Page 149 of The Moment You Know

“Water, please.” She turned away from the pictures and began heading toward the table. “With extra—”

“Ice. I know.”

As he got her water, she deliberately skirted the chair with the booster seat and made her way to another chair on the far side of the table. As she did, she took note of the wall that was painted with chalkboard paint and partially covered with drawings clearly done by Jacob. For the first time, it occurred to her that with the exception of the booster seat, this was the only visible sign that a child lived here, making her wonder if David had cleaned up all other traces for her.

Paige motioned toward the wall. “That’s fantastic.”

“My mom suggested doing it,” he told her as he put their glasses of water on the table and sat down. “She saw it on one of those HGTV shows she watches. I thought she was crazy, but it was a good call because Jacob loves it.”

She sat down next to him and despite wanting to keep her distance from all things Jacob, she found herself asking, “How’s he doing?”

David picked up his sandwich. “As far as my separation with Ashley goes, he’s adjusted to that very well. He’s really enjoying living in the loft, especially now that we have a TV to watch and furniture to sit on and everything. He tried to call dibs on the sectional, by the way, but I immediately shut him down.”

At that, Paige smiled.

“As far as the semi-shared custody goes, that’s a harder adjustment for him,” David continued.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“He’s really reluctant to stay with her. It kills me to see him so unhappy when he has to go over there. And I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t like her new place, or if it’s just being with her alone, or being away from me. Or, a combination of all three.”

“It’s probably a combination,” Paige said, as she picked up her own sandwich, which was a masterpiece of layered turkey, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, and lettuce. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s just a sandwich, but you’re welcome.”

In between bites, they kept up an easy conversation, which he started off by telling her he’d been reading her book.

“Really?”

He nodded. “I said I was going to.”

“I know, but …”

“But what? You thought I was lying?”

“No. I just thought it might take you a little longer to start it, that’s all.”

“Why? Because I’m lazy?”

“No. Quit doing that,” she chastised him with a laugh. “Children are a lot of work. It’s logical to think you wouldn’t have much spare time to read books—especially since you just moved and had to fix this place up.”

“I’ve been reading in bed after Jacob goes to sleep.”

For a really graphic moment, she pictured David lying shirtless in bed, reading, with his hair in disarray on his pillow. She quickly veered away from the image, just in time to hear him say, “Aren’t you going to ask me what I think?”

“Think about what?”

“Your book.”

“Oh, my book.” She felt herself flush. “No, I’m not.”

“You don’t want to know?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I’ll just go ahead and tell you, then, because secretly I think you want to know. There’s one thing I don’t like about it, and if I’d been able to read the advance copy, I would’ve had you change something.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

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