“Thanks,” she returned with a nod of feminine humility. “You always look great yourself.”
That compliment came without any pretext. That was Zoey exhibiting another one of her characteristics: honesty. I heard coughing. I turned to see Tynisha covering her glossy lips, but not touching them.
“Tynisha, it’s nice to see you, too,” I supplied a smile. Tynisha was always good people, in spite of the recent dive in our relationship. “It’s been a minute.”
Tynisha blushed, I’d guessed, hiding her fangs as she lowered her chin and fluttered her lashes. “Yes, it’s been a while. Glad to see you, Stent.” Then she wrinkled her forehead and curved her neck to look around me. “Where’s your boy?”
I turned too, but didn’t spot Alton. “I thought he was right behind me,” I muttered.
“Let me go find him and make sure he doesn’t get himself into any trouble tonight. We have a long day tomorrow and I don’t want him walking around with a black eye,” Tynisha informed with a scowl before walking off.
I turned back to Zoey, who was snickering as she acknowledged a few people excusing themselves. There was humor in her eyes as she looked up at me, covering her nose.
“I guess some things never change, huhn?” I asked.
“No,” she giggled lightly. “Things change; people don’t.”
I snorted in agreement. “So, how are you?”
I really wanted to know. She had a new glow to her. Could that have meant she was in a new relationship? I didn’t want to think about that.
Zoey took a sip of her wine and I watched raptly how her lush lips curved around the glass and her lids fluttered when the rim of the glass neared her eyes.
She nodded smoothly as she swallowed. “Good.” She swallowed again. “Really good. School is demanding and business is climbing. I’ve been very fortunate.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m sure you’ve had your plate full with Jordan and all…having school, your own business and him.”
Please don’t mention a dating life.
“Yeah, but Jordan is my refuge. He’s becoming more independent by the day and I actually miss having a baby around. Feels just like yesterday that I…I mean, we had him.” Her eyes faltered. I’d guessed she felt she slighted me by initially leaving me out of the equation.
I chuckled at her hiccup. It reminded me of my old Zoey.
“You’re a great mom, Zo. I’m very appreciative of that,” I assured.
“And you’ve been a great dad. I don’t know how you balance it with your schedule, but you’re very present in his world. I don’t know what I was expecting, but…”
Of course she didn’t know what to expect. She hadn’t planned on becoming a parent when she did.
“We’re making it happen,” I moved us past that thought. “Speaking of which, I got the feedback from Dr. Mitchell about increasing his dairy intake. Sarah told me you’ve been able to get him to drink more with a sippy cup you got from that amusement park. She said you got two. You think I could have one? If it works for you, it should work for me, too.”
“Su-sure!” she sputtered. “I’ll have Srey drop it off to you. She’s coming by the bakery on Tuesday to pick up an order for a friend.”
I nodded, impassively. In my mind, I knew I’d get it sooner.
“So, you sent him down with his MaMa and PaPa for the week?” she asked.