His dark gaze never left her face. “You were quiet all during dinner, like there’s something on your mind.”
She offered him a falsely bright smile. “I’m good. But now that you mention it, I should probably get going. I have so many things to do at my place before—”
He stepped in front of her, blocking her way to the sink.
“Ryleigh,” he began.
She waved the plates she held. “Oh, look. Dishes. These need to go in the dishwasher. Why don’t you get Noah set up for his computer time? I’ll take care of these.”
He shook his head. “If I do that, you’ll duck out. There’s something. I want to talk about it. Tell me you’ll stay.”
Stayshmay, she thought with a sigh. “I’m fine.”
“Then there’s no reason not to sit with me for a bit.”
“I liked you better when you were the clueless husband rather than the perceptive friend.”
He flashed her a grin. “Evolution is inevitable. I have mad skills.”
“Apparently.”
She continued to clear the table and put dishes into the dishwasher while Alex logged in to the laptop Noah was allowed to use for a precious ninety minutes every other night. When he walked back into the kitchen, she was just putting the last of the chicken into the refrigerator.
“You could use the leftovers for chicken salad,” she told him. “You could both take it in sandwiches for the next couple of days.”
“Or Noah could keep buying his lunch like always.”
“Homemade is better.”
He pointed to the sofa. “I don’t have it in me.”
“We’re talking about some cut-up celery, a few spices, mayo. It’s not hard.”
They sat across from each other on the sofas. Alex shook his head.
“I’m at my limit with the cooking,” he admitted. “The chicken salad will push me over the edge.”
“I could do it,” she began, only to have him cover his face with his hands. She smiled. “Or Noah could buy his lunch, like he’s been doing.”
“Thank you.” He looked at her. “What’s going on? Trouble at school?”
“No, things are good there. I love my kids and my work. It’s not anything.” Too late she realized she should have thought of a really great lie because she’d never been very good at coming up with one under pressure.
His steady gaze never wavered.
“It’s... it’s Dustin.”
Alex’s relaxed body language didn’t change. “You were away for the weekend. Didn’t things go well?”
She sucked in a breath and confessed all. “I thought he was going to propose but he didn’t.” She told him about the great dinner, the walk on the beach. “It was the perfect moment. A ‘made for TV’ moment. There we were—just the two of us—talking about our love and how great things are and he didn’t do it.”
She flung herself to the side, collapsing on the sofa. “It’s not going to happen. The man doesn’t want to marry me. There, I’ve said it. Dustin just isn’t that into me.”
“I happen to know he’s in love with you.”
She sat up. “Is he really, because it doesn’t feel like it.” She held up a hand. “I know, I know. Sure he can love me without wanting to marry me. Not everyone needs marriage in their lives. I get that. But I do. I want a regular, traditional life. I want a husband and babies. I don’t want to be my mom and have kids on my own.”
She sighed. “You know the worst of it?”
