This is the third part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I and Part II before continuing.
Now that Abbey knew what she wanted, it was time to go out and get it. She still wasn’t willing to try online dating, but she did start venturing outside her apartment more and more (no easy feat for an introvert), and all the time she spent outside she was on the lookout for Mr. Right.
She went for long walks around her neighborhood, making sure to take her time and look around. She didn’t look like a tourist, but she also didn’t want to look like she was in a hurry and not to be bothered. She wanted to be bothered.
She went out for coffee, chose a table near the door, and watched all the people coming and going, hoping to see Mr. Right. She went out to lunch and did the same thing. Out to dinner. Out for drinks.
Finally, it happened. She was walking through the park when a kite came out of nowhere and smacked her in the face.
“Sorry!” She heard several voices yelling at once as footsteps quickly approached.
When she had finished blinking away the shock, he was standing in front of her. Mr. Right.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I kept telling him he needed to hold on tight, but as soon as something else caught his attention, he let go. It was my fault. I should have been keeping a grip on the thing, no matter how much he told me he could handle it.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” Abbey said.
“Are you sure? You don’t need medical attention? I’m not a doctor, but as a parent, I do have a lot of experience with head injuries. I probably shouldn’t say that out loud. It makes me sound like a terrible parent, doesn’t it?”
Abbey laughed. “Not at all. I was a kid once. I remember how determined I was to bash my own head open.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she mentally kicked herself for sounding suicidal, but Mr. Right was laughing.
“I’m Chris, by the way,” he said, extending a hand.
“Of course you are.”
“I’m sorry?”
Abbey couldn’t believe she had said that out loud. “I’m Abbey. Nice to meet you.”
“And I’m Patrick!” Announced the little boy who had let the kite assault her.
“And this is my son, Patrick,” Chris confirmed with a laugh. “And over there is my other son, Aidan.”
Abbey stopped breathing for a moment. His sons? She had said she wanted someone who loved kids, but he wasn’t supposed to have his own children. Not yet.
She looked at his left hand. Sure enough, there was a gold wedding band.
Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
“Come play with us!” Patrick grabbed Abbey by the hand and started dragging her towards Aidan.
Abbey tried to convince herself it wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe he was recently divorced or widowed and just hadn’t taken off his wedding ring yet. Maybe his wife was awful and Abbey just had to wait for him to realize that and leave his wife for her.
So Abbey joined them as they resumed playing with their kite, and she found Chris to be everything she wanted him to be: kind, patient, loving, and self-confident without being self-absorbed or arrogant. Before the afternoon was through, she was already in love with him.
She could tell he liked her, too. Of course he did. Loving her had been her #1 requirement, so she wasn’t surprised when she caught him smiling at her as she helped Patrick untangle the kite string or examined a toad Aidan had caught.
To be continued…