She shook her head. “I can’t let this get any worse than it already is. These last couple of weeks…”

“I know, sweetheart. Believe me. I know. Give me tonight. Please?”

Her better judgment was going to have to get the hell out of the way, because there was no way she could deny him when he asked for something in that particular tone of voice. “Okay.”

Erin had to work up the nerve, once her bridesmaid duties were officially finished, to take Slim over to meet her parents. Thankfully, her ankle had healed enough to forgo the crutches, but the high-heeled sandals would have to go soon because her ankle was beginning to ache.

“Mom, Dad, this is my friend Slim Jackson,” she said, having practiced the introduction in her mind repeatedly in the last few days. “Slim, my parents, Mary Beth and Tom Barton.”

“Such a pleasure to meet you,” Slim said, full of the charm she’d come to expect from him. He looked amazing in a navy suit with a light blue shirt. His dark hair had been combed into submission, and she’d felt his sexy brown eyes on her all day while she tended to Jenny.

“I understand we have you to thank for rescuing Erin after she hurt her ankle,” her dad said.

Erin had no doubt her parents would love Slim. He was their kind of guy—friendly, accomplished, easy to talk to. In many ways, he reminded her of Toby. He’d been less gregarious than Slim but no less charming.

“That was certainly no hardship,” he said with a smile for her. They talked for a few minutes about Slim’s work as a pilot. “Could I get you a drink?”

“That’d be nice,” Mary Beth said. “White wine for me and a beer for Tom, please.”

“For you?” he asked Erin.

“I’m good for now. Thanks.”

“Be right back.” He walked backward toward the bar. “Don’t talk about me while I’m gone.”

Erin rolled her eyes and laughed at him.

“Well,” her mom said, taking a closer look at Erin. “What’s this I see? A spark of true interest?”

“Perhaps,” Erin said. “It’s very new. Don’t get too excited just yet.”

“He’s lovely,” her mom said. “Handsome as all get-out, too.”

“Is he? I hadn’t noticed.”

That made them both laugh, which warmed her heart. For many years after Toby died, she’d wondered if any of them would ever laugh again.

“I assume Slim is a nickname?” Mary Beth asked.

“It is, and you’re not going to believe what his real name is.”

“What?”

“Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson Junior.”

“Oh,” Mary Beth said, the single word sounding more like a gasp. “That’s…”

“Crazy,” Tom said softly.

“Isn’t it?” Erin asked. “When he first told me… You’re going to think it’s silly, but…”