Page 64 of Saving You

“Not as bad as it could have. I’m heading back to his place after I drop Ina off at school. Grady’s still at mine, by the way. He could probably use an ear or some company. He found out some shit about his wife last night, and…yeah. It wasn’t great.”

“You took off on him?” Adele asked, frowning.

Ridge held up his palms. “I’m sorry, man, but Oz was my priority. I promise I’m not being the asshole here. I made sure Grady was cool with it, and he insisted that I take care of Oz.”

“No, no, I get it,” Adele said quickly. “If that shit happened to Kash, I’d burn the world down, and you know I don’t mess around with fire.”

Ridge felt his insides settle. He was grateful his friends understood in ways others probably never would. And the next time they had a dad meet-up, he hoped he had something good to share with them all.

“I should get going,” Ridge said, realizing the time. “But hey, everything good with Gage?”

“He’s doing a lot better. Pulling himself out of his funk. We’re looking at apartments this weekend, and he’s been hanging out with Lucas and his buddies more, so that’s been nice. I think it’ll take him a while to get over this one.”

“Well, if he needs an ear, remind him he’s got half a dozen uncles ready and willing to listen. And maybe to drive down and put the fear of God in his ex if we need to.”

Adele laughed, his eyes crinkled in the corners. He looked grateful. “I love you all a lot. You know that, right?”

Ridge rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we do. Go home and get some sleep. You sound drunk.”

Adele laughed and gave him a shove toward the middle of the room, and Ridge stumbled before righting himself just in time to catch Ina, who was flying across the floor to meet him. He swept her up into his arms and realized she was half-covered in chocolate, clutching a donut with all the frosting bitten off.

‘Where did you get that?’ he asked her.

She pointed at Gage, who looked somehow both guilty and unapologetic. ‘She asked. How can I tell that face no?’ he signed more fluently than Ridge expected him to, considering all the time he’d spent away from them.

‘Stop spoiling her,’ Ridge said, but there was no fire behind those words. He wanted this for his daughter. He reached out with one arm and yanked Gage close, giving him a half hug. “If you need me, you know where to find me, right?”

Gage pulled back and booped Ina on the nose before nodding. ‘I need to come over for dino nuggets.’

Ina squealed and kicked her legs hard before shoving most of the donut in her mouth. Ridge quickly fished out most of it and let her take a smaller bite.

‘See you soon?’ he asked.

Gage nodded, then gave Ina’s temple a last kiss before he turned and headed for the locker rooms. Ridge felt good—better than before—but there was a mountain of uncertainty waiting for him the moment he dropped Ina off at her classroom door and headed back to Oz.

Ridge debated about knocking, but in the end, he let himself back in through Oz’s front door and was immediately met with the sight of him on his couch, one leg bent against his chest, his left hand holding a cup of coffee.

He didn’t look startled at all. In fact, he looked calmer and more relaxed than he had when he’d fallen asleep against Ridge’s chest. He offered a smile, his head tilted to the side as Ridge kicked off his shoes and stepped into the room.

‘Coffee?’

Ridge shook his head and held out his hand to show his caffeine that morning was definitely working. ‘I took Ina to McDonald’s.’

Oz grinned. ‘Did you bring me anything?’

Ridge’s face bloomed white-hot. ‘I didn’t…I should…OMG?—’

‘I’m joking,’ Oz signed in a rush. He set his coffee down and stood up, closing the distance between them with three long steps. ‘I don’t really eat breakfast in the morning.’

Ridge sagged with a sigh. ‘Me either. Just coffee. Sometimes a protein shake.’

Oz grinned and ran his hand down Ridge’s stomach. ‘I can tell.’

What was happening? Ridge wasn’t mad about it, but he was confused. Oz had been beside himself last night with self-deprecation and self-doubt and had been convinced Ridge was trying to dump their fake relationship so he could try and hook up with Grady, of all people.

And granted, the man was hot, but he was not Ridge’s type.

But now, Oz was flirting, and he didn’t know what to make of it.

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