Page 44 of Even Exchange

“It’s lame,” she says with an eye roll.

“Denver,” Mom snaps, using her legal name. “Is that any way to speak to a guest?”

“No,” Denny mumbles. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Noah assures Mom, grabbing Denny’s bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

“Okay, I’m off,” Mom says, leaning down to kiss the twins on the head and striding towards the door.No kiss for me.“Can you lock up?”

“Sure,” I say, giving her a hesitant wave, and she sends me a weak smile. Things are tense, but we’re at least on cordial speaking terms.

Noah installs the booster seats into his truck, and we each take a kid. Nash fends me off, climbing up and buckling himself. Denny’s giggle pulls my attention as Noah blasts her off the ground, making a whooshing sound like a rocket, then sets her in the seat and buckles her in.

If backwards ball caps are illegal, it should be treason for a man in said friend zone to pair it with effortlessly slipping into the role ofdaddy. My ovaries are exploding.

Down, girl.

Hopping in the passenger seat, I put on Noah’s favorite playlist. He drives down the country road toward the highway, and my gaze wanders to him once more. His window is cracked, the breeze blowing the dark hair peeking out from under his hat, the kids are teasing each other in the back seat, and a wide smile spreads across my face at how very normal it all feels.

IT:Mmm. Quasi meglio del sesso.- EN: Mmm. Almost better than sex.

9

NOAH

“Come on, Nash!” I shout across the open space. “You’ve got it.” He launches the tiny football through the air, and I catch it easily.

“Yes!” he shouts, jumping with excitement.

“High five, bud!” I raise my hand. “That was awesome.” He runs to me and slaps my hand so hard I have to shake out the pain. “Dang, you’ve got a lot of power for a little guy.”

“A little guy?” Nash says with raised brows, then turns to a side stance I’m all too familiar with from my Taekwondo practice. “Yeop chagi!” he shouts, and I hop out of the way before he gets a chance to send that little foot flying towards me in a side kick.

“Kalryeo,” I beg with a laugh.

He freezes, standing straight. “You know Korean?”

“No,” I admit. “Just from Taekwondo.”

“What belt are you?” he asks, eyes shining with interest.

“Second dan black belt.”

His eyes widen. “Wow.”

“You going to shoot a kick my way again?” I ask with a cocked brow.

He shakes his head furiously, and I chuckle. “Come on, let’s go grab some water.”

My eyes wander to Charlotte, who’s coloring with Denny on the picnic table at our camping spot near Ichetucknee Springs. I set up the tents when we arrived, one for Charlotte and her siblings and one for me, with zero issues. Mainly thanks to Tony’s twenty-minute camping crash course he gave before allowing us to leave the house, but hey, Charlotte doesn’t have to know.

“You wanna do something fun?” I ask Nash after rehydrating, noting the sun’s beginning to set.

His eyes light up. “Yes!”

“Go collect some long, thin sticks and put them over there.” I point toward the pile of logs I brought to start up our bonfire. He obliges, roping Denny into helping him halfway through.

“Be really careful around this, okay?” I tell the twins as I strike a match and throw it onto the brush I placed for kindling under the logs.

---