Falling at First Sight by Willow Winters (a book to read .txt) 📕

Autumn and I snagged a coveted table on the patio outside a mom-and-pop coffee and cake shop. There’s not a cloud in sight and the breeze is just right. So right that when it blows by, Autumn’s dark brunette hair sweeps across her shoulders.

Yet this date is less like a date and more like small talk between two people who are both waiting in a doctor’s office for a rectal exam. Yeah, Harding would laugh his ass off right about now.

“Our boys get along real well,” I say and take a sip of my coffee, my thumb tapping rhythmically on the edge of the generic white ceramic mug. I don’t know what it is about this woman, but I have no game whatsoever with her. Even less so this morning. Maybe I just need more coffee.

“I know, Henry talks about Chase all the time.” She mimics the way the two boys say, “best buds for life,” then lets out a small laugh. Very short and riddled with the same kind of nerves that won’t settle in my gut.

I know she already knows that the boys get along. The two of them hit it off Henry’s first day of preschool last year.

Even though I can’t manage a conversation outside of the weather, the cinnamon cake on the table, and our boys, I still think it’s going well because when that wind blows and she has to retuck her hair behind her ear, she smiles down into her latte that smells so sweet and then peeks up at me, all shy-like.

Maybe I’m not the only one affected.

“So you took over the preschool from your mom?” Autumn asks. The conversation is still steadily in the category of small talk.

“Don’t tell her that,” I joke with a huff of laughter. “She still says it’s hers.”

That gets a broader smile from Autumn. “I mean, her name is on it. So … Ann’s ABCs and123s Preschool.”

“Well, she would kill me if I change the name.” Again she smiles and lets out a small laugh. I know this small town likes to talk, but I have no idea what all she knows about my past. “I have my master’s in education but I never thought I’d run a preschool. That was my mom’s thing.”

“A master’s?” she asks and doesn’t hide the surprise. “I almost went back for mine before I got the editor position.”

“You like that? Working for the town paper?” I could see Autumn doing anything at all. She’s personable and charming, but smart and driven. It doesn’t take more than a handful of conversation to know that.

“Well, like you, I never thought I’d be an editor. I was always a math and science kind of girl, but I love it. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

It’s easy to smile at her response. Everything between us is easy all of a sudden and I’m grateful for that.

“What were you going to do with your master’s?” she says.

Shrugging, I admit, “Administration of some sort was the long-term goal. But when Chase was born and his mom passed, I wanted to be more hands on. I had to be, really. With my mom’s vision going … it just made sense to take over the preschool and be close to him.”

Autumn’s tone holds her condolences. “I’m so sorry to hear about her passing.”

“Thank you,” I reply automatically. It’s been years since I said goodbye to my ex-wife, but my throat still gets dry whenever she comes up in conversation.

“Does Chase ever talk about her?” Her question catches me off guard but it’s the genuine concern that resonates with me.

“Occasionally. He has some questions, but he’s still so young and never knew her.”

“It was cancer, right?”

“Yeah,” I say and my voice is tighter than I’d like. I loved Candace and I wish things could have been different, but I know Chase and I make a duo she’d be proud of.

“I’m so sorry,” she repeats, her voice gentle and comforting.

“What about Henry’s dad?” I ask her to change subjects and move to lighter topics.

“We’re on really good terms. We should have only ever been friends, to be honest.”

“Just didn’t work out between you two?” I already know that’s what the town says. They were young, their son a blessing that came from a disastrous pair.

She shakes her head, setting down her mug and pushing it away gently. “We actually broke up amicably before I found out I was pregnant. We tried to make it work but it we’re much better off not being …” she trails off and scrunches her face in distaste rather than finishing.

“And no boyfriend now?” I say, leaning forward. The way my voice lowers yet is still full of hope causes that blush to come out full force.

Shaking her head, she asks me the same, “And you don’t have a girlfriend, Mr. Morgan?”

“Not yet I don’t.” I let the statement add to the brewing tension between us.

There’s a moment of silence and then I say, “So, two single parents … meeting up at a coffee shop on Saturday afternoon.”

“Oh, the scandal,” Autumn jokes mockingly with a broad smile.

“I’m just saying … us single parents, we have to stick together.”

“Is that right? Is that why you asked me out?” she asks and it’s the first bit of flirtation, real flirtation from her since we sat down. The nerves have finally settled as another couple slips by and heads into the coffee shop with the telltale ding of the two bells above the door announcing their entry.

“I thought it was because you tipped over my coffee but—” Covering the embarrassment on her face with both hands, her reaction stops me from finishing the thought.

“You’re a cute mix of sweet and