Page 58 of And Everything In Between

Paige drew in a trembling breath. “Carol, unplug it. I’ll call them and put in a work order when I get a minute. For now, we use the old printer in the supply room. Apologize to the customers for the delay and-” she glanced at the clock again “call it a day. We’re almost done anyway.”

She’d already rescheduled two calls, skimmed a half-finished report without absorbing a word, and closed her office door twice to breathe without someone needing a piece of her. That printer wasn’t getting a single additional neuron of her attention today. It could go to hell with everything else she didn’t give a damn about. She wasn’t for it today, not when her mind was already halfway to tomorrow, already imagining Giovanni’s arms wrapped around her, his cologne filling her lungs, his voice rumbling low in her ear.

“Fuck that printer,” she mumbled to herself.

A familiar knock pulled her from her daydream. The door opened before she could answer, and Paige realized she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Ashton approaching her office.

“Ashton!” Paige stood, practically jogging across the office. “Girl, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to get out of the house. Figured y’all were missing me.” Ashton grinned and bounced a sleepy baby girl on her hip. “Plus, I’ve heard good things, and I wanted to tell you that in person.”

They hugged, careful around the baby. She smelled like lotion and Dreft, signs of motherhood in its softest, simplest form.

“She’s so tiny,” Paige said, eyes wide.

Ashton laughed. “Don’t let miss things size fool you, she’s loud as hell at night. Shake the whole house, girl.”

Paige gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “Sit down. How are you feeling?”

“Still healing, still tired, but I’m good. Really good.”

Ashton’s gaze shifted, assessing her with that quiet, knowing look. “And you? You look... good as hell. Girl, you are radiating something, and I like it.”

“Am I?”

Ashton said, adjusting the baby in her lap, “Yes. And I’m so happy for you.”

Paige smiled, pressing her fingers together in her lap. “It’s a combination of things. I’ve run this bank for almost a month and killed it. I’m seeing someone, and I don’t know… I’ve found balance.”

“You trust it?”

“I want to,” Paige admitted. “It’s a choice I have to keep making every day, but he reminds me why I should each day.”

“Then keep making it,” Ashton said simply. “Don’t forget that you deserve soft things too, Paige. You always did. You got good at surviving without them.”

That landed.

Right then, her phone buzzed on the desk.

Giovanni:Go to the house when you get off. Same code. I need a favor.

Paige’s brows lifted slightly, but she smiled.

“That must be one of the things. I’m glad you are making time for yourself. Don’t let me hold you up.”

After work, Paige made a stop she never skipped: her dad’s house. She was either showing up before work or after. But she hadn’t gone a day without seeing him and checking in on him.

Perry was in his recliner, game show on low, a cup of applesauce half-eaten on the tray next to him when she walked in.

“You good, Daddy? You didn’t like that applesauce?” she asked, walking in with her usual bag of groceries, mail, and vitamins.

“Always,” he said, not even looking away from the screen. “You the one got that sugar-free organic crap. It got a bite to it. Hell, it’s just plain ole nasty.”

She choked back a laugh because he was probably right. “Well, it’s this or no applesauce. You can’t have a bunch of sugar, health is wealth.”

“Ain’t that a bitch? I’m the parent and being bossed around. Told what I can and can’t have. Where that boy at to get you out of my hair?” He turned to her then, eyes sharp, clear.

Paige kept her gaze down, not daring to meet her father’s eyes, she knew he’d see the grin she couldn’t hide. Just thinking about Giovanni had her smiling like a fool. He’d gotten under her skin in the best way, turning idle moments into daydreams and making her body respond with a heat she wasn’t used to. He was her favorite kind of distraction, the kind she didn’t want to end.

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