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her son first. How had she ever been mixed up with a guy like Brandon?
    “I insist. Seriously, they’ll just go to waste and end up covered in something green. You’re doing me a favor. Really.”
    “Well, okay,” she finally relented with a smile. “I promise they won’t go to waste in my home. Nicky has a very hearty appetite and I’m a sucker for chocolate.”
    A little tidbit of knowledge to file away for the future. She strapped Nicky into his car seat and placed the leftovers on the floor of the vehicle.
    “So what are you doing next Saturday night?” Dane might as well go all in. For the first time in a long time – maybe his entire life – he was actually nervous asking a female out on a date. He had a feeling she was going to shoot him down. “I was wondering if perhaps you’d like to go on a date. Do you think your parents might babysit?”
    *
    Lily was having trouble breathing. Looking at Dane like he’d lost his mind, she couldn’t find the words to even answer him. If she hadn’t been so out of practice dating she would have known this was coming. He’d been kind and attentive for weeks. Asking her out would be the next step. So why did she feel like an idiot?
    “A date?” she parroted, trying to stall for time. “Next Saturday?”
    “If you don’t already have plans.”
    Plans? Did laundry and washing her hair count? Probably not. A handsome, successful man like Dane probably had plans every Saturday night.
    “I’ll have to check with my parents,” she hedged, still not sure how she should answer. She wanted to spend more time with Dane but…a date? She hadn’t had one of those in a very long time. “Can I get back to you?”
    Inwardly she cursed at her cowardice. Dane wasn’t the type of man that women said no to, and here she was hemming and hawing.
    “Of course,” he answered easily. “I’ll see you here again probably Monday or Tuesday. But I hope you can go.”
    He was gazing at her in a way no man had ever looked at her before. As if she was…someone. Not Nicky’s mother. Not her father and mother’s daughter. Not a day care teacher or a waitress.
    She was Lily – appreciated for who she was, not what she could do for a person.
    It drew her closer to him without her even making a move to shorten the distance between their bodies. As they stood there in the parking lot with the sun drifting low behind them, she actually believed that this man might be different. He could be the kind of man that she never seemed to find – honest, trustworthy, dependable, and kind.
    “I–I’ll be here,” she finally said. “We come most days, you know.”
    Nicky’s eyes were already half-closed in sleep. He’d had a big day and would go to bed easily after a quick bath. Dane leaned over and shook the little boy’s hand.
    “Take care of your mama and I’ll see you in a few days.”
    Too tired to even respond, Nicky clutched Dane’s fingers as if he didn’t want to let go while Ace leaned into the car and gave Nicky a lick on his sticky cheek. Somehow she managed to close the rear door and climb into the driver’s side, her legs shaky and her heart pounding.
    She waved goodbye and headed home, pulling into her own driveway within minutes. Lifting her sleeping child from the car, she carried him into his room and laid him on the toddler bed to pull off his shoes and socks. His eyelids fluttered and he kicked his feet in protest.
    “How about a quick bath, young man?” She leaned down to blow a raspberry on his tummy. Nicky giggled and wriggled, making it difficult to strip his clothes from his squirmy body, but somehow she managed and herded him into the small bathroom in the hall.
    After washing his hair and body, she let him play in the water, scooping and pouring as the myriad of toys floated on the surface. She sat on the floor and thought about Dane. About the last month. And about how it felt to be alone.
    This wasn’t how she’d pictured her life. Not that