Caden:Did you tell Emily about Maddie?
Me:No. I think she assumed I had a kid, and I didn’t bring it up or correct her.
Caden:That’s your call. A stroll down the good part of memory lane for a night or two wouldn’t hurt, but I’ll drop it.
Me:You hooked up with Sabrina again, didn’t you?
Caden:No, I didn’t hook up with her, but I’m thinking about it. What’s the big deal? She’s still hot. She’s single. I’m single. We both had shitty divorces we’d like to forget.
Me:You always used each other to forget.
Caden:And it always worked. With no hard feelings.
Me:Just fistfights after school with whoever you’d both piss off.
Caden:Don’t be jealous of our system. We could even double-date if you wanted to.
Me:Did you not hear anything I just said?
Caden:I did, but I’m trying to ignore it. Seriously, Tessa wouldn’t want this, and you know it.
I let my head fall back as I clenched my eyes shut. Tessawouldhate this, especially if I ever had the chance to reconnect with Emily again.
And while I couldn’t argue how annoyed she’d be at my missed chance, charm, or whatever, she’d appreciate me making her daughter my priority, especially now.
Maybe I could think of dating in the distant future, but not in the present, regardless of who I was interested in—or trying not to be interested in, as was the case now.
Me:Be that as it may, I need to figure out how to be a father first, and that means no distractions.
Caden:I get that. I just wanted you to give yourself a break, but I’ll lay off for the moment. Good luck with the therapy session.
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and scrubbed a hand down my face. In another time and place, would I consider starting something up with Emily again?
Absofuckinglutely.
Seeing her again for the first time in twenty years rattled me, and all the old feelings I’d never given either of us a chance to deal with bubbled right to the surface. Considering how I couldn’t shake the imprint of her soft lips on my cheek or how my head spun too fast when I got close to her, distance was the only option I could handle.
Even if her offer to meet up again registered like a siren song.
I was lonely, uncertain, and usually just this side of terrified since I’d become a full-time parent. Emily had always been the one to soothe me when we were younger, and I was probably subconsciously seeking out that old comfort. Whatever it was that drew me to her so much, I didn’t have time for, and I had to find a way to stop dwelling on it.
I flipped through an old magazine, not reading any of the words, until I heard the door squeak open.
My inclination was to rush over and flood both Maddie and Dr. Asher with questions about how it went, but I held myself back. Maddie’s smile was small but bashful, piquing my curiosity even more as to what she’d said during the session. But I had to calm the fuck down and let them both tell me what I needed to know and when.
“Now, sit right here while I talk to your uncle Jesse. There’s some loose LEGO in that bin in the corner if you’d like to build.”
“She loves to build. She’s the proud owner of three LEGO princess castles.” I smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear, my chest pinching at her smile widening by a couple of inches as she lifted her head with pride.
I couldn’t expect all our problems to be solved in one session, but the almost contentment on my niece’s face shot my hopes up. Again.
“I’ll only be a minute. Okay, Mad?”
“Okay,” she said, heading for the box of LEGO but keeping her eyes on me. I gave her a tiny nod as I followed Dr. Asher.
“I know you probably can’t tell me much, but it looks like it went well, maybe.”
Dr. Asher’s lips curved into a warm smile.
