Page 55 of Kiss Me Forever

Gage raised a brow. “Oh, really. How often is she here?”

I flipped him off. “Stop.”

“No, really. I overheard Riley telling Patrick that Brooklyn was hanging out with you more, but I didn’t hear the details. You and the Montgomery then?”

“Stop eavesdropping on your little brother and his girlfriend.”

“It’s not eavesdropping when they don’t fucking care that I’m in the room.” Gage rolled his eyes. “We were over at the parents’ house, and I can’t seem to get away from the lovebirds.”

“Something wrong there?” I asked, not really that curious about the younger couple. I liked Gage, and he was a good man, but Patrick annoyed the fuck out of me. He was like one of those frat guys who smiled a little too brightly and always got what he wanted.

Sure, the kid worked hard, sometimes, but he went through life pretty easily. Though from what I could tell he treated Riley right, so that was fine with me.

“Don’t get on a new subject. You and Brooklyn?”

I looked down the hallway, grateful that Bella’s door was still closed. “I think we’re seeing each other.”

“You think?”

“I don’t fucking know. We don’t go out, because my nights are now spent with Bella, but Brooklyn comes over here, and we went to that gala together.”

“Are you sleeping together?”

“Say that a bit louder with my kid in the house.”

“You do realize you’re going to have to have the talk with her, don’t you?”

“With Brooklyn? Yes. I realize that. We’re sleeping together, and we don’t talk about what it really means. But that sounds a little too much like talking about your feelings, and I’m not in the mood for that. Not with everything going on.”

“I was actually talking about the fact that you will soon have a teenage girl in this house, but good to know about you and Brooklyn.”

I closed my eyes as my stomach twisted. “Yes. I realized what talks are going to have to happen. They have a book called What to Expect When You’re Expecting, but not What to Expect When You Find Out You Have a Twelve-year-old Daughter.”

“Maybe in a book about adoption?” Gage held up both hands at my glare. “I’m being serious. People adopt children who aren’t babies. Maybe there’s something for you in there.”

I sighed and pulled out my phone. “I’m making a note to look it up. Thanks.”

“I am trying to help. I may be an asshole, but I’m your asshole.”

“If you continue to flutter your eyelashes at me, I’m going to think dirty thoughts.”

“Just as long as those dirty thoughts also include Brooklyn.”

Gage ducked my fist, and the Allen wrench fell from his hand as we continued to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Bella asked as she skipped into the living room and smiled.

I gave Gage a glare and looked over at my daughter. “My friend is just being an idiot. How’s the drawing going?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

She shrugged. “Good, I think. Can I help?”

“Have at it. You must be better than your dad at building things,” Gage said, pointing to one of the boxes.

Both Bella and I stilled at the phrase “your dad”, but I waited to see what she would say before I made a move. When she didn’t say anything, I knew it wasn’t time to dwell on the casual mention from Gage. We were so good about calling me Reece, but Bella would always be my daughter. And now we were finding our path.

“Excuse me, it’s my literal job to build things.”

“Then why aren’t these shelves already done?”