He was going to do it. Relationship diets were temporary anyway. Might as well get back to enjoying buttered thighs without worrying about the calorie count…or something like that. It made sense in his head.
Molly’s lips parted in blatant invitation.
“I think I’m going to kiss you now,” he said.
He swore she said “yes, please” on a breath, but it was said so softly, he couldn’t be sure.
That’s when it smacked him like someone had called out, “Bingo!”
Molly had to choose him. Not because she’d get more votes, but because she wanted him for who he was.
It wasn’t moist or dripping pulled pork. It wasn’t Gavin who had to be ready for this.
He grinned and pulled away. “Maybe we’ll just do that part privately.”
Molly cleared her throat. Went along with it. But the pulse at her neck was thrumming hard against the skin.
This was Molly’s gig. His job—his only job—was to sit back, be there for her, and help her on her way to the right direction.
The right direction being his direction.
Chapter Seventeen
“Currently approving my kid’s friends based on which parents will drink wine with me on playdates.” —An internet meme (and so very true).
Molly
Sunday Funday at the park with her girlfriends was the highlight of Molly’s week. One of her favorite things in the world.
The kids were all playing with one another on the playground and entertaining themselves. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, her friends all showed up—even April—and there was a mimosa in her insulated tumbler. Life was…
Miserable.
Molly was miserable.
There. She admitted it to herself.
Molly was neverreallymiserable unless she got the flu. Otherwise, she was more of a go-along-with-what-life-tosses kind of person. Never getting too upset. Life was too short, and she was along for the ride.
Would she have liked a full house of kids that filled an entire dining room table? Yes. Would she have liked it if Ollie’s dad had held up his end of the bargain when she got pregnant? Of course.
He had no problem holding up his bargain with Molly’s replacement. Apparently, she made him happy. They had many kids who Ollie had never met. Their choice, not Molly’s or Oliver’s.
None of that was anything to get too worked up about.
Molly was a cheerful person, dammit.
She sighed, a bone deep sigh. Laid back in the grass, arms wide, and let gravity hold her. It’s not like anyone else wanted to hold her. Not long-term at least.
Her friends continued to chatter in the background as she opened her eyes to follow the line of the clouds as the wind pushed them along above her.
Life was good. She liked what she had, and if she wanted anything at this point? Just more of that goodness, more of what she already had. Compounding interest in the investment she’d made.
She was content. Wasn’t she?
She had been content, at least. Now? Eh, not so much. Because after the didn’t-happen-don’t-ever-mention-it-again kiss, she’d been totally out of sorts.
Also, craving pulled pork and a side of sausage with Cajun rice and beans. She did not, however, crave cayenne cinnamon rolls. That nod from her was also a bit of a fib. She’d never actually made them that way, because, ew, gross.
