Brooke whipped her head around. “Were you on a date?” she asked suddenly, her voice tight with guilt. “Did we ruin it?” She buried her head in her hands. “Is Honey gone? She didn’t say goodbye. Did she go away forever like Mom?”
Oh, god.
Ethan looked like he’d been punched in the chest. His face twisted with helplessness, torn between two daughters.
Honey didn’t give herself time to overthink it. She stepped forward. “Hey,” she said gently, pushing the door open the rest of the way. “Would it be alright if I came in?”
She crossed the room slowly, crouching beside Brooke’s bed like she might startle her if she moved too fast.
“I’m not staying forever,” Honey said honestly. “I have a job and a home back in the city. But I would never go without saying goodbye.”
Brooke looked at her skeptically, arms still wrapped tightly around her knees.
“You can visit me,” Honey added. “If you want.”
She sniffed. “Why would you want a bunch of stupid kids visiting you?”
“Despite your many animal-related assaults on my person,” Honey said with a small smile—and that earned the faintest smirk from Brooke. “I happen to like you guys.”
Her lip trembled. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
That seemed to settle something in the room. They were quiet for a bit. Brooke let her knees down from her chest and crawled to the pillow and laid down.
Emma climbed into bed beside her sister.
“I think we’ll be fine, Dad,” she murmured, pulling theblanket up over both of them. “You two can go…wherever you were going.”
Ethan kissed them each on the head—Brooke first, then Emma. Then he stood, giving Honey a small nod before leading her quietly back out.
“Goodnight, girls,” she said.
Downstairs, they found Maverick and Nova still in the lobby. Nova looked half-asleep, curled into one corner of the couch, while Maverick sat beside her with his arm draped casually behind her shoulders.
“I think they’ll be fine for the night,” Ethan said. “Thanks again. I can pick them up around eight if that’s okay.”
“Make it ten,” Maverick replied, already stretching. “I promised Melly pancakes. And if I’m right, all three of them are sleeping in.”
Nova opened her mouth to say something, but Maverick reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together without even looking at her. Whatever it was, she let it go. “Have a nice night,” she said instead.
Outside, the air was cooler than it had been an hour ago, and Honey pulled her cardigan tighter around her.
The front door had barely closed behind them when she blurted, “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“You were fine.”
They got back in the truck in silence. She settled into her seat and almost told him it was okay if he just wanted to go home. That they didn’t have to keep talking. That she understood.
But before she could speak, he cleared his throat.
“It surprised me,” he began, before pausing, “how nice it was to have backup. So…thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” she said softly.
Her fingers trembled just slightly as she reached out and touched the back of his hand resting on the gearshift. He tensed.
But then, he flipped his hand over and laced their fingers together.
