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His blue eyes held steady. “Happy Jeni is beautiful,” he said quietly.
She quirked a brow at him, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach.
“Grouchy Jeni is too.” He leaned in close. “Flirtatious Jeni, worried-about-her-brother Jeni, and tipsy Jeni. All beautiful. But so far, happy is my favorite.”
Her smile couldn’t be stopped. “Mine too.”
A few minutes later, the third player on their team struck out, ending the game. They won by two runs, and Jeni took pride in the fact that she helped make it happen.
“You in for Saturday?” Logan asked as they walked back to his truck.
“Definitely.”
His phone rang as soon as he started the ignition. “Hey, Mom. What? No, I had a game tonight, remember? I thought we moved it to tomorrow.”
Jeni glanced over at him.
He rubbed a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. We just finished, and I’d come over but I have someone with m—”
Jeni put a hand on his arm. “What is it?” she mouthed.
“Mom, hang on a sec.” He pulled the phone down and covered the speaker with his other hand. “I was supposed to eat dinner with my mom tonight. I asked her last week if we could move it back a day because of the rescheduled game. I guess she forgot. She made dinner and was wondering where I was.”
Jeni thought for a moment. There was an obvious choice here, and she surprised herself a little by saying, “She went through all that trouble. Let’s go, if she wouldn’t mind you bringing me.”
He raised his brows. “Really?”
She shrugged. “Sure. I’m starving.”
He frowned a little and slowly put the phone back to his ear, his eyes on Jeni. “Mom? Is there enough for three?”
* * *
Ingrid Davis was a delight. Jeni didn’t think she’d ever hit it off with another person so quickly.
“Are insta-friendships a thing?” she asked when Logan’s mom stepped away to refill Jeni’s water glass.
“Apparently,” he replied, his eyes happy and bright.
They’d finished dinner, and Ingrid had a Marie Callendar’s apple pie in the oven. Jeni was impatiently waiting for the ding of the timer. Because she loved apple pie, not because she wasn’t having a blast.
The three of them had sparred about NFL football. Talked about Ingrid’s job as a teacher. Discussed Jeni’s decision to be vegetarian, especially after an awkward exchange where she declined the main dish which contained ground beef, hence her eagerness for dessert. Ingrid even discussed her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, which was tremendously helpful. Hearing what it was like from the patient’s perspective would hopefully help Jeni relate to Andrew better in the months to come.
Ingrid returned with Jeni’s glass, and Jeni realized how little she and Logan looked alike. Ingrid was tiny—barely over five feet, she would guess—with jet black hair and brown eyes. A stark contrast to Logan’s six-foot frame, blond hair and blue eyes. She made a mental note to look around for family photos and get a glimpse of what his dad had looked like.
“Thank you,” Jeni said.
“You’re welcome.” Ingrid sat down across from Jeni and Logan. “I don’t think I’ve asked—what do you do for a living, Jeni?”
“I’m a social worker. I specialize in child welfare and work at CPS, mainly with the foster care system.”
Ingrid’s mouth dropped open. “Really?” She swung her gaze to Logan. “What a small world.”
Confused, Jeni looked from Ingrid to Logan and back again. “I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”
“Surely Logan’s told yo—”
“I haven’t, Mom,” Logan interrupted quietly.
