“Because of Jason?”
“No.” The quickness of that response is telling. “Why would you ask about him?”
“Your history with him. That’s all. In case our connection makes this weird for you.”
“And what about your ex-wife?” she asks instead. “I know you’re concerned about her finding out about us.”
“That’s manageable.” I decide to press, gently. “Is the father of the twins still in the picture, Perry?”
Silence stretches. When she speaks again, her voice is steadier than before. “Not really.”
Not really. “That’s not the same as no.”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” she says quietly.
The boundary is clear. I respect it. I have to, don’t I? “Understood.” But her answer gnaws at me.Not reallysuggests unfinished business.
Snow Valley thrives on unfinished business.
“I don’t want us to be public,” she adds quickly. “At least not yet. This is pretty new, and?—”
“You’re a private person. I’m fine with that. So am I.”
“There’s a place a town over,” she continues. “Fabulous Mexican food. No one cares who you are.”
“Is it in Blackbriar?” I assume as much because Amber loved Mexican food, and she took me to every Mexican restaurant in a fifty-mile radius when we were together, but she hates Blackbriar. It’s not as posh as Snow Valley and her neighbors—that spot is a working-class lumber town. Amber would never be caught dead there.
“Downtown Blackbriar, actually.”
“Send me the address.”
“I will.”
We sit in the quiet for a moment longer.
“Damian,” she says, almost like she’s testing something.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not pushing.”
There’s something in that that makes my chest tighten. “I don’t push. If you’re interested in me, great. If not, tell me. But I’ll never push my way into your life, Perry.”
“It’s one of the things I like best about you.”
Strange thing to glom onto, but if she’s happy with it, so am I. A yawn creeps out of me. “Shit. Guess I need actual sleep.”
“Okay. I’ll send you that address and check in with Liv to see when she can sit for me.”
“Sounds good. Talk later.”
“Yeah. Bye, Damian. Sweet dreams.”
We hang up, and I stare at the phone for several seconds.
