Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
To my relief, Cam says, “We’d love to have lunch with you, even if it’s our second lunch, but unfortunately, we’re on our way to an appointment. We’d love to join you another time, though.”
Jessie is visibly disappointed, and alarm bells ring. My daughter is getting attached to these men in a small way; how much worse would it be if I dated them and she saw them regularly?
After the upheaval of having to move away from her grandparents, the last thing I want to do is bring people into Jessie’s life who may or may not stick around. If I were to date them, and things went badly, they’d be gone from Jessie’s life, too. I’ll be much better to keep them as neighbors, who we only see once in a while. I was definitely right to turn down dates with them.
The men say goodbye to Jessie and Marissa, and then I get a goodbye that includes a lingering look from Wyatt, and a wink from Cam, just like in his videos.
Unfortunately, Marissa sees the wink too, and she sees the effect it has on me. My cheeks are definitely flaming.
She gives me a meaningful look, but doesn’t say anything, probably because Jessie’s there.
As her eyes track the men’s departure, she says, “They sure clean up nice.”
“Looks like their moms finally did their laundry,” Jessie says.
I give her an odd look, but she returns to the coloring page the restaurant gave her and doesn’t say anything else.
Their moms do their laundry? Somehow, that figures. I wonder if the men mentioned this to Jessie when they were over for dinner. I’m about to question her, but the waiter arrives with our food, and I decide to let it pass.
How could men in their thirties have their mothers doing their laundry?
CHAPTER 15
WYATT
I find Cam in the kitchen, collecting ingredients on the counter.
“What’re you making?”
“My famous bacon mac and cheese.”
Cam rarely cooks, and though his mac and cheese is good, I’m not sure where he’s getting the famous designation from. “What’s the occasion?”
“I’m going to have Stella and her crew over for dinner.”
That takes me by surprise. Stella turned down my invitation, but said yes to Cam? “When are they coming?”
He bends down to dig for a pot in the cupboard. “Not sure. I haven't invited them yet.”
I watch him for a while, as I wonder whether to say anything else. Finally I say, “I invited Stella out. She turned me down.”
Cam makes a face that pretends to be sympathetic. “Sucks to be you.”
“What makes you think she’ll say yes to you? She wouldn’t even give you her number when you first met her.”
He looks over his shoulder from the sink, where he fills the pot with water. “But she eventually gave me her number, didn’t she?”
“Because she’s our neighbor.”
“All I’m doing is being neighborly, inviting her over for a meal.” Before he turns the stove on, he says, “Maybe I’d better make sure they can come over tonight.”
“Are you going to text her?”
“An in-person invitation will be more effective. Want to come?”
I follow him out the door, not sure if I’m hoping he’ll get shot down or be successful. Then something occurs to me. “You’re counting on Stella’s daughter wanting to come over, aren’t you?”
Cam shrugs. “Like I said, I’m just being neighborly.”
“Sure, dude.”
“So you asked her out and got shot down, huh? What’d she say?”
“She said she’s not dating right now.”
He looks smug when he says, “She’ll start dating soon.”
“That confidence might be setting you up for a fall. She’s not one of our followers.”
Cam doesn’t respond, and a moment later, we’re heading up her driveway.
“Want to do push-ups before you ring the bell?” I ask him. “Make your muscles pop?”
He barks out a laugh. “My muscles don’t need the extra help.”
“Who knows?” I say with a shrug. “They might.”
It’s early evening, right around the same time we were here when her dog was sick, and when her roommate got home. The roommate answers the door now.
Cam gives Marissa a friendly greeting, then spots Jessie in the living room and waves at her. When Jessie runs to the door, he says, “I’m making a big batch of my famous bacon mac and cheese,” and I somehow resist rolling my eyes. “I wondered if you’d all like to come over for dinner.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Marissa says, looking over her shoulder into their house.
“Did you already have plans for dinner, or is something already cooking?” Cam asks.
“No, actually. Stella was planning to cook, but her work ran late tonight. We were just talking about ordering a pizza.”
“Well, pizza is good, but I have to say, my mac and cheese is better.” He turns his focus on Jessie. “Do you like mac and cheese?”
The little girl nods enthusiastically, rubs her belly, and says, “Yum yum.”