Jackson
THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS WERE a whirlwind of giggles, tiny sandwiches, and enough sugar to ensure that I was in for a long night.
Millie was amazing.
Not only were her decorations on point, and her food delicious, she’d kept the girls entertained and had successfully given my little girl the party of her dreams. I hadn’t seen Kayla smile this much since her mother left, and I was eternally grateful to Millie for that.
If I hadn’t already planned on asking Millie out, and I guess I sort of had, even though we’d been interrupted, I definitely would have wanted to take her out after seeing her interact with my daughter and her five boisterous friends.
Now the tea party was over, and the girls had all escaped to the backyard to jump on the trampoline while Millie and I cleaned up.
She was currently boxing up the props she’d used for the tea party photo booth, while I was slyly popping leftover macaroons in my mouth.
“I saw that,” Millie said with a chuckle.
I turned, mouth full and a sheepish look on my face, to see her holding the sunglasses prop over her eyes and waggling her eyebrows.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, covering my mouth with my hand so I wouldn’t show her my food. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she replied, dropping the glasses in the box. “I take it as a compliment.”
Once I swallowed, I said, “And you should. Everything was amazing. Really, I can’t thank you enough. K had a blast.”
“I did too,” Millie responded with a sweet smile. “I didn’t realize how much fun I was missing out on by always being in the kitchen. I’ll have to talk to Dru and Tasha about helping out more.”
“You’re a natural.”
“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks turning pink, and I could tell she was uncomfortable with praise. Millie pointed at the leftover food and changed the subject. “Do you have Tupperware containers you want that in, or do you want me to leave the boxes?”
“I have something, just a sec.”
I rounded the island in my kitchen and crouched down to get to my containers, while mentally prepping myself to re-approach the question I’d asked earlier. I understood her not wanting to answer in front of the girls, but I was dying to know if she’d go out with me, and I was slightly terrified to ask again.
I’d barely worked up the courage to ask her out once, the thought of doing it again had my palms sweating.
“Here we are,” I said as I popped up and placed the assorted rectangles on the counter.
“Perfect,” Millie replied, crossing the room with the dishes of leftovers.
I cleared my throat as she started placing the items in the containers, but when I raised my head to pose my question again, Millie beat me to it.
“About what you asked earlier,” she began, her head bent as if she were laser focused on boxing up leftovers. “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea . . .”
My stomach dropped as disappointment filtered through me.
“Oh,” I began, unsure how to respond.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go out with you,” Millie said in a rush, her eyes coming up to find mine, so I could see the sincerity in her gaze. “I do. I mean, we only just met, but I like you, Jackson.”
“Then why?” I asked, confused by her contradicting words.
The she glanced down at my left hand, and I dropped my head to see what she was looking at.
My wedding ring.
I wanted to slap myself in the head and apologize for being so obtuse. I honestly hadn’t thought about the ring once over the last year, but how did I get Millie to believe I wasn’t holding some torch for Julie?
“Have you ever worn a piece of jewelry for ten years and just sort of gotten used to it being there? Like I assume it is with earrings?” I asked, not really expecting her to answer, just hoping she’d understand. “I haven’t lied to you.”
“I know that,” Millie replied quickly, her hand reaching out to cover mine. “I believe that you’re separated, but I couldn’t help notice that you still wear your ring. Plus, you share a beautiful daughter with the woman that you’re still married to.”
“Yes, it’s complicated, but I promise you, it’s over. I’m not waiting for her to come back and pick up where we left off. Hell, there’s no way I’d take her back even if she wanted me to,” I explained, hoping Millie could hear the sincerity in my voice.
Millie nodded, and as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, I could tell she was still on the fence, which gave me hope. It meant she didn’t want to say no.
“What if we just met for coffee?” I suggested. “We can take things slow . . . get to know each other.”
I held my breath as I waited for her to reply. I could almost see the argument going on in her head, and I hoped that I came out on top.
Finally, Millie patted my hand before taking hers back, then smiled softly and said, “I’d like that.”
Not even bothering to hold back, I grinned broadly and clapped my hands together once.
“Fantastic.”
I helped Millie load the decorations and tea set into her 4Runner, then walked her to the door and held it open as she got into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll call you to set up coffee,” I said before shutting the door.
The desire to kiss her was great, but since I’d just promised to take it slow, I figured it was best to keep that desire in check.
“I look forward to it,” Millie replied, then I shut the door and stood there as she drove away.
After she was out of sight, I looked down and twisted the gold band on my finger, then pulled it off and held it in the palm of my hand. It looked like it was time for me to pay more attention to the things I was holding on to, and start packing them away.
Also, it was time for me to find my wife.