Free Love Takes the Cake by Betsy St. Amant

father figure to dote on her.
    All the more reason for Charlotte to choose carefully.
    She picked a chip out of the basket and began breaking it into several pieces on her plate. “I never bothered trying to sue. Couldn’t afford a lawyer at the time, and decided I’d rather make my own way than drag him unwanted into Zoe’s life.”
    And God had provided for her—for them —one step at a time the entire way. She still didn’t deserve such grace.
    â€œWait a minute.” Will frowned, scooting his water glass out of the way so he could lean forward. He braced his arms against the table and lowered his voice. “Did you say fiancée a minute ago?”
    She’d wondered if he’d caught that part. She nodded, trying unsuccessfully to throttle back the fear. “My boyfriend—Zoe’s dad—was engaged to another woman while we were together.” Even now, the shame of that truth rubbed a raw spot.
    â€œAnd you didn’t know.” It wasn’t a question. The matter-of-fact way he uttered it warmed a long-frozen spot in Charlotte’s heart.
    â€œRight. I didn’t know.”
    The usual rush of memories—vivid reminders of that cold football game, that horrible showdown in the stadium in front of the entire school, the pounding of her broken heart now beating for two—didn’t come. Instead, there was calm. Peace. As if she’d finally taken a step away from her past and into her future.
    Will cleared a spot as the waiter brought their plates of enchiladas. When the waiter had refilled their water glasses and left, Will turned back to her with eyes she could only describe as kind. “You’ve been through a lot.”
    She spread her napkin in her lap. “Not as much as some.”
    Will took that in, nodding. “Not as much as some. But I’m sorry you—and Zoe—had to go through that kind of pain.”
    â€œI should have known better.” She picked up her knife and began to cut into the mass of beef and cheese on her plate. “He didn’t pass the eye test.”
    â€œThe eye test?”
    â€œThe eyes don’t lie. It’s what I tell Zoe all the time.” She forked a piece of the cheesy tortilla. “He never could look me directly in the eyes.”
    â€œWhat a coward.”
    She could come up with a dozen other accurate, suitable names, but she was tired of talking about her ex. “That’s enough about me.” She blew on her next bite to cool it off, grateful that the mountain in her past was already starting to fade behind them. “Tell me more about Melissa. Are you guys pretty close?”
    â€œNah. I just bring her two giant cookies every week because I hate her guts.” Will said it with such a straight face she almost snorted her food.
    And just like that, they were back to laughing, annoying their table-neighbors, sharing bites of their dinner—and making Charlotte wonder why they hadn’t done this a long, long time ago.

    He hadn’t told her about Melissa. About the paralysis, about his regrets, about the night his selfish mistake almost destroyed one of the people he loved most in the world. He’d had the perfect window to disclose it all, but he couldn’t make himself put a damper on such a great evening.
    As he pulled his truck into the parking lot next to Charlotte’s apartment, he hoped that decision wouldn’t bite him later. He swung into an empty space. Julie’s car was parked in the spot next to them—or he could only assume it was Julie’s, judging by the pink fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror, The Dough Knot decal on the back windshield, and a bumper sticker that read My Cupcakes Could Beat Up Your Honor Student.
    â€œYou and Julie are good friends?” He shifted the truck into park, not in a hurry to get out and end their night.
    â€œA lot more than that. We’re almost like business partners.