Page 133 of Stay Wild Darlin’

Harleigh’s head whipped around so fast I thought she might throw something.

“Gatlin Gaines,” she barked, glaring at him like he’d spit on the table.

He looked up, still chewing. “What?”

I stared at my plate. I really didn’t need to know that my boyfriend fucked his ex the night of their engagement party, which resulted in Cora coming into the world.

Did he tie her up too?

Did she cry his name?

Did he make that soft, broken sound when he came?

My stomach twisted.

This was the exact reason I hadn’t wanted to blur the line between boss and nanny. Because moments like this—where they were a group with shared memories and old stories, and I was the girl who came in after the wreckage—made me feel like a placeholder.

I cleared my throat and forced a weak smile. “I, uh, I’m gonna use the restroom.”

I stood, chair scraping quietly behind me, and walked fast down the hall, my chest burning.

Behind me, I heard Dalton snap, “What the fuck, man?”

“What?”

“Seriously? That was so fucking rude,” Fable chimed in.

I turned the corner and closed the bathroom door behind me, locking it with shaking fingers.

My reflection stared back at me in the mirror, eyes glossy, chest rising and falling too fast.

This is why I never should’ve crossed that line.

“Poppy?” It was Fable.

Relief cracked through my chest, and I quickly turned the lock and pulled the door open—then just as fast, yanked her inside and shut it behind us again.

“I don’t want to see him right now,” I blurted. My back was pressed against the door, heart pounding in my throat.

“I get it,” she said quietly. “That was . . . completely out of line.”

“I know I’m being immature about this,” I said, pacing a slow, anxious line along the bathroom tile. “But knowing that my boyfriend fucked his ex after your party while we’re all sitting around eating the same damn food, do you know how that feels?”

“I didn’t even think about it.” Her arms were crossed loosely over her chest. “I would’ve— if I had even considered what that moment might bring up for you, but Gatlin’s a dumbass, and that came out of nowhere.”

I shook my head, hugging my arms around my waist. “It’s the image. The reminder. They all talk about Brooke like she’s some chapter. Like she’s still in the air, still in the cracks of the wood in that house, still in the eyes of that baby.”

Fable’s face fell a little, and I hated that I might’ve made her feel guilty. But I needed to say it. Needed someone—anyone—to hear it.

“I know what I signed up for. I came into this knowing he had a past. That Cora came from a past. I love her—I really, truly love her—but sometimes, it’s like . . . I’m walking through a house that was already built, and I’m only rearranging the furniture.”

Fable stepped forward slowly, voice even. “That’s not true.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “You don’t get it.”

“Actually?” she said, gently grabbing my elbow to stop my pacing. “I do.”

I looked at her, eyes stinging.