Page 41 of Falling for Red
Claire Moore
Thinking about the way you kissed me here yesterday.
He replies immediately.
Jake Schmidt
You will be my dessert tonight.
Does that mean what I think it does?I hope so. My heart flutters reading that as I watch the typing bubbles appear again, curious what he will say next.
Jake Schmidt
No more screen time.
I giggle, contemplating sending a selfie but settle on a kiss emoji instead.
As the bath cools, I dry off and wrap myself in a robe, craving something hearty for brunch.Avocado toast with a sunny-side egg and a splash of hot sauce.
Hot sauce.Samuel. I never ate spicy food before dating him. He loved adding hot sauce to everything, and now … now it’s second nature.
The unspoken rule of our co-parenting arrangement is silence when he has Gabby. No check-ins. No unnecessary texts. But I feel compelled to break it.
Claire Moore
¿Cómo está mi nena?
How is my baby?
His response is quick.
Samuel Díaz
Está re bien. Le encanta el agua. Nada un montón.
She is doing great. She loves the water. She swims so much.
Claire Moore
Good to hear.
A pause. Then another text.
Samuel Díaz
¿Ya te está fallando el español?
Is your Spanish already failing you?
I roll my eyes. Is he being an ass? Is this playful? Flirty? I hope not. Stressed again, I end this conversation.
Claire Moore
Have her back to my place at 3:00 tomorrow.
No response. Fine. I exhale, turning back to my half-prepared brunch.No more distractions.
I want Jake. I want more time with him. More exploration. More of the way he makes me feel. But am I ready to let someone in again? A new relationship isn’t always going to be easy, and that scares me. The bad stuff. That’s the part I still don’t know if I’m ready for.
