Page 55 of Push

I held up the bottle and winked. “The twist top means it’s extra classy, right?”

Gwen didn’t laugh, but she didn’t complain when I filled her glass with bubbles, either. Her index finger circled absently around the rim, her gaze flicking between Noah and me as I scooted back to the stove.

“Toby.” Her sigh was heavy. “Whatare youdoing?”

“Um…” Was this a trick question? “Cooking you dinner?”

Should I have left as soon as she’d arrived home? Was that how I was supposed to give her space? My brows knitted. But there were still a hundred things to do—finishing up the cooking, putting the leftovers in the freezer, tidying up, and Noah’s bath time.

Another sigh from Gwen. “Whyare you cooking me dinner?”

“Because you’re hungry?”

“You don’t need to keep pretending you want to help out. I’m home now. You’re off the hook.”

My head bowed. “I don’t want to be off the hook.” I swiped at my nose. “I want to be a good dad.”

“Tobes, youarea good dad.” Her sweet, reassuring voice did jack to stop my man-baby tears.

“I appreciate you lying through your teeth, doll, but we both know I can do better. Escaping my problems by burying myself in work was a move my father used to pull. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed. I loved today. I want to do more of this…even if your daily planner kinda hurts my brain.”

“It’s important to be organized.”

“Does Noah really need to go to Baby Rhyme Time and swimming lessons—”

“Yes. That’s whatproperparents do.”

What the hell was aproperparent? Not mine. Gwen was pretty ace, though. “But does he need to do both on the same day? You’re doing too much. What if I take him swimming on Saturday morning instead? Or maybe…” I turned my head to glance at her with hopeful eyes. “We could take him together?”

“You never cared about any of this before.”

“I never had any idea before.” I tossed the tea towel on the counter. “Today opened my eyes to a lot of things, doll. The big one is that I love this dad gig.”

“Tobes, you don’t have to pretend, okay? I know you’re only making an effort now to protect the money.” She pushed the glass away. “Please rest assured you and Kay are welcome to keep your precious trust fund.”

The spoon in my hand froze mid-stir in the sauce bubbling in the pot. A traffic jam of old thoughts crashed into my head.Don’t rock the boat. Make a joke. Everything’s fine.Except…

Nothingwasfine. I’d lost the most important people in my world. Ignoring the problem had never worked.

I drew in a deep breath. It was time to try a different approach. “Gwen, this has nothing to do with money. Or Kayleigh. I wish you’d stop reading her lies. Not one word she says is true. If I’m not at work, I’m here—”

“You don’t live here anymore.”

I braced my hands on my hips and took a deep breath.Keep it cool. “I agreed to move out because you said you needed space, and I believed that. I’d do anything to live here—anywhere—if it was with you. You mean the world to me.”

She dismissed me with an “Uh-huh.”

“Christ, Gwen, I’m trying. Can you see that, at least? I can’t fix what I did, but I swear I’m making changes.” And because old habits die hard, I flashed her a lopsided smile. “I’ll even endure a lifetime of Stroller Squad if that’s what it takes. I’m pretty sure one of the mums was planning to take me out with a burp cloth.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, but she didn’t bite back. Instead, she asked calmly, “Which one?” and slid the prosecco back.

“All of them?” Her slight smile hinted she liked that answer. “Specifically, the one with the blonde ponytail and the enormous veneers.”

Gwen’s eyebrow rose.

“I’m a dentist.” I shrugged. “I notice that stuff. Don’t tell her I said that, though, okay?” I grimaced. “I wasn’t kidding about the burp cloth.”

Another tiny smile tugged at Gwen’s lips. Was it my attempt at humor or the prospect of my demise? Either way, I’d take it. My chest swelled from how much sunshine she was stuffing in there.

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