only because I’ve only done it once. She promised me she’d get better guys this time, but…” I trailed off and shrugged. “I doubt anyone I meet at speed dating is going to be my future husband.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Piper mused. “What do you say? In two minutes? You have about sixty seconds each to get your point across. And wear the red dress. It’s just your color.”
“Mmph. Okay.” I looked at the neckline of it dubiously. I wasn’t sure why it was even in my closet—it might have even been Holley’s, to be honest. I wasn’t that big on the old deep-V necklines.
Mom boobs and all that.
If I wanted to get my stretch marks out, I’d wear a bikini walking down Main Street.
I changed quickly while Piper pulled her curled hair up into a ponytail. That wasn’t a bad idea—the bar could get hot when there were lots of people in it. Considering it was both a Friday night, karaoke night, and speed dating night, it was a recipe for disaster.
I adjusted my boobs in the dress and followed suit with her, grasping a hair tie and pulling my hair into a high ponytail. Mine wasn’t as long as hers, but the effect was still the same.
We finished getting ready with a slick of lipstick—red for me, pink for her—and called a cab. By the time it arrived we’d finished off the bottle of red we’d opened earlier and I was wishing I’d had something more substantial to eat than a salad for my dinner.
Thank God I could get food at Bronco’s, that’s all I was saying.
We arrived at Bronco’s in record time. It was already busy inside, but we had a table reserved with everyone else, so we wove our way through the crowd and headed for the usual table.
How the hell we were going to speed date in all this I didn’t know.
“How the hell is this going to work?” I shouted over the noise. “Holley!”