Page 28 of Love… It's Messy

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Page 28 of Love… It's Messy

I told Ainsley that Luke was meeting us today, so she spent an inordinate amount of time selecting the perfect outfit. When she appeared in a red dress and heels, I ushered her back to her room to change. She looked beautiful, but the attire was in no way appropriate for monkey bars. After some fierce negotiations, we settled on her still wearing the dress but with shorts underneath and her sneakers instead of heels.

As we walk down the knoll hill that leads from our townhouse to the playground section of the park, my heart skips a beat when I see Luke’s already here. He’s seated on a bench, wearing jeans, a button-down, and leather dress shoes, and his wild mane is brushed back. He even shaved off the stubble.

Looks like Ainsley isn’t the only one who was excited about today, although Luke appears to be nervous as hell.

He’s looking down and fiddling with his hands. His fingers weave in and out of each other while he mumbles to himself, as if reciting a speech.

Ainsley squeezes my hand and points her outstretched arm. “There’s Luke.” She waves wildly. “Hey!”

When he hears her, he looks up with a wide smile. He stands up quickly and lifts a small bouquet of flowers that was lying on the bench beside him.

Ainsley runs down the hill, and I try my best to slow her down, worried she’ll tumble ass over teakettle. It’s no use because she’s sprinting toward Luke, and she comes to a halt just a few feet before him.

I jog behind her and am catching my breath as I take in the exchange.

Luke is staring at her like he didn’t just meet her a few nights ago. In fact, he’s gazing at her like she’s a marvel, the likes of which he’s never witnessed before.

“Those are pretty flowers!” She points at the loosely clustered, cup-shaped buds.

His navy eyes blink, and then he looks down at the bouquet in his hand. “Yes. Didn’t know what you’d like. Or if you had allergies. These are ranunculus. They were my mother’s favorite.”

“Ran-onnu-loose? That’s a silly name.”

He laughs and hands them to her. “You’re right; it is a silly name, but the flower is beautiful. Like you.”

She smiles and gives the bouquet a hug, which has me nervous for the petals. “Wanna play sorbet truck?”

“Sounds fancy,” he declares.

“Come.” She takes his hand and pulls him with her tiny might over to the smaller of the two playgrounds on-site. The one they’re walking to has a window-sized cutout that Ainsley and I pretend is a diner, fast-food place, or even a sorbet truck.

“Mommy, play with us!” she calls out when they get to the window, dropping the bouquet onto the ground.

Luke takes a knee as she runs up the stairs and over a bridge to get to the inside part of the window.

“What can I get you?” she asks him with a smile when she reappears.

Luke leans back, acting in character of someone ordering. “What flavors do you have?”

Her tiny fist rises to her chin as she thinks. “Cherry, lemon, mango, and chocolate.”

“Mango, please,” I say, noticing the bouquet of flowers down on the ground. I lift them and lean them against the plastic structure.

“Chocolate,” Luke orders and then looks to me as Ainsley rushes off somewhere. “I guess this is how the lactose-free kids play these days?”

“She has quite the palate. There’s a shop on Main Street that has a whole line of dairy-free ice cream and sorbet. She frequents there.” I roll my eyes. “Too much actually. I blame my friends. Melissa and Tara indulge her.”

“When I was a kid, there weren’t many options. My sisters loved ice cream, and my dad had a huge sweet tooth. I spent years salivating over their desserts.”

“Sounds awful.”

“Wasn’t so bad.” He shrugs. “My mom always kept a bag of Oreos in the freezer for me.”

“Freezer?” I blanch. “That’s … different. Ainsley’s not crazy about Oreos. Neither am I unless they’re with milk. They’re too dry.”

“My girl has to try Oreos in the freezer.”

A zing rushes through my chest and settles in my stomach.




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