“C’mon,” she sighed.“You should at least come say hi.My mom’ll wonder who dropped me off.”
He raised a brow.“Won’t I scare her off?”
Ellie huffed a laugh.“You’d be surprised.”
Inside, the house smelled like tomato soup and garlic bread.Maddy’s laughter rang from the kitchen.Ellie’s mom, still in her fuzzy house slippers, looked up from stirring a pot on the stove.
“Oh good,” she said, wiping her hands on a dish towel.“You made it back—” Her eyes landed on Dasher behind Ellie.“—and brought a guest?”
Ellie cleared her throat.“Mom, you remember Dasher.”
“Barely,” her mother said, then smiled.“But I do remember how much Ellie used to moon over you.”
“Mom!”Ellie hissed, cheeks flaming.
Dasher chuckled, stepping forward to shake her hand.“Nice to see you again, ma’am.”
“Judy,” she said, shaking back.“You’re older now.Less leather, more scruff.”
He grinned.“Working on the intimidation factor.”
“You bikers and your brand,” she mused, then turned to the sound of fast-approaching footsteps.“Maddy, come meet Mommy’s friend.”
Ellie’s heart skipped a beat.Dasher’s posture straightened.The little girl rounded the corner in candy-cane pajamas, curls wild from play.She stopped short when she saw him.
“This is Dasher,” Ellie said gently, crouching beside her daughter.“He gave me a ride home.”
Dasher crouched, too, not too close.“Hey, sweetheart.You like bikes?”
Maddy eyed him warily.“Mommy says they’re loud.”
“She’s not wrong,” he said with a wink.“But they’re fun if you wear the right helmet.”
Maddy giggled, just a little.Dasher smiled, and something in Ellie’s chest pulled tight.It was too much.Too soon.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” Judy called.“You staying, Dasher?”
He looked at Ellie.She opened her mouth to say no.But for a second, she pictured it, him at the table, passing the bread, making Maddy laugh.A slice of something normal.Domestic.
“Rain check,” Dasher said before she could speak.“Got club stuff to handle.”
“Of course,” Judy said, and turned back to the stove.
Ellie walked him back to the door.Snow was falling harder now, dusting his jacket and hair.
“Thanks again,” she said softly.
He met her eyes.“You’re doing a good thing, Ellie.That drive matters.”
“I know,” she answered.
He took a step closer.Not touching her, not quite.“I missed you,” he murmured.
Her breath caught.
“But I’m not pushing,” he added.“You’ve got a life now.A kid.I get it.”
Ellie’s heart thundered.She wanted to tell him, “Me too.”Wanted to tell him it hurt like hell seeing him again.That he still had a piece of her she never really got back.
