Page 227 of Small Town Firsts
Laurie’s mouth rounded and I laughed.
“Not quite forty, but close. Don’t want you to grow up too fast, munchkin.” He took a bite from his plate and popped another piece of bacon in his mouth. “These are really good.” Then he pushed his chair in so he could round the table to go to the hutch.
My stomach dropped as he licked his fingers and pulled out the yearbook standing beside his senior picture. He still loved looking back on those glory days.
“God, you still have that?”
He grinned and sat down at the table. He pushed plates out of the way and flipped pages. “Of course I do.” He spun the book to show his daughter. “Do you remember Daddy’s friends? Brad and JT?”
Laurie cocked her head. “I don’t think so.”
He was grinning down at the picture of the lacrosse team. I remembered how amazing he looked on the field. All those muscles and aggression wrapped in a boy becoming a man.
And now he was so much more than the cocky kid on the field.
And me? Not so much. I was stuck in the same place as if ten years hadn’t gone by at all.
Before I could stop it, I blurted out my disbelief. “You really want to see all of them again? All those judgy people.”
He laughed and looked up from the pages. “Well, most of them are still in town with us. Not like it’s a big deal. Besides, letthem judge me. I have everything I could want.” He swiped his hand over Laurie’s head then tickled behind her ear.
Laurie grinned around a slice of banana.
I stabbed at my pancake and forced down a few bites. Of course he did. All the things he wanted were right in front of him.
And me? I was looking in on the world again. The almost family behind glass. I was good enough to make a baby with him, and to help take care of his daughter, but I wasn’t part of them. Not really.
He flipped the page. “Oh, man. Remember those letters we had to write to our future selves? God. I don’t even remember what I wrote.”
I certainly did and it made everything worse.
I pushed back from the table and picked up empty plates. I’d barely eaten, but my stomach was twisting so much I couldn’t choke down any more. “Done, sweetie?”
Laurie was poking at the banana on her plate instead of eating. She set her fork on her plate with a nod.
Seth didn’t look up from the glossy pages. “I got it. You cooked. I can clean up.”
I nodded. “Okay. I need to go upstairs and get dressed.”
“What?” He stood, closing the book. “Why? I thought we were going to hang out today.”
“I didn’t agree to that. I have to work. As it is, I’ll probably catch he—um, heck—for being late.”
He glanced down at his watch. “You don’t usually go in until ten.”
I swallowed. I couldn’t be around him right now. Too many memories were bumping into my pathetic reality. “I need a shower and to get ready.”
He sighed. “Are you sure you can’t call in?”
“Some of us don’t have that luxury.”
Seth blew out a breath. “Dammit, you know I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Dollar to the swear jar!” Laurie chirped happily.
I wiped my fingers on my napkin and pressed a kiss on top of Laurie’s head. “You tell him, kiddo. Thanks for helping me cook this morning.”
She grinned up at me with chocolate smeared all over her face. “Thankie, Ally.”
