“Until you.” He held my gaze.
“H-how old is she?”
At this, his eyes softened and a smile spread. It wasn’t the same one he’d given me. This was tender, gentle, loving. He loved her. Adored her.
“She’s 4. We broke up before she turned 1.”
“Knots, and she’s with her Mother?”
“Yes,” he clenched his jaw.
I wanted to scream—to ask why he’d waited days to tell me. But I had no right to demand his history.
“You didn’t think about mentioning it?”
“We were a little preoccupied,” he smirked.
“I… want to hit you right now,” I said.
Helaughed.
“You think this is funny? I don’t like being lied to, Dane!” His laughter cut off and his eyes were on me again.
“I wasn’t laughing at you,” he said gently. He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. A shudder wracked my body.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Dahlia.”
The name lingered in the small space, turning the bomb he’d just dropped into a person. “She’s the only reason I’m still in contact with my ex,” Dane continued. He reached out, his hand gripping the back of my neck to pull me into his space until our foreheads touched.
I wanted to be angry, but thinking of a miniature version of him made my fury dissolve.
“You make me want more,” I whispered against his lips. “And it scares the hell out of me.”
Dane pulled me into a deep, claiming kiss, and I opened for him, letting the heat of his body bulldoze the walls I’d built.
“You don’t have to be scared of me,” he said against my lips when we pulled apart. He lay back, pulling me into his arms. Kade was silent on my other side, his presence a reminder of the warning he’d given me.
Eventually, they drifted off.
I stayed awake, staring at the blanket while doubts crept in.What if he isn’t single? What if I’m just the distraction while his real life waits for him to come home?
I looked at Dane’s sleeping face—the strong jaw, the ethereal features highlighted by the moonlight leaking through the holes in the blanket. My gaze trailed down his chest. I’d promised myself I’d never get this close again. I was a liar.
I couldn’t live with myself if I was a homewrecker. My fragile heart wouldn’t make it if he grew cold one day and started to hate me. The incoming storm felt closer than ever, and as Itucked myself closer to his side, I realized the rain was already beating against the fort walls.
“I love you,” Dane murmured, his voice thick with sleep. It felt like the mist from the storm was sneaking beneath the cracks of the blanket, chilling me to the bone.
My heart clenched. For the first time in that impenetrable fort, I felt completely exposed.
Time
A few hours later, my phone dinged.
I patted the mattress, my fingers searching through the discarded snack wrappers until I found it. A text from my Mother. She was summoning me home. I’d been gone too long, and according to her, the house was a wreck.
The bubble had burst.
