Page 26 of Honey Sunshine

“Prince?”

“You started it,” I counter. “You gotta admit it’s better than Z. Your ex wasn’t the greatest at giving you a nickname. I mean, using the first letter of your name? How unimaginative.”

The car falls silent momentarily, and I promptly realize my mistake. Shit, did I make it awkward already?

However, to my surprise, he bursts out laughing. “Right? You couldn’t have said it better!”

The tension in my chest eases as I breathe out. “Well, how about a bet?”

He turns to me, tilting his head. “A bet?”

“If you don’t use my nickname tonight I’ll do something nice for you,” I say confidently.

“Which one? I’ve blessed you with so many that I can’t remember, Sunny boo.” He draws it out dramatically, and I letout a chuckle. This man knows how to make me laugh without even trying.

“You know which one, Honey.”

“What’s the wager?”

“Dinner.”

“Dinner?” he echoes.

“If you don’t call me any of those names tonight, I’ll take you to dinner somewhere nice next weekend,” I suggest, hoping he won’t catch on that I still want to see him after tonight.

Or is that too obvious?

“Fine, fine,” he answers, reaching over to pat my thigh playfully. My leg jolts at his touch, warmth spreading through my entire leg. Thank god we’re at a stop sign because it would’ve been a disaster if my foot had been on the accelerator.

“If I win... um... oh! I want you to cough up your honey-glazed salmon recipe. Like, I want it down to a T, even down to the exact brand you use for your seasoning!”

Despite his small frame, he wasn’t lying about his love for eating.

“That’s a family recipe, Honey. Got to be part of the family to have that recipe.” I meant to tease him, but now a new thought creeps into my head. A dangerous one I shouldn’t be entertaining.Family,huh?

“You really don’t play fair. I’m technically one foot in the door, come on now.” He huffs like a petulant child. He’s so set on it, even though he can barely cook. “Do we have a deal?”

“As if I could say no to you,” I say, taking my eyes off the road momentarily to look at him. “Shall we run through our storyline one more time?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll recite it, because I think you’ve practically drilled it into my skull at this point, and you can tell me how awesome I am,” he attests. As he begins to recite, he recalls everything flawlessly, from my mom’s favorite hobby, to that onemovie he can’t talk about because of Becky’s embarrassing past, and even her daughter Megan’s favorite cartoon show.

As he finishes, a proud smile spreads across his face and he looks at me expectantly.

“Okay, you’re amazing,” I laugh, watching him puff his chest out proudly. I just hope my family doesn’t scare him off because a part of me wants to keep him around for a very, very long time.

“Can we stop by the next bakery we see?” he suddenly brings up. “I want to get a little treat for your mom.”

Oh, yeah. He really is amazing. In the most wonderful and scariest way possible.

Parking in front of my parents’ garage, Zach and I are barely out of the car before the front door flings open and Mom steps out, beaming from ear to ear in a long white dress. You’d think she was standing before a priest at a wedding. “Welcome, welcome. Please come on in. I’m so excited to meet you! Zach, right? Oh, I’ve heard so much about you!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Zach grins as she latches onto him. He shoots me a small grin over her shoulder, his face starting to turn slightly red as she practically squeezes the air out of his lungs.

It’s clear to me now that she does not care about what I said an hour ago.

“It’s nice to see you as well, Mom,” I greet her as I cross my arms over my chest, waiting for her to acknowledge her own son.

“Ma’am, bah.” She waves Zach off, completely ignoring my greeting. From the corner of my eye, I see Dad shaking his head at her excitement, and I don’t blame him either. “None of that! In fact, you don’t have to be formal at all! You can call me Mrs. Cooper, or better yet, moth?—”

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