Page 41 of Accidental Dad's Best Friend

I glance over at Liam. He is still sitting with his eyes pinched shut. Like his life is so hard. Like we are all such disappointments. Like some kind of self proclaimed martyr. It’s pathetic. But I take his moment of oblivious self pity to tuck the pages of Izzy’s blog into my jacket.

“Do you see what I am dealing with, Savage?” He asks, finally opening his eyes but suspecting nothing.

“I do.” I say. I can’t let this bridge burn to the ground. Not just yet. It’s not a white flag by any means. But I’m not going to rock the boat anymore. Not today. “And I guess I have work to do.”

With that, I walk out, nearly running into Rose as I turn the corner. I stop hard, grabbing her arms so that I don’t knock her over. But in the process, the papers fall from my jacket onto the floor.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. I mean Mr. Savage. I mean…” she bends down and grabs the papers before I can.

Shit.

For a moment, she pauses, then stands slowly and hands them to me.

I make eye contact with her, unable to read her expression. Her eyes are locked on mine. I pull my gaze away, taking the papers from her and folding them in half.

“I guess we have our work cut out for us, don’t we?” I ask with a smile. “Covering all these articles and blogs for him.”

“Yes. Of course,” she smiles. There is a moment of silence between us and I can’t tell what she’s thinking. But I hold my gaze on her just long enough to telepathically let her know she needs to keep her mouth shut.

Chapter 15

Izzy

He’s looking for me.

After years of not caring where I was, what I was doing, whether or not I was okay, my dad is looking for me. And I know better than to think it’s because he cares. Because the only person Liam Sloane cares about is Liam Sloane.

But for some reason, he wants to know now. The timing is a bit concerning. Ethan insisted that he doesn’t know anything, doesn’t suspect anything but I’m not so sure. Despite having a head full of hot air, my dad is not a stupid man. Quite the opposite really. Knowing that he is online scouting for clues about where I went and what I am doing has me on edge. I find myself locking not just the doors but the windows. I lay awake at night thinking about all the ways he could be searching for me. I don’t have social media and I don’t have a LinkedIn. And my blog is not under my real name. Not only that, but Jaxon doesn’t have my last name. I did not want him to be a Sloane. Maybe someday I won’t be either.

It’s a sunny Tuesday when I go to pick Jax up from school. It’s hot, even though we are past summer, and even in a light,linen jumper that I found at a thrift store earlier in the morning, I’m sweating.

“Some heat, huh?” Rosilyn’s voice comes from behind me as she walks up.

“No kidding,” I grumble, tugging at my dress to free myself up a little bit. “I could go for a drink.”

“That kind of day?”

“That kind of week.”

“It’s Tuesday.” She smiles and I laugh.

“What even are days anymore?”

Rosilyn touches my arm. “I feel you. Being a mom isn’t easy. Not to mention a single mom.”

“Yeah,” I sigh.

She studies me for a minute before going on. “I have a thought. Have you taken Jaxon to the splash pad yet?”

“There’s a splash pad?” I pant, holding my hair up from my neck.

“Right around the corner from the coffee shop. I think it’s in front of a microbrewery actually. And a shaved ice cart usually sets up out front.”

“So we can get the boys snow cones, let them run around in the water–”

“And sit on a shaded patio while sipping adult beverages and have some girl time all in one shot. Yes.”

“Count me in.” I say quickly and she laughs.

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