Jess leans forward, eyes sharp. “So, did you not like being with him?”
My face is on fire now. “I didn’t say that.”
“So you did like it,” Sophia says, grinning.
Heat floods my body. Because the truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about that night. About the way he made me feel seen and wanted and safe all at once. About the way my body responded to his like we’d done this a hundred times before.
“We agreed to one night. And I don’t do relationships.”
“But was it a good night?” Jess presses.
I take a long drink while I decide how much to admit. My pulse is hammering. My hands are shaking slightly.
“Yes,” I say finally.
“How good?” Stella is practically bouncing.
“I’m not giving you details.”
“Come on,” Sophia whines.
I close my eyes for a second, and there he is again. Theweight of him above me. The sound of my name in his voice, rough and needy. The way he took his time like he had all night and wanted to use every second of it.
My stomach flutters.
“Fine. It was really good. Like really, really good. Happy now?”
“Very,” Jess says, smirking. “So you’re attracted to him, sounds like you have amazing chemistry, and he is a great guy who wants to be there for you and the baby.”
Everything she’s saying is true, and that’s the problem. Because the more I think about Jake, the more I remember how it felt to be with him, and the harder it is to keep my walls up.
“We don’t want to complicate anything right now,” I say, but my voice sounds uncertain even to my own ears. “Co-parenting is something we both agree on.”
Blair squeezes my hand again. “You don’t have to figure everything out right now. Just see what happens.”
I look down at our joined hands, then back up at the faces of my friends. They’re not pushing, exactly. Just opening a door I’ve been trying to keep closed.
But the truth is, Jake’s already halfway through it. With his groceries and his dinner and his calm certainty that he’s not going anywhere.
And I’m terrified of how much I want to let him in.
“Maybe,” I say. And this time, I almost mean it.
“You never know,” Sophia says softly. “Sometimes the best things are the ones we don’t plan for.”
eleven
. . .
Jake
The email comesthrough at seven forty-five Monday morning, before I have even finished my first coffee.
From: Ryan Cole
Subject: My office – 8:30 AM
That’s it. No message in the body of the email. No pleasantries. No agenda. Just a summons. My stomach drops.He knows.
