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.“What? I had fun.How was your night? Was he a good boy for you?” She changed the subject.“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.Date night between you and Jordan is probably the same as it was when we were in high school, except for the fact when you said it wasn’t a date—even though we both know it was.”Not really, Cassie felt like saying, but she kept it to herself and instead, bit down on her bottom lip.“Jake was an absolute champ, like always.He’s a pleasure to babysit and be able to call him my godson.He’s a great kid.Besides, he gives me the opportunity to unleash the inner-child inside me and play video games with him—which he is awesome at, by the way.”Cassie laughed.She certainly didn’t know where her son got his gaming skills.They weren’t from her; that was for sure.Cassie nudged Nick playfully in the arm.“Oh, but you’re just a big kid at heart anyway.That wouldn’t be hard for you to do.”She rose to her feet to make her way in to see her son before she too headed off to bed, ready to sleep off the events she experienced tonight.Cassie laid one hand on Nick’s knee as she got to her feet, whispering “Thank you.”She really was grateful for everything her friends did to help her out.She couldn’t have wished for better friends than Nick, Gabby, and even Gabby’s parents.“Anytime.Like I said, he’s no trouble.I’ll see myself out.Goodnight.”With her back turned, she waved goodbye as she walked toward Jake’s bedroom, entering softly to stand at the foot of his bed.Her motherly instincts kicked into overdrive, and she couldn’t help but gently brush the top of his forehead with her hand knowing she would be okay without Jordan as her boyfriend.She had made it this far without him.She just knew she could make it even more, because Jake’s life depended on her being as strong as she could possibly be as a single parent.Two weeks had passed since Cassie rejected the idea of a possible reunion between her and Jordan.Since then, though not by choice, he had quietly retreated back to Miami for training camp before football season officially began—which the entire town of Yellow Valley was ecstatic about.Cassie hadn’t realized she resided in such a football-crazed town until now, but thankfully, Jordan hadn’t just bailed without saying goodbye to Jake or spending some quality father-son time with him, which—Cassie knew—Jordan and Jake now cherished, telling him how he would return, just as soon as he was able to come back.Summer vacation was on the verge of winding down, and school would resume very soon, but in the meantime, on the days when Cassie had to go to work—despite being the boss now, which was still very new to her—she made arrangements for Jake to either play with his friends or spend the day with his surrogate grandparents, otherwise known as Gabby’s parents, which was where he was today.Since Jordan’s departure from town, things were finally going back to the way they once were, despite his obvious presence in Jake’s life with his frequent phone calls, texts, and e-mails.Cassie was now free to move on with her life without the extra pressure she knew Jordan put on her heart.Today was a good day too, preparing for a couple of functions she was baking cakes and cupcakes for.Her work certainly allowed for a great distraction in her personal life.Later that morning, while fighting with the old coffee machine she was in desperate need of replacing as soon as she could afford to, Cassie was caught by surprise when the bells above the door jingled and in walked Jesse.She hadn’t talked to him since she cancelled their date the night Jake fell ill with appendicitis.Chills were sent up and down Cassie’s arm as she tried not to notice Jesse walking toward her.She wondered if there was any bad blood between them, hoping he wasn’t upset she’d had to cancel on their date before it even happened.Then she saw a smile appeared on his face as he approached the counter, and she realized she had nothing to worry about at all.“Good morning.Would you like your usual order?” she asked him without taking her eyes off the coffee machine.Jesse leaned one arm against the counter, his dazzling blue eyes looked straight at her.“Yes, please.Am I really that predictable?”Cassie laughed.“Well, you’re not, but your boss is,” she pointed out, referring to Nick.“Besides, I make it my mission to get to know my customers’ regular orders if I want to keep them as my customers.Your coffee and donuts will be ready shortly.I’m just finishing them off now.”Jesse winked at her, making Cassie blush.“There’s no rush.Nick was on his phone with a client as I was leaving.He will probably be busy for a while."His wink sent shivers through Cassie’s body, and these feelings inspired her to make his order a whole lot faster.“So how’s Jake?” he casually asked, making small talk as he waited.“He’s good now, back to his bright and persistent self again, thank God.After our ordeal, I think I actually like the boisterous side of my son.”“I bet.”“Sorry about our date.I never did get to apologize in person.”“It’s okay.We’ve both been busy, and your child had to come first that night.If I had a kid who was sick, I wouldn’t have left him to go out either.You did the right thing
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