Whereas I dressed in my favorite pair of jeans, a button-up blouse from Madewell, and my fancy flats with a bow on them, Elsie is wearing a dress that shows off every curve motherhood has blessed her with and heels so high, I fear for her safety as she runs across the space to greet us.

“I can’t believe you beat us here.” I give her a hug when she reaches us. “You’re always late.”

“Correction.” She pulls away and narrows her perfectly lined eyes at me. “I’m always late when the kids are with me. Tonight, we’re alone. We sprinted out of that house the second Brandon’s mom got there.”

“That makes sense to me,” Jasper chimes in. “It’s hard enough for me to get out of the door on time and I’m a single man. I can’t imagine what it’s like being in charge of kids on top of that.”

“Yes, thank you!” She looks to Jasper, grateful to have someone on her side. “Just loading them in the minivan takes like ten minutes.” She swings her head around and points a finger in my face. “Don’t you say one word about my swagger wagon, Drew Young.”

I hold up my hands in surrender. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

I always give her a hard time about driving a minivan, but in reality, I love the damn thing. One day, the twins asked me to sit in the back with them and I got to watch Moana in a very spacious middle seat the entire ride. It was glorious.

She rolls her eyes but drops the subject.

“Brandon and I ordered drinks for the table.” She points to the table where Brandon is still sitting, watching his wife with a gentle smile on his face. “They have a bar if you want to order something else, but this is the one the chef recommends with the menu, so I figured we should all at least try it.”

“Thoughtful of you.” I bump my hip against hers.

“I know.” She bumps me back, her bright smile growing even wider as she turns to Jasper. “You’ll see, Jasper, I’m a really good friend like that.”

Jasper doesn’t miss a beat before saying, “From the stories Drew has told me about you, I don’t doubt that for a second.”

Some of the mischief behind Elsie’s eyes disappears and they go soft at the corners. In that moment, I have no idea why I was ever worried in the first place about going on a date night with Jasper and my best friend. Instead, my imagination takes flight as I picture a future where I join Elsie and Brandon for date nights with a man I adore at my side.