“Yes, to tell me all about Tiffany so I can be prepared.”
Kylie’s lips tilted into a smile. “I don’t think anyone can ever get fully prepared for Tiffany. She’s smart, funny and extremely outgoing. An extrovert if you’ve ever seen one. I think that’s why she’s having trouble making friends at school since we moved here. I don’t think the kids know how to take her. They see her genuinely exuberant nature as being insincere and phony.”
Kylie’s smile then widened. “There is, however, something that I do think you should know.”
“What?”
“I told Tiffany that as Marcus’s father you would want what was best for him.”
“And?”
“And she feels certain that you’re going to like her when the two of you meet because she is definitely the best.”
Chance laughed. “Sounds like a person with a lot of confidence.”
“A little too much at times. It comes from her dad’s side of the family.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with having an over-abundance of confidence.”
“Remember you said that when you meet her on Sunday.”
There was a hint of amusement in Chance’s voice when he said, “I will. And by the way, is there anything you need for me to bring?”
“Yes, a lot of prayer just in case Tiffany and Marcus don’t want to go along with our plans for them.”
“HELLO.”
“Marcus, are you awake?”
Marcus clutched the phone as he buried his head back underneath his pillow. “Tiffany, it’s Saturday morning. Nobody gets up before eight on Saturdays.”
“I do. Some of us have chores to do and the earlier they get done the better. I only called this time of the morning because you said your dad always plays basketball every Saturday morning with his brothers, and you told me to call if I had anything to report.”
Marcus removed the pillow. She had gotten his attention. “And you have something to report?”
“Yes. Your dad called here last night. And it was late.”
Marcus lifted a curious eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“Your phone number showed up on our caller ID this morning and it showed the time as close to midnight. That means our parents are talking after-hours. That’s a good sign.”
“But what if he just called to get directions to your house or something?”
“At midnight? Think positive, Marcus.”
“Okay. But we should be able to tell if anything is going on when we see them together tomorrow, right?”
“I hope so, Marcus.”
“Yeah, I hope so, too, considering how much of a pain in the butt I’ve been to my dad over the past week.”
CHAPTER FIVE
BY THE TIME CHANCE AND Marcus arrived at Kylie’s home on Sunday evening, Chance was chomping at the bit to see her again.
The moment they pulled into her driveway, he saw her standing in the backyard in front of a barbecue grill. Kylie looked up the moment she heard his truck and their gazes connected. His gut clenched when an irrepressible smile lit her face.
“Wow! Tiffany was right. Her mom is a knockout,” Marcus said with such profound amazement that Chance sharply turned his head to look at his son.
Marcus’s gaze was glued to Kylie, so Chance let himself stare at her, too, letting his eyes roam over her features. Kylie was a beautiful woman, and that was the main reason he—a man known to have good self-control—had been in such a bad way since meeting her. She was wearing a sundress and the turquoise color flattered her.
“Isn’t she pretty, Dad?”
Chance swallowed. In his book she was more than pretty, or beautiful, or even gorgeous. There wasn’t a word he had to define just what she was, although the word perfection came pretty close. And not for the first time he wondered how she’d succeeded in keeping men at bay all these years.
“Dad?”
He knew his son was waiting on his response but he dared not look at Marcus for fear of him recognizing the lust in his eyes. “Yes, she’s pretty.”