Page 158 of The Baby Bargain
Dinners and Ariel.
Snapshots of the summer. A sweaty hike in the Malibu hills. A day at the beach. The two of them sharing iced drinks at a hipster cafe.
Her licking an ice cream cone.
Which gives me too many fucking ideas.
Not the time. At all.
But, God damn, she has such a pretty mouth.
At least that—I know I'm good at that. I know what she wants there. I know how to help her there.
She swallows hard. "He was happy." Her gaze shifts to the keyboard. "I thought I'd feel better, but I just—"
"It still hurts when he hurts?"
She nodsyeah.
"You still love him?"
"No." She scrolls way back, through years and years, all the way to Phillip with a different woman. "I don't get that pang anymore. I don't get sick over the thought of him kissing someone else. But—"
"You still want him to be happy."
"Yeah." Her eyes find mine. "I guess that's… healthy?"
"You're asking me?"
"Right." A laugh spills from her lips. "I can't tell with you."
I arch a brow.
"If you have a good sense of humor about your issues. Or if you're deflecting."
"You sure you're not studying psychology?"
She nods. "If I was, I'd be able to tell."
I can't help but laugh. "Maybe."
She rests her head on my shoulder. Lets out a long sigh. "Do you… do you still want to see Grace?"
"Yeah."
"Can you handle it?"
I have no fucking idea.
Chapter Thirty-One
Chase
"Do it." I push the laptop to Ariel.
She rests her hands on the keyboard. Keeps her eyes on the screen. Keeps her expression apprehensive.
She doesn't have to say it.
