After the waitress had taken their orders, they relaxed in their chairs. Unlike last time, Tristan noticed Shayna didn’t spend her time looking around. Instead, her gaze was on him as they talked.
“Have you decided if you’re going to transfer Timothy to Lighthouse?”
Shayna sighed, and worry crept over her face. “I don’t think it’s going to happen this school year. I have a few things I have to arrange first.”
“Anything I can help you with?” Tristan asked. He hadn’t been surprised to discover that Maya planned to subsidize Timothy’s registration, tuition, and any other fees related to him attending Lighthouse.
Tristan was a little disappointed in himself for not having thought of that solution. He hadn’t even considered making the suggestion that she transfer Timothy to Lighthouse. If he had, he would have taken the steps Maya was prepared to take.
“It’s more of a question about transportation,” Shayna said. “Their buses don’t service our neighborhood.”
He frowned as he tried to think of possible solutions to that problem. “And the before care program wouldn’t work?”
“No. I start work too early to drop him off.”
Tristan felt his leg begin to bounce as he continued to try to figure out a solution to her dilemma. He pressed his hand to his leg to still it. If only he’d done more to encourage her to take the empty apartment in the family building. The bus would probably have picked Timothy up from there since they would have been in the same part of the city.
Why hadn’t he pursued that? Or at the very least, presented it as an option to Shayna along with other suggestions he’d made, like the roommate one? Now she had a roommate, so she couldn’t just move in order to accommodate Timothy going to another school.
Tristan was frustrated with the situation he’d unwittingly created, but he couldn’t allow himself to focus on it right then. He didn’t want another evening at Shelby’s ruined because he couldn’t immediately find a solution to her problem.
“I’ll let you know if I come up with any ideas that might help you out.” Tristan was determined to bring the evening’s focus back to something more positive. “There must be a solution. We’ll talk about it and see what we can come up with.”
“It’s not your—” Shayna stopped, pursing her lips together even before he held up his hand to stop her.
“I think by now you’d know that I don’t feel that you or Timothy are a problem, and nothing that concerns either of you is a problem.” Tristan was relieved to see her features relax into a smile once again.
“Okay.” Shayna nodded. “We’ll talk about it later.”
They didn’t stay at the restaurant too late, but they did make sure to have the dessert that was once again brought to their table. In addition to an assortment of squares, there were chocolate-covered strawberries. Tristan had to smile when he saw them, obviously added for the special day.
“I think we should save a few of those strawberries for Timothy,” he said.
Shayna smiled as she nodded. “He’ll love them. They’re not quite as popular as pancakes and bacon, but they’re gaining ground. Ever since you bought us the stuff to make them before Christmas.”
When the waitress returned with the bill for the meal, she took the dessert tray back to package up the left-over strawberries. There were a couple of squares as well, but they’d definitely been able to eat more of the dessert than on the previous visit. The tension that had ended their first date wasn’t present this time around.
They couldn’t stay too late because he and Shayna had to work the next day, and Timothy and Sierra had school. When they left the restaurant, Tristan took Shayna’s hand as they walked to his car.
“Thank you for such a lovely evening,” Shayna said during the drive home. “I love that restaurant.”
“It’s one of the best recommendations my brothers have ever given,” Tristan agreed. He reached across and took her hand. “I hope we can go back again.”
Her hand squeezed his, and he wished that they weren’t wearing gloves so that he could have felt the warmth of her skin.
As they drove back to the townhouse, they discussed some plans for the weekend. They’d gone to the museum with Timothy once so far, but he’d been asking to go again for a new display that had just opened. Tristan suggested they go Saturday afternoon after he’d spent the morning at the display home office.
Between work and spending time with Shayna and Timothy, Tristan hadn’t had as much time for Jackson and their game business. They’d set up a time for chatting on Friday evening so he wouldn’t be able to do anything that night. Though the game had started out as something he did for fun, it had emerged into something way bigger than either of them had imagined.
Sometimes he wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of it anymore. The money was great, and it was nice to have when he needed it, but he hadn’t really spent much of it. His lifestyle wasn’t such that it required a lot of money to sustain it, but with the prospect of having a wife and child—possibly more children—he knew that would change.
So for now, he’d continue to work with Jackson, but more than once, he’d considered seeing if Jackson would buy him out. Depending on how things went over the next little while, he might have that conversation sooner rather than later. There was no way he’d be able to balance work, a family, and the game business, especially when phase one of the Tiny Village kicked off in the spring.
Everything within him said to invest his time where his heart was, and without a doubt, that was with Shayna and Timothy. As each day went by, he became more and more committed to a future that included the two of them. He only hoped that Shayna was feeling the same way.
Once they pulled up at the house, Tristan turned off the car and got out to open Shayna’s door. After she’d slid from the seat, Tristan took a step closer to her. She looked up at him, her face illuminated by the interior light of the car.
“I want you to know how much you mean to me.” Tristan reached out to cup her face in his hands. “I love you.” Her eyes widened at his words, and her mouth opened as if to respond, but then she snapped it shut. Tristan moved his thumb to cover her lips. “You don’t need to say anything. I know it might be too soon for you, so I don’t expect you to say it back to me now, but I needed you to know how I felt.” He paused then asked, “Can I kiss you?”
She blinked then nodded. Moving slowly to give her a chance to change her mind, Tristan brushed his thumb across her cheek before he pressed his lips to hers. It was a gentle kiss, as he waited for a sign that this wasn’t what she wanted, in spite of her words. Ever present in his mind was the knowledge that this was possibly the first kiss she’d shared with a man since Lorne’s death.
Instead, he felt her hands come to rest on his waist then tighten as she gripped handfuls of his coat. She tilted her head and increased the pressure of her lips against his, which made Tristan’s heart skip a beat. Even though the night was cold, the space between the open door and the car protected them from most of it, and the warmth that now flooded Tristan’s body drove the rest of it away.
When the kiss finally ended, Tristan drew her into his arms. A sense of contentment filled him when her arms wrapped around him, holding him close. He’d been worried about how she might react to the revelation of his love for her and the kiss, but it seemed that his worry had been for nothing.
“We should go inside,” Tristan murmured. “You’re getting cold.”
He felt her nod, so he loosened his hold on her and stepped back a bit. After giving her a smile, Tristan took her hand and drew her away from the car so he could shut the door before they headed for the townhouse, hand in hand.
Though he knew his feet touched the ground, Tristan felt a bit like he was walking on air, and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face. The evening had gone so much better than he had thought it might. He’d had his hopes for how it would go, but he’d also tried to be realistic.
For things to have gone so well gave Tristan hope for their future.
Shayna lay on her side, her breath coming in ragged inhales and exhales. She knew she needed to be at work the next day, but so far, she hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Her mind churned with thoughts and emotions over what had happened earlier with Tristan.
His words of love had caught her off-guard, though now that she’d had time to think it over, she wasn’t sure why. Everything about his actions toward her showed how much he cared for her, so his words shouldn’t have surprised her. She was grateful that he hadn’t expected her to echo his words.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care for him. She did. A great deal. But was it love? So soon?
What she was feeling for Tristan didn’t feel like what she’d experienced with Lorne, so she was confused. That was her measure of love, so how did she know?
Add to that the kiss… At the time, it had felt good. Right. It hadn’t been until she’d finally put Timothy to bed and was getting ready for bed herself that her thoughts turned in a different direction. One that made her feel as if she’d cheated on Lorne by kissing Tristan.
Shayna didn’t want to feel like that—not about such a special moment. But it was taking all her energy to keep from thinking that way. She told herself that Lorne wouldn’t care. That he was in heaven and no longer focused on her life. That their vows to each other had ended with his death.
But it wasn’t working.
All her mind seemed to want to think about was how that kiss had compared to the many, many kisses she’d shared with Lorne. It wasn’t fair to Tristan and the moment they’d shared together, but the memories that flooded her mind just wouldn’t stop.
In tears, she finally pleaded with God to give her peace and to remove the turmoil in her mind. She didn’t want to pray that He would remove the memories because she never wanted to forget her time with Lorne, but there wasn’t a place for those memories when they were being used in comparison to the time she shared with Tristan.
When her alarm went the next morning, Shayna wished she could call in sick, but it just wasn’t possible. Instead, she dragged herself out of bed and took a shower. When she went back to her room to finish getting ready, Shayna stared at her reflection and sighed. Though makeup would help with the dark circles, there wasn’t much she could do for her puffy, red eyes. Her sleepless, emotional night had definitely taken its toll on her.
“Please hurry up, Bug,” Shayna said a short time later.
As usual, Timothy was dragging his heels. His dislike of going to the babysitter’s before school was growing. She tried to cut him some slack, but that morning, between her headache and running late herself, her patience was wearing extremely thin.
“Bug,” Shayna said sharply. “Let’s go. Now.”
“I don’t wanna go,” Timothy whined as he tugged his knit cap down over his curls.
“I know that,” she said through gritted teeth. “And you know that we have no choice.”
“I miss Lisa.” He flopped down on the stairs to pull on his boots. Stomping each foot as he got them on. “I don’t like things now.”
Shayna sighed. “I miss her too, but it doesn’t change things. This is how it has to be now. You’re making it worse by whining and complaining about it every single day.”
“I don’t complain about it on the weekends,” Timothy retorted, a snippy tone to his voice.
Shayna’s already frayed nerves and patience reached their limit. “Timothy Lorne Caron. Get your jacket on and get into the car now.”
His head snapped up, and his eyes widened. It was rare that she lost her temper, so Timothy obviously realized he’d pushed her too far. Pressing his lips together, he turned and grabbed his jacket. Though he didn’t say another word, his jerky movements as he shoved his arms into the sleeves and zipped up the jacket spoke loudly.
He stomped into the garage and opened the back door of the car, flinging his backpack inside before he crawled in after it. Shayna felt tears spring to her eyes, her emotions far nearer the surface than they usually were.
The short ride to the babysitter’s was made in heavy silence. When they arrived, Shayna wished that she could take the time to smooth things over with Timothy. Instead, she had to settle for taking a couple of minutes in the car to apologize, then at the babysitter’s door, she pulled him into his arms.
“I love you, Bug,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for getting upset.”
“Love you too, Maman.”
She felt a little better about where things stood between the two of them as she drove to work, but her emotions and thoughts from the night before were as turbulent as ever. Though she was nearly late getting to the restaurant, she took a minute once she’d parked to send a text to Lisa.
Any chance Timothy and I could come out for the night on Friday?
Not expecting an answer for awhile, Shayna headed into the restaurant for her shift. At that point, all she wanted was to get through it so she could go home.
When she checked her phone during her first break, Shayna found a message from Lisa as well as one from Tristan.
Lisa: Sure thing! Everything okay?
Yeah. We’re just missing you.
Shayna wasn’t sure how much—if anything—she’d share with Lisa about her date with Tristan and what had transpired afterward, but if there was one person she could confide in, it would be Lisa.
After responding to Lisa, Shayna opened the text from Tristan.
Tristan: Good morning, beautiful! Hope you have a good day. I’m looking forward to spending time with you and Timothy on Saturday. <3
Shayna swallowed as she read it, her hand tightening around her phone. How she wished she felt the freedom to embrace Tristan and the emotions that existed between them. Instead, it was all murky and convoluted.
I’m looking forward to it too. That wasn’t a lie. She did enjoy the times the three of them spent together. Timothy and I are going to spend Friday night with Lisa, but we’ll be back in time to go to the museum.
She slipped her phone into her pocket and went to use the bathroom. While there, her phone beeped and then beeped again as two texts arrived in quick succession.
After leaving the bathroom, she went to the small staff room and checked her phone again. With only fifteen minutes for her break, she didn’t have time to spend on long text conversations.
Lisa: Okay. Look forward to seeing you two! Want pizza?
Pizza sounds perfect. See you around five or shortly after.
Tristan: Hope you have a great time with her. I know Timothy misses her.
Yes, he does. We both do. I gotta get back to work. I hope you have a good day!
Tristan: You too. Talk to you later.
Shayna sat at the table for a couple of minutes before getting up and putting her phone with her purse in the small locker that was assigned to her. She had two days of work to get through before they could go to Lisa’s.