Page 34 of Falling for the Unexpected

Chapter 9

Simone

It was a warm August morning and I was driving home from registering for two courses at Beachside Community College. Talking about it with Kyle had stuck with me since he was so encouraging of me pursing my degree. One of the classes I registered for was online. The other required me to be in class a couple times a week, but Marla had agreed to watch Stella for me. I was extremely grateful for the continued help. However, I didn’t want to take advantage of their kindness.

In fact, in an effort to prove to myself I could do this without being a burden on anyone, I had taken Stella with me to the counseling office. She had been so well behaved, I promised her a surprise on the way home, which was why we were now pulling into the parking lot of the ice cream parlor.

“Ice cream!” she exclaimed from the backseat. “I want chocolate.” Stella was turning two years old in ten days, and I was constantly amazed by how quickly her vocabulary was growing.

“What do we say?” I asked, gently reminding her to use her manners.

“I want chocolate, pleeeease,” she said.

We went inside, and once Stella saw all the choices, she decided chocolate wasn’t for her and chose rainbow sherbet instead. Knowing how slow she ate and how messy she could be, I asked the teenager working behind the counter to put hers in a cup and I ordered a scoop of cookie dough, also in a cup, for myself.

We sat down inside and dug in to our treat. “Is your ice cream good?” I asked, and laughed at the fact that she had the same amount of ice cream around her mouth as she had managed to get in it.

“Yes, thank you, mama,” she replied and flashed me a huge cheesy grin. Man, I loved this little girl more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person. She was my entire world and small moments like this brought me unexplainable joy.

We finished eating and I dug out a baby wipe from my bag so I could clean her up. Once she was no longer a sticky mess, we walked out to my car. I got her buckled in and sat in the driver’s seat. Placing the key in the ignition, I turned it only to hear a clicking noise instead of the engine turning on. I tried it again with the same result.

“Crap,” I muttered under my breath, not wanting Stella to repeat the word. I had just spent all the money I had managed to save on college courses and knew I wouldn’t be able to afford costly car repairs right now.

I pulled my phone out of my purse to call Trent. I hated to bother him, but Jim and Marla were out of town for a couple days and I really didn’t have anyone else to call. Brad would know how to fix whatever was wrong, but I knew he wouldn’t bother to come help. I probably couldn’t get ahold of him if I tried.

“Hey, Simone, how’s it going?” Trent answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Trent,” I started. “I really hate to bother you, but I’m stuck at Harry’s Ice Cream shop on Bay Street and my car won’t start. I wouldn’t have called, but I have Stella with me.”

“Oh man, I’m getting ready to head over to the courthouse. Ya know, Kyle’s here and I think he’s free. I’ll send him over to help you out,” he said.

I knew he was trying to be helpful, but calling Trent for help had been difficult enough. There was no way I could ask Kyle to leave work to come all the way out here.

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll call a tow truck,” I said, even though I really couldn’t afford it.

“Don’t be silly. Hold on. Hey, Kyle!” I could hear Trent shout, even though it seemed like he tried to cover the receiver. “Can you go help Simone? She’s having some car trouble.” A few moments passed and I could hear muffled voices before Trent came back on the line. “Kyle says he’ll be there in twenty minutes. Will you be okay ‘til then?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah. We’re fine but you really didn’t need to ask Kyle. I could have figured something out,” I said. Trent wasn’t having any of it.

“I’m not going to let my sister-in-law spend money on a tow truck when you might just need a jump-start. Kyle will be able to help you out.”

“Well, thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ll talk to you later,” I said.

“Bye, Simone,” Trent said and then disconnected the call.

It was sunny, hot, and there was no breeze, so waiting in the car for Kyle was out of the question. Instead, we sat on the bench in front of the ice cream shop and played I-Spy to pass the time, but all I kept thinking about was what I’d say to Kyle once he got here. Whenever we were together he made me feel like I could be myself. But I was also attracted to him and I wondered if I was interpreting his kindness for something that wasn’t there.

Since the meeting in June, I hadn’t seen much of him, but he would call at least every other week with updates on the divorce proceedings, although there wasn’t much else to do but wait. I kept finding myself looking at my phone, wondering if he was going to stop by, but of course, there was no point. He was a great guy, but just my lawyer. I was an obligation only, and I needed to remember that. It wasn’t easy, though. I could still recall the day at the playground, and the older couple inferring Kyle and me as Stella’s parents. He hadn’t even realized it. Then afterwards at my apartment, there was the near-kiss. Once again, I felt my face get hot with embarrassment at how uncomfortable he’d been by that accident. At the meeting with Brad the following Monday, Kyle was back to normal, like that day had never happened. For him, it had been just another day. For me, I relished it. Every moment, all the details.

About fifteen minutes later, I saw a familiar sleek, black BMW pull into the parking lot. The windows were tinted so I couldn’t see in, but I knew it was him. The parking lot was pretty empty so he was able to park right next to my car. My old Civic looked even worse next to his beautiful car. It was a reminder of how different we were.

I heard a small gasp when he stepped out of his car and quickly realized it came from me. He was wearing gray slacks that were tailored perfectly, highlighting his strong thighs and perfect ass, and a black button-down shirt. He looked incredible. Every time I saw him, he looked better than the time before.

“Having car trouble, ladies?” he asked, grinning. Just looking at his smile made me blush like a silly girl with a crush.

“Hi, Ky!” Stella exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I got a treat, I was a good girl.”

He laughed at her enthusiastic explanation of what we had been up to.