Page 6 of Starting Anew

Lynn finally lifted her eyes and locked gazes with him. “That sounds great.”

They talked and settled on a figure, which truthfully was lower than he’d expected.

“There will be a reception afterward. You’re welcome to attend. It’ll be an informal barbecue. If you have someone you’d like to bring, you’re welcome to a plus one.” He’d noted months ago that she didn’t wear a wedding ring. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a significant other hiding in the shadows, though.

“I won’t have a plus one.” She got to her feet and brushed some of her hair behind one ear. “Let me go grab Mia’s things for you.”

He stood and lifted Mia into his arms. Lynn returned momentarily, and he accepted the diaper bag from her. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

He was going to tell her he’d bring all the information for her on Monday but paused. Chess’s words went through his head, and before Nathan knew it, words were flowing out of his mouth. “I work on Saturdays, and my brother and his fiancée watch Mia. After I get off work, we all meet there for dinner. If you’d like to come, we’d be happy to have you.”

When she looked surprised, he rushed on. “It’d give you a chance to meet everyone before the wedding. It might also be helpful for Mia to see you outside of daycare. That way she won’t be surprised when she sees you at the church.”

He hadn’t expected the complete turmoil of emotions that danced across her eyes. What had he been thinking? If she agreed, was he supposed to just give her the address? Offer to drive her himself?

Lynn seemed to sort through her options before shifting her weight and looking at the clock. “I suppose that would be helpful. I don’t drive in Dallas all that often, so getting a feel for the area where the church is, especially, would be a good thing. Do you think you could give me the addresses for both?”

“Of course.” His relief when she said she’d join him was immediate and more intense than he’d expected. He told himself that it was entirely because he knew Mia would be more comfortable if she spent extra time with Lynn. “I’ll call Chess or Brooke and get the church address. Then I can text that to you along with my brother’s. If you’d prefer, I’d be happy to swing by and pick you up on the way there.”

She ran the fingers of her right hand through that dark hair of hers before answering. “Sending me the addresses will be great, thank you.”

Was it because she preferred to drive herself, or because she’d rather he not know where she lived? The question was way more interesting than it ought to be.

They verified the time and exchanged numbers before Nathan pocketed his phone. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

“Yeah. See you then.” She waved at Mia, her freckled nose wrinkled as she made a funny face that had the baby giggling.

Nathan fought against the wave of affection he experienced as he watched them interact. He picked up the diaper bag and carried his daughter out to the Jeep where he got her buckled in.

As he slid into the driver’s seat, all he could think about was Lynn. She was single. Considering how sweet and beautiful she was, plus her skills with kids, how was that even possible?

He headed for home and tried to ignore the way his pulse sped up at the thought of seeing Lynn tomorrow.

Chapter Three

Lynn kicked herself all day Saturday morning for agreeing to watch Mia during the wedding. Well, for that, but even more so for accepting Nathan’s invitation to join them for dinner tonight. Seriously, who crashes a family dinner like that? She could hardly act normal around Nathan during the short periods she saw him at Little Lambs, what made her think she could keep her cool in a more laid-back setting? The last thing she needed was for Nathan to realize she had some silly schoolgirl crush on him.

Lynn groaned and flopped onto the couch she’d been pacing around for the last half hour. So she’d agreed in a moment of weakness. She could still back out, right? She’d text Nathan and tell him she got home and realized she already had something going on that Saturday of the wedding. Laundry and a good book counted, right?

No, he’d already mentioned that he knew it was last minute asking her as it was. She couldn’t back out now, not without putting him in a bind. She sighed. “I’m pathetic.”

As if in answer, the kitten jumped lightly onto the couch and curled up on Lynn’s chest with a meow.

Lynn ran her hand along his back as he nuzzled her chin with his nose. “Seriously, has my life boiled down to lying here in my house talking to a cat without a name?” Only the sound of his purrs responded. He stared at her with his blue eyes as though he understood every single word she said.

Sharon was right. Lynn needed to get a life. She should probably name the cat, too, while she was at it. “How about Ninja?” The kitten sneezed, and it looked like he shook his head. Lynn chuckled. “Okay, not Ninja. Hmmm…” A regular name like Smoky or Stormy didn’t seem to fit.

She went to her laptop, brought up her favorite search engine, and typed in, “Popular names for Siamese cats.”

One of the first results said it included the top two hundred names. Surely she could narrow it down from there. But when she scanned through the first list of names for male Siamese cats, her gaze immediately zeroed in on the name Nathan.

And why shouldn’t the name of the guy she was thinking about way too often appear on a Siamese cat website?

Lynn glanced at the kitten as he strolled into the room. “I’m not naming you Nathan.”

She scrolled through the list of suggested names and stopped. “What about Thai?”

The kitten just sat and watched her as though he were waiting for her to do something more interesting.

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