Page 60 of Golden Ruin

It isn’t lost on me that, after our breakup, I had the chance to move on, explore a relationship with someone other than her. And as much as I don’t like the guy, she seems to have her heart set on taking things to the next level with Matt. Being in Spain would remove me from the equation.

And not to mention, being in Spain would spare me having to watch it all unfold.

I lower my head, staring at my dark phone screen where it rests on my thigh. It says a lot that, while I should be happy she’s found someone, I’m strategizing how to be an entire continent away, so I can pretend it’s not happening.

So I can pretend she isn’t falling for someone else.

I’ve lost track of which side of the argument is winning and just shoot Cliff a text to give myself a little more time.

Sterling: Thanks for the reminder. Get back to you soon.

My eyes shift to the clock–nine P.M. Chances are, Jax has been fast asleep for half an hour already, and I hate when I get held up and miss getting him to bed.

I head inside, shrugging my gym bag over my shoulder as I inhale the aroma of whatever Lexi made for dinner. Clean dishes line the drying rack, and I’ve gotten used to the subtle hints that I haven’t come home to an empty house for a few weeks now. As I glance down at hers and Jax’s shoes on the rug near the door, I smile, liking that the place feels lived in.

There’s this thought in my head as I walk toward the stairs quicker than normal. It’s as I acknowledge how my heart’s racing, how I take the steps by two.

I like this, coming home to my son being under the same roof as me.

Coming home to them.

My feet halt halfway up the stairs, because I’m not allowed to think like that. If I keep it up, it’ll only make things more complicated, and the last thing we need is another complication. So, I check myself, dial back the anticipation.

Having them here full-time is temporary.

You’ll have to adjust to being alone again.

I finish the climb, but with far more restraint than before, because I’ve effectively deflated my own excitement. So, when I step into Jax’s doorway and hear the tail end of a voicemail, a landlord apologizing to Lexi because an apartment she inquired about was already rented to someone else, reality puts me in my place.

She ends the call and peers up at me from the floor. There’s a laundry basket beside her, and she’s surrounded by tiny stacks of Jax’s folded clothes.

“Hey,” she says quietly. “Didn’t hear you come in.”

My shoulder drops against the doorframe. “Just got here a few minutes ago.”

Her eyes soften half a second before she looks away, focusing on the small pair of jeans she’s folding.

“I cooked,” she says quietly. “Your plate’s in the fridge.”

That feeling comes up again. The one where I’m oddly content and frustrated all at the same damn time.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”

She shrugs and lifts a t-shirt into the air as she straightens it. “I don’t mind. I’m already cooking for me and Jax, so… may as well cook for you, too. Besides, once I start back to work Monday, there will be a lot of nuggets and fries in our future.”

She laughs, but I can’t stop staring at her, which has me grateful she isn’t watching me. When I’m finally able to force my eyes toward our boy, asleep on the top bunk, I smile a little.

“Did he have a good day at school?”

“Yep,” Lexi nods. “And, apparently, he proposed on the playground with the ring from his milk bottle. The girl said yes, so the word on the street is that we’ll have ourselves a daughter-in-law soon.”

“He’s letting her lock him down already?” A quiet laugh slips out. “Damn. Poor kid has no idea what he’s in for.”

“Well, don’t try talking him out of it, because he’s madly in love.”

I shake my head. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem.”