“Exactly.” The word leaves me on a shaky exhale. He didn’t minimize it.
His hand slides over, his thumb swiping slowly, deliberately, over my thigh. “That’s okay. Thank you for letting me know. I didn’t think about it that way.”
“You didn’t know.” My voice is soft now, emotion thick in my throat, but it’s out. I let it be known.
He smiles, squeezing my thigh as he continues to drive. “Completely unrelated to this, but if you ever want to chat business strategy, I’m happy to take a look.”
I open my mouth to refuse, but he beats me to it.
“And before you say you can’t ask that of me, you’re not asking. I’m offering. Let me know, ‘kay?”
“Okay.” This feels so easy—talking with him, highs and lows, hopes and fears, and I like how he’s solution-oriented. He’s actually good. Like, truly good. “Holden?”
Might as well say it.
“Yeah, Beauty?” The nickname lands warm in my heart, as it always does.
“I would like for you to meet my kids.”
My heart hammers.
“I already met them, remember?” he says lightly.
“Yeah, I mean…um, like, spend some time with them, getting to know them. We’re kind of a package deal, you know?”
“I know,” he replies.
“So, um, I would like for you to come over if you can, so we can hang out.” I hold my breath. So many things in this one conversation. What happened to baby steps, Nat?
“I would love that. Just tell me when.” His answer is immediate, protective in its certainty, and I feel like I can breathe again. I’m aware he knew about them, but hearing that hewantsto spend time with them fills my heart with love.
“Mm, do you want to go get pizza or something after the game tomorrow?” I ask, hope threading through my nerves as my teeth dig into my lower lip.
“That sounds perfect.”
“Okay,” I say, smiling.
“Okay,” he echoes.
“Oh, and Holden?” Emotion surges unexpectedly, threatening to spill over.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For understanding.”
His hand tightens on my thigh. “Of course. Thank you for trusting me with your thoughts. I value them more than you know.”
The rest of the drive goes by in a flash, music playing in the background as we talk. His relationship with his dad is getting better and stronger. He wants to continue getting to know him—not the man who messed up all those years ago, but who he is now. I think it’s admirable.
“Are you seeing Jerry tomorrow?”
“For a bit before the game, yes.”
“Wanna come?” he asks, and I feel the heavy weight on my chest again.
