"Don't—"
"You have the hots for your baby daddy."
"I do not?—"
"You absolutely do. Look at your face right now." She wheels closer. "Sloane. It's okay to be attracted to him. He’s hot.”
"We're supposed to be roommates. Co-parents. I set boundaries."
"Boundaries can adjust," Mel points out. "If both people want them to."
"I don't know what I want."
"Don't you?"
I look at the pamphlet again. At the highlighted sections. At the stack of parenting books, at the expensive stroller, at all the evidence of Tucker's preparation.
I think about his hand holding mine during the ultrasound. About him asking the doctor how to help me. About him giving me his bedroom, clearing out his drawers, and making sure the apartment is accessible for Mel.
I think about how he looks post-workout. About his hands on my feet, working out the soreness. About the way he called me gorgeous, like he couldn't help himself.
"I might," I admit quietly. "Want the boundaries to adjust."
"Then tell him."
"I can't just?—"
"Why not? You're adults. You're attracted to each other. You're having babies together. What's stopping you?"
Fear, I think. Fear that I'm repeating patterns. Fear that I'll lose myself again. Fear that this is just pregnancy hormones and proximity, and not something real. This is all happening very fast. A few short breaths ago, he was day drinking on a tiki boat, hollering at me when I was trying to jog.
"I need time," I tell Mel. "To figure out what I'm feeling."
"Fair enough. But Sloane?" She picks up the hair care pamphlet again. "Don't take too long."
After Mel leaves, I sit in the nursery surrounded by baby supplies, holding that pamphlet. I think about the man I was attracted to at that party—cocky, sexy as sin, carefree. And Tucker is still those things. I hear him laugh on the phone with his brothers and see him smile when he writes texts to his mom.
He's not performing. He's not trying to control me. He's just... showing up. Consistently. Thoughtfully.
And I'm attracted to him.
Not just physically, though God knows that's there too. But attracted to who he is. How he's trying. The man he's becoming.
Despite my vow to take space and time, to make up for what I lost during my marriage … I’m attracted to my baby daddy.
And I have no idea what to do about it.
CHAPTER 24
TUCKER
"Stag.Grentley. You're sitting together on the flight."
Coach Thompson's voice cuts through the locker room chatter. Everyone goes quiet.
I look up from buffing my dress shoes. Grentley is across the room, already shaking his head.
"Coach, that's not—" he starts.
