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the subject instead. “So, um, I’m catching up with Nick for a beer tonight, and it would be—"
    He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Cassie’s boisterous five-year-old son bursting out of the house, ice cream in-hand, and a ring of the frozen treat smeared around his mouth.
    “Mummy! I want to watch TV.”
    Jordan stood silently, his face falling downward in complete surprise. He obviously wasn’t expecting Cassie to be a mum, or to witness the little chocolate-covered boy coming out onto the porch. He hadn’t yet figured out how much this little guy resembled Jordan at his age. For him, there was more of an explosion going off inside him over the fact somebody actually called Cassie ‘Mummy’.
    Cassie glanced back at her son standing on the front porch, vigorously licking his ice cream, and she hoped he didn’t spoil his appetite with that very messy snack. She was usually opposed to giving anything sweet to Jake before dinner, but today was an exception, since it was the only thing she could do to keep him occupied while they were shopping. If not, she would have been pestered endlessly the entire time, with him begging for items he didn't need.
    “I’m coming, baby,” she replied.
    “OKAY!” he responded, and then happily bounced back inside, his dark curls bopping up and down. He hadn’t taken much notice of the stranger standing with his mother. At this point, all Jake cared about was finishing his ice cream and watching cartoons. Cassie was extremely appreciative to know he was content in his own little world. If only he could stay that way forever.
    “So, you’re a mum. I didn’t know that,” Jordan spoke, his gaze coming back toward the stunning beauty before him.
    “Yeah, well, of course you wouldn’t. You miss a lot when you leave town and don’t ever come back for a visit,” Cassie blurted out. It wasn’t on purpose, but it wasn’t a lie either.
    Jordan knew he’d had it coming.
    “So, um, what were you saying before? You and Nick are having a beer together tonight? That’s great news.” Cassie changed the subject, hoping to end this conversation as quickly as possible. Man, there’s a lot of that going on today , she thought to herself.
    Jordan ran a hand over his head. Cassie wished he would just spit out whatever it was he wanted to say. Get it over with , she thought. She didn’t want to sound rude or like she didn’t want to talk to him, but she had things to do, and a child to care for.
    “I was hoping you and I could get together at some point to catch up too,” he said, and then added, “If you want to, of course.”
    How nice of him to not force it on her, but did she want to? She wasn’t sure of the answer to that question. What was she supposed to say? No, I don’t want to play catch-up with you. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she also couldn’t be rude to her ex-boyfriend; it wasn’t in her nature to come straight out and say something like that.
    So instead, Cassie heard herself tell him, “That would be nice. I’d like that.” Hadn’t she said something like this last night, when she ran into him at the tavern? He was certainly eager to see her again. What was on his agenda? Was he so desperate to reminisce about the good times they had once shared together? Or maybe he had taken the hint before that deep down she’d hoped she wouldn’t see him again—because she simply didn’t want to—and came by today to soften her up to the idea. It wasn’t that she was holding a grudge for him or anything, although Gabby probably was, but Jordan was in her past, and Cassie was trying her best to look to the future and move forward with her life for the sake of her son.
    Jordan tucked one hand into the front pocket of his dark blue, straight-cut jeans. “I guess I’ll let you go so you can unload your shopping.” And just like that, he was gone, but not before he gave her a long lingering gaze, leaving Cassie with the strongest feeling of