“You’re not good, Mol.” He reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze that nearly—very nearly—pulled those tears that were threatening straight from her eyeballs.
“We need to do our post-date recap.” Her forehead pressed against the cool glass of the passenger window.
“That’s not due to be posted until tomorrow. We have some time.”
Except time was running out. Or time had already run out. She wasn’t precisely certain which it was.
“Ollie can’t stay at Rachel’s tonight,” she mumbled. “I have responsibilities. I can’t just la-de-da not take care of my son because my neighbor is moving away.” And Gavin met Ms. Perfect.
Gavin released her hand to turn the vehicle.
“We both know Agnes is more than your neighbor.” Gavin stopped at a red light.
She nodded. Agnes was so much more.
“She’s more than your landlady, too,” he said before she could add that part.
“She is,” Molly said to the glass, staring at nothing in particular outside of the vehicle. “But her life is moving forward.”
That’s what stung the most. That’s what hurt. In the end, Molly would only be a footnote.
She was tired of being the extra. The one left behind. The fun one who was great when someone needed a good laugh or a fun story, but not when they were looking for permanent.
“If we explain what happened, I bet Rachel will be more than happy to have an extra kiddo for the night,” Gavin suggested. He was being so gentle with her. Like he worried she’d break.
But she’d gotten this far in life and hadn’t broken. She didn’t have plans to start tonight.
Honestly? Molly had been planning to see if Ollie could sleep over anyway so she could have a good pity party
without witnesses.
“I want to go home,” she said, soft and quiet.
“Okay.” He turned left at the next light, redirecting them back toward her house.
She sent a quick message to Rachel, giving the Cliffs Notes of the situation. She didn’t even have to finish her text-extravaganza when Rachel responded, asking if Ollie could hang out with them for the night. The boys were jumping on the trampoline and didn’t want to stop.
Leave it to Rachel to know precisely what Molly needed—a little time alone to wallow before she stood up tall, fixed her curls, and started figuring shit out.
She caught herself biting at her fingernails—something she hadn’t done in years. Forcing herself to stop, she decided talking might actually help. Gavin was a smart guy. Maybe he’d even have a suggestion for her.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to move. I was going to wait until I had a little more money for a hefty down payment,” she said. “I love my neighborhood. I mean, I could buy Charlie’s house. It’s not a two-story like I wanted, but maybe that might work. I can visit Rachel and not have to drive. I’m close to Ollie’s school. And I like it here; I’m comfortable here.”
“You might not have to leave right away,” Gavin said, breaking through the fog of her ramblings. “When Agnes sells, they may want a tenant.”
Molly nodded. Yes, she knew that. Knew that the new owners might be interested in a tenant.
“Maybe you could even buy the duplex?” Gavin suggested. “Make it an investment.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” she admitted. Though, it
wasn’t precisely what she had planned. It could work. If she crunched the numbers, she might even make enough renting out the duplex to put more money away for her future dream house.
Though, she’d need to do a thorough analysis into her finances to see where a duplex like this would fit into a long-term plan.
But if she did happen to win this competition, she’d be a whole lot more comfortable. Huh. Dang. She was still very much right in there. More than that, her couple was ready to pledge forever.
Gavin pulled into her driveway. He turned off the car.
