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“Good. Because big isn’t a broad enough criteria.”

James peered up at his father and tilted his head in confusion. “What’s broad ‘nuf cafeteria mean?”

Adam sighed and looked at me. “I really stepped in it.” He looked down at his son. “I’ll explain it to you in the car.”

James looked at me. “Can I come back?”

“Absolutely. I liked watching you beat Angelica at Mario Kart.”

James looked up at Angelica. “Will you be here too, Miss Angel?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Bring your dad, okay?”

“I haf to, he drives me.”

“Oh yeah. Good point.” Angelica smiled at the boy, a smile she then transferred to Adam. “I had a good time getting a chance to meet you both. I look forward to seeing you both a lot more. Don’t lose my number. I expect to be babysitting many times in the coming weeks.”

Adam’s face reddened. It wasn’t because she was a famous actress. It was because she was a busybody whose matchmaking was extremely obvious. For an award-winning actress, subtlety wasn’t exactly her strong suit.

“Is Miss Angel coming to our house?” James asked.

“Or you’re going to come to my house, Munchkin. I’ll have a Nintendo Switch by the time you arrive, and I’ll have practiced Mario Kart so I can give you a run for your money the next time we play.”

James frowned.

“That means I’m going to practice so I can beat you the next time we play Mario Kart.”

James giggled. “You’d have to practice a real lot.”

I started laughing and so did Adam. I loved this kid.

“And on that note, we better get going. Zoe, thanks for dinner, you really didn’t need to feed us. But we appreciated it.”

“Anytime.”

I bent down and hugged James, then stood up and was confronted by Adam and stared. Hug? Thank God he took the decision out of my hands, and leaned over James and gave me a hug. Kind of awkward because we had a four-year-old between us, but it did the trick. I wanted more, but…

Gah! I’m a mess.

“Well, see you later.”

“You’ll be hearing from me soon, Zoe,” Adam promised. He turned to Angelica and gave her a much less awkward hug. “And so will you.”

“I better.” She grinned.

I closed the door behind Adam and James, and Angelica immediately turned on me. “I want to hear everything. Every tiny detail.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to hear every tiny detail, not if you ever want to have a baby of your own.”

“This was the man who came to your rescue?! This fine, dreamy hero? Are you kidding me? Please tell me you have a good bottle of wine.” She headed for the kitchen. “And that little boy. I was serious, this has Hallmark movie written all over it.”

“Except for the part where I yelled ‘Fuck’ at the top of my lungs,” I muttered as I followed her.

“You did no such thing,” she said as she reached for the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon hiding in the back of my cupboard. “You did not say naughty words in front of James, at least not loud enough so he could hear them.” She peered at the label. “Oh goody, I love Oregon wines.”

Angelica found my bottle opener and soon had two glasses poured for us. I pulled out some Ritz crackers and Velveeta cheese, my favorites, and brought them to the living room.

“Yummy,” she cooed. “I don’t know how I could still be hungry, but I am.”