“Sure.”
“Do you mind kids?”
“I love ‘em.”
I was silent for a moment, pulling onto College Road.
“Reece?”
“Hmm?”
But I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. No, that’s a lie. I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that I’d never had so much fun sharing my life with a man—not even Brian. I considered that it might be a false feeling. After all, we hadn’t spent that much time together yet. But the more I contemplated, the more I recognized that nothing about my growing infatuation was false. It was real. He was real. This thing between us was real. And it was getting better and better all the time.
“What is it, Bailey?” Reece pressed.
I smiled to myself. “Oh, nothing.”
***
“My kids will demand all of your attention,” Erica said, shaking Reece’s hand. “Know that, and prepare yourself.”
Reece nodded. “Where are they?”
“Oh, they’re coming. Noah just left to pick them up from their aunt’s,” Erica replied. “I wanted a little alone time with you first.” She winked, and Reece chuckled.
“Okay. Lay it on me. What do you wanna know?”
“Erica, be gentle,” I pleaded.
I realized I didn’t know that much about Reece yet: his background, family life, hobbies. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Erica being the first to ask. And that’s precisely why we’re best friends. She could read my thoughts and decided to switch gears.
“Well, I’m sure there’s a lot to you that Bailey still needs to learn,” Erica said, then added, “without me around. So I’ll just stick to boring stuff.”
“Work’s pretty good,” Reece replied, not missing a beat.
“Ha ha!” Erica waved us into the dining room and poured us each a glass of wine.
“Reece is famous,” I said.
“Bailey, stop it,” he chided. “Nobody’s famous.”
“Well, I see your commercial all the time, and I’d say otherwise,” Erica said.
“He’s been featured in two big magazines,” I went on. It was bizarre—my bragging—like I had to prove that my sort-of boyfriend was amazing. Anyone who talked to him for five minutes would know it. And anyway, I don’t brag. That’s not in my nature. All the bragging genes went to Nicki.
“Let’s talk about your work, Erica,” Reece said, redirecting the conversation.
“Fine, but just so you know, I’ll be needing an autograph before you leave tonight,” Erica said.
Reece shook his head and grinned.
“I’m starting an airbrush tanning business,” Erica explained. “And don’t even mention anything about Bailey’s tan, all right? I know it was awful. I heard all about it from her. I’ve been practicing on my husband and getting better.”
Reece nodded.
“What’s your middle name?” Erica asked out of the blue.
“Logan. Have you gotten any clients yet?”
“No. I haven’t started marketing. I’m still learning,” she replied. “Have you always worked in marketing?”
“Yep. How many kids do you have?”
“Two. Do you have any kids?”
“Erica!” I cried.
“Not that I know of,” Reece replied.
Erica smirked. “Do you wanna have kids with my best friend?”
“ERICA!”
Reece threw back his head and laughed.
“That’s it. The questions portion of this evening is over,” I said, and right on cue, Noah and the kids burst through the door. Little Noah and Annie ran straight for Erica, then hid behind her when they noticed Reece. A stranger.
“Stranger danger,” Little Noah breathed.
“No, baby, Reece isn’t a stranger. He’s Mommy’s friend,” Erica replied, and that was all Little Noah needed to hear. He started in on the fifty questions, and I looked at Erica.
“What? He’s not supposed to have any of my genes?” she replied.
Noah introduced himself and added something about how I’m a really special girl (I’m not quite sure what he meant by “special”), then asked Reece if he was interested in helping grill the steaks for fajitas.
“No, Daddy,” Little Noah said. Apparently he had other plans for Reece, and they included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He pulled Reece along into the playroom, and I didn’t see him again until dinnertime.
“Oh my God, Bailey, he’s such a cutie!” Erica said as she stirred the sautéing onions and peppers.
“I know,” I replied. “He’s so funny and comfortable. Almost too comfortable. I’m waiting for something horrible to happen.”
I slipped Annie a wooden spoon to play with as she sat on the kitchen floor.
“Stop being a fatalist,” Erica said. “Embrace this. I don’t know why I have a really good feeling about him, but I do. I just do.”
I sliced a tomato while she talked.
“Have you guys . . . ?”
“Nooooo.”
“Has he said he loves you?”
“Erica, get real. We’ve been seeing each other for like a week.”
“Well, excuse me. I don’t know how fast the kids move these days,” she replied.
We worked in silence until I blurted, “I almost like him too much! It’s too soon. But he went to that fair with me today, and, oh my God. What guy does something nice like that? And he got all excited about a fireplace surround. I bought the fu— stupid thing because of the look on his face! Three hundred bucks, Erica!”
Erica burst out laughing. “Girl, you got it bad.”
“Tell me about it,” I mumbled.
“And that’s not a bad thing,” she continued. She placed a lid on the skillet and walked to the fridge.
“It’s too soon,” I repeated. “And I don’t know anything about him. I can’t be this gaga over someone I barely know.”
Erica walked back to the counter with a block of cheese.
“Yes, you can,” she said. “And if you’re gonna be gaga over anyone, then I want him to be that guy.” She jabbed her thumb behind her.
“You don’t know anything about him either!” I said.