It’s kind of sweet, surely she must see that.
Ford throws an orange at me, and I’m quick to catch. “Vitamin C, man. You have a kid, and they bring home bugs along with their adorable little smiles. While this is probably something your best man at your wedding may joke about… you literally made her think someone might leak the tape of you two longer than needed. She should strangle you.”
“Shit.” I growl, as his words are not reassuring. “She also mentioned how she hates lies.”
“Kind of goes hand in hand.”
“I let her down, I know. But I want to lay everything on the table, and she wouldn’t even let me finish.”
Ford shakes some pepper onto his eggs. “Do you know what is also interesting about this situation?”
“Tell me, oh wise one, who still pines for his ex from ten years ago.” I give him side-eye.
He offers me a stiff fake smile before continuing. “You want to lay everything on the table because you feel a lot for her.”
“Fuck, really?” I say, sarcastic. “Because that wasn’t obvious.”
“Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I’m just saying that maybe you should start by telling her that and then confessing whatever else you have going on in your head.” Now he is onto buttering a piece of toast.
For one second, I wonder how his physique is long and trim when he eats like that, then remind myself he burns off a hell of a lot of calories on the ice. My temporary distracting thought, I shake away.
“Well, now I have to find a way to see her again. I texted her this morning, and I’m getting classic April again.”
I glance at my phone to give myself another dose of agony when I re-read the messages.
Me
Hey, I really want to talk about last night. Can I come over? Maybe I can grab breakfast from that place you like on my way?
April
No. I didn’t sleep well. Had a strange nightmare then woke to realize that it’s reality, and now I need to find spells to curse your team next season.
Okay then. I’ll wait for our next chat.
Yeah, you do that.
Throwing my phone to the side, I pop my lips and rub my forehead again.
“I don’t want to show up out of the blue because she did ask for space, and besides, I need to head back to Lake Spark for Hadley.”
“Then I’m sure you will find a way to get her to come to Lake Spark.”
“Maybe.”
A long silence hits us, and I take the moment to walk to the cart and pour myself a cup of coffee. I inhale the scent to make me more alert, not that it will change anything.
“I’ve never seen you invested,” Ford speaks up.
I grab a croissant from the breadbasket. “What do you mean?”
“In a woman, in creating a family. That’s what you're doing, by the way.”
My jaw flexes side to side. “Shouldn’t that scare me more?”
Ford stands up and confidently smirks. “Nah, as long as you love her because it’s her, not because she is a mom substitute to Hadley. When a kid is involved then you need to close your eyes, and as horrible as it sounds, if you can imagine yourself in the future in a scene without a child, then is that woman still with you? And if it’s a yes, then she’s the one.”
I study him for a few ticks. I know he is speaking from experience. “Yet sometimes you have to let them lead the way and let them go if that makes them happy.”
