The excitement in her face made his chest heavy. His stomach sank.
Sometimes he convinced himself that Serena wanted more than friendship from him too but had never opened herself up to the possibility. But if she’d had even the smallest interest in him in that direction, she wouldn’t be so happy to pair him up with someone else.
She must not want him after all.
Serena reached over and rubbed the back of his neck in a touch that surprised him. When he looked over, she explained, “It’s going to be fine, Keith. You don’t have to look like you’re going to your doom.”
“It kind of feels like I am,” he said, telling her the truth. She didn’t have to know exactly why. “But if it’s that important to you, I’ll give it a try.”
“Thank you! Although I bet by the end of the summer, you’ll be thanking me.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Well, I would count on it.”
She was still rubbing his neck, and it felt so good he wanted to moan. When it started feeling too good, he adjusted position in his seat, causing her to drop her hand.
“I want you to be happy, Keith,” she said in a very soft voice.
He met her eyes, and his heart skipped again. “I know you do.”
“And sometimes it feels like you might be a little... a little lonely.”
He’d turned back to the road, but he shot a quick look at her at that. “I’m not lonely. I was as a kid. I know how it feels. I’m not lonely now.”
“Maybe not. But it sometimes feels like...” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Keith suspected he did know. She’d probably picked up on some of his silent longing and had misattributed it. He could hardly explain that to her, so he instead he said, “Everyone is lonely sometimes.”
“Yeah. I guess so. But if there’s anything I can do to help you and make you happier, I’m going to do it. You know I will.”
“Yes, I know you will.”
“So this is what I’m going to do right now.”
“I already said it was fine. If you want to try, go for it.”
She made a face at him, very similar to the face her daughter had made less than an hour ago. “I will. I can hear the skepticism in your tone, but I’m going to ignore it because I believe in my cause.”
“We’ll see.”
“Yes, we will.”
Serena getting the final word seemed to satisfy her on the topic.
Keith was just relieved to let the subject drop.
two
SERENA INVITED KEITH to stay for dinner when they got home. He’d been a huge help to her today, and she always enjoyed his company.
Plus she felt kind of weird about their interaction regarding dating, and she wanted to make sure things were good between them before they said good night. She’d had to work hard to build back a stable life after her divorce, and Keith was central to that stability. Nothing upset her peace and security like conflict with him.
The three of them had a grand time making pizza (with premade crust), adding all kinds of creative and yummy toppings thanks to Keith’s ingenuity. They’d been working through all the Disney Princess movies, so they watched one of those afterward, all three of them together on the couch with Eva in the middle.
Eva was happy and giggling when the movie was over, and she didn’t even object to it being her bedtime. As she ran off to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth, Serena smiled over at Keith, who was still slouched on the other side of the couch.
He looked particularly big and warm and masculine as he stretched out his long legs and leaned his head back. He’d never been much of an athlete, and he was only semiregular about working out, but he was lean with good shoulders and a mostly flat abdomen. Today he was wearing worn jeans and a blue crewneck. The long sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and her eyes were drawn to his tanned forearms. She wasn’t sure why she liked the look of them so much. The dark hair, the ripples of the tendons. He’d worn a watch for as long as she’d known him, and he was wearing one now. Basic black with a digital display. It slid slightly back and forth whenever he moved his arm.
She knew him so well. She knew every scar and mole on his body—at least those visible in his regular clothes. She was suddenly hit with the vision of what he might look like without a shirt. Without anything on at all.
“What is it?” he asked, his eyebrows arching. He had brown hair and brown eyes and the slightest little cleft in his chin.
“Nothing.” She felt her cheeks warming for no good reason. “Just I’m glad you stayed tonight.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. You might have had plans. Or you might have still been a little annoyed about my attempts to aid in your love life.”
With a slight roll of his eyes, he replied, “Your attempts are sometimes annoying, but I know you mean well.”
“I do.”
“So we can give it a try. What can it hurt? Line up the women, and I’ll make my way through them like bowling pins if will make you happy.”
“I’m not trying to make me happy. I’m trying to make you happy.” She actually didn’t like the idea of women lined up to try to snare Keith. Attempting to make him theirs.
He didn’t feel like theirs.
He felt like hers.
But that was silly and selfish and irrational, so she didn’t indulge the feeling. Instead, she reached out and put a hand on his forearm, just next to his watch. “I promise I am.”
“I know you are,” he said with the slightest edge of roughness in his voice. “That’s why I’m willing to give it a try.”
“Good.” She felt better now. Like whatever the lurking conflict might have been had been entirely dealt with.
She was about to say something—she wasn’t even sure what—but she didn’t have the chance because Eva ran in just then wearing pink cotton knit pajamas decorated with unicorns.
“Can Uncle Keith do my chapter tonight?”
“If he doesn’t mind.” Serena glanced over at Keith to check his expression.
He was already standing up. “Of course I don’t mind. What book are you reading now?”
Eva scampered back to her bedroom, Keith following at a more leisurely pace.
Every night since Eva was born, Serena had read out loud to her. After Eva learned to read, they started taking turns, passing the book back and forth so they both could read out loud.
It wasn’t an unusual activity, but it had become almost a ritual for them. On the few times Serena was out and had to miss Eva’s bedtime or when Eva was with her dad, it always felt like something was missing in her day.
Keith had taken his turn at the nighttime reading several times before, and Serena chuckled as she heard the two of them talking about the book about fairies Eva was currently making her way through.
After scrolling around on her phone for a few minutes, Serena got up and wandered down the hall to check on their progress. When she peeked into the bedroom, Eva was propped up on two pillows with her huge stuffed elephant tucked under the covers beside her. Keith was sitting on the chair next to the bed, leaning forward as he read, the book held in both hands over his knees.