Where We Belong (A Touch of Fate #1)(31)

It's not that I don't want Max to go; I just wish I could go with him. Maybe I want to be there when he rides that big Ferris wheel. Did they ever think of that? Ugh! As much as I want to be there for everything, I understand that it's not possible. There are moments in his life that I will inevitably miss, and right now I should just be grateful that I have two wonderful parents who love my son as much as I do. Scrubbing my hand over my face, I growl. "Fine,” I concede. "He can go."

"Alright!" my Dad cheers. "Thank you so much, sweetie."

"You're welcome," I reply flatly.

"We love you, darling. Give Max kisses from us, and tell him we’re going to come get him Friday afternoon," Mom chirps into the phone. Damn them. They knew I would give in.

"Love you too. Night." Ending the call, I toss my phone to the ground and take off running for Max. He catches sight of me out of the corner of his eye and squeals loudly as he takes off in the opposite direction. Halfway around the house, he turns and starts chasing me. We run around for several minutes before I let him tackle me to the ground. His laughter fills the air and joy fills my heart.

"I love you, Captain Hook." I nuzzle my nose into his neck and he laughs at the contact, scrunching up his shoulders.

We finally make our way inside after the sun goes down. I give Max a bath and let him watch a show before tucking him into bed for the night. Now is when I get busy. Call me crazy, but I don't like to do housework when I'm home with Max. I'd rather spend the time with him—everything else can just wait. The drawback is that it leaves me with laundry, dishes, and any other housework to do after he goes to bed, which makes for a long night and an even more exhausting morning.

Flipping on the TV, I start folding a load of laundry. My mind quickly turns to my lunch with Tyson today. When he first texted me, I was terrified. But then I remembered my conversation with Levi and the fact that he and Quinn both thought Tyson was interested in more than friendship. Ultimately, that's what I was thinking about when I walked down to the ER to meet him for lunch.

Initially, I thought they had been right. I noticed him watching me on several different occasions and he even went out of his way to brush up against me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Tyson is ruggedly handsome with his light brown hair, square jaw, and round, chocolate eyes. His gaze alone makes me feel vulnerable and sexy in a way I've never felt, and I found myself wanting more.

When Laura sat down, everything changed. She started talking about Max and that alarmed me. I don't want Tyson to learn about Max from someone else. I want him to learn about Max from me, and today I realized just how easy it would be for someone to inadvertently spill the beans. I could tell Tyson's demeanor shifted instantaneously and when he walked away hastily without a glance in my direction, my heart dropped.

I can’t believe he walked away from me—again.

Laura watched me closely after Tyson left, but thankfully she didn't say anything. Meanwhile, I fought back tears while I cleaned up the rest of our mess from lunch. I left right after, knowing she would be able to see the sadness on my face. Knowing Laura, she would try to console me and I'd probably break down and cry. I really didn't want to cry. I can't believe that he said we were just 'two old friends having lunch.' But he's right, that is what we are—and I hate it. I don't want to be just two old friends.

For some reason, I feel the need to make this right. I feel like I need to reach out to him and fix whatever it is I inadvertently broke. Grabbing my phone, I type out a text before I let my nerves get the best of me.

Me: I'm sorry we were interrupted at lunch today. I really enjoyed spending time with you.

Hitting ‘send,’ I toss my phone off to the side so that I won't sit and watch it. My pulse is racing, and my nerves feel like they’re itching to get out. My phone dings almost instantly and I grab it frantically.

Tyson: It's okay. Me too.

That's it? I throw myself out there and tell him I enjoyed spending time with him today, and that's all he says in return? Well f*ck, I was hoping for more than that.

Me: Maybe we could try again tomorrow?

Tyson: I usually don't get lunch.

Now that pisses me off! Why would he try so hard to spend time with me and then just walk away...and now he's blowing me off? My thumb hovers tentatively over my screen as I contemplate my next move. After my attack and Max’s birth, and following my bout with depression, I promised myself that I wouldn't let fear rule my life. I vowed that I would take chances and be bold because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. And I swore that I wouldn't have any more regrets. Those pledges are what spur my next text.

Me: Would you like to go out to dinner with me this weekend?

He doesn't respond right away, and I briefly think that maybe I shouldn't have just done that. Damnit. Why can't there be a grace period with text messages so that you have about a minute to hit ‘undo’ before they’re actually sent? That would really be great right about now. Several minutes pass before Tyson replies.

Tyson: Really? You want to have dinner?

Me: Of course I do. I thought that's what we were trying to do, get to know each other again. Did you change your mind?

What the hell? I'm so confused. He can't change his mind.

Tyson: Okay. Dinner. Will Max be okay with us having dinner?

That's an odd question. Oh God! My hand covers my mouth. Brit. Gah! I groan, throwing my head back on the couch. How could I forget about Brit? That's probably why he was acting so funny at lunch. Maybe I was coming on too strong and I made him uncomfortable. Wait. Levi made it sound like Tyson came back for me. Why would he come back for me if he’s still with Brit?