Page 34 of For Fox Sake

He frowns. “But his fiancée is?—”

“Yeah. She’s pregnant.” I wave a hand. “It doesn’t matter. She can have him.”

He’s silent for a few long seconds. “So, you broke up because he couldn’t handle raising a kid that wasn’t his?”

“According to him, it wasn’t that Ari wasn’t his, it was that he didn’t want kids at all. Except now he’s having a baby and is all super stoked about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a dad...”

He didn’t want me.

It hurts. Not because I want him back, but because... what’s so bad about me?

“He’s an ass. You are way too good for him. You dodged a bullet.” His voice, low, calm, and assured, is as comforting as his words, like a soothing stroke down my spine.

“It was easier after we broke up, like I had one less child to take care of, one less person to worry about. I don’t want to see him, or Samantha. They’re difficult to talk to. It’s exhausting. Maybe that sounds dumb.”

“It’s not dumb.”

“I don’t miss Shane, what I miss is... the idea of having a partner in life, you know? I thought he was someone I could grow old with. Someone to laugh with, cry with, share in the joys and the ups and the downs of parenting, and life in general. The exciting parts and the mundane day-to-day stuff.”

Not to mention the fact that I would die to get laid. I haven’t been with anyone since Shane.

Warm hands cover my shoulders, the heat of his chest brushing my back. “Hey. You’ll have that someday.”

Slowly, I turn around to face him.

His hands drop and then lift, sliding up my arms and cupping my face.

I wish I could read his expression. It’s too dark to make out anything beyond the outline of his form.

“You’re incredible, and someday, some lucky guy is going to love doing all the exciting and boring things with you.”

Did he mean that to sound sexy? Because it did. Is he willing to participate in some exciting things with me? Because I am more than ready.

But I don’t say that. I can’t even think it.

I cover his fingers with mine. “Jake.”

My phone dings and I jump away, banging my elbow into the door, the handle digging into my hip.

“Shit. I have to go. I have to pick up Ari.”

“Okay. Maybe I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

I flee the storage closet like my ass is on fire.

* * *

“I’m hungry.”

I finish wiping down the entertainment center and glance over at Ari. “I have a cereal bar in my purse.”

She slumps back on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. “I don’t want that.”

I grab the cleaning spray and move to the side table, squirting a couple of times before wiping it down. “I also have some nuts and dried fruit.”

She grimaces. “You never have any good food.”

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