Page 51 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

“She will read the frog,” Sofia announced beside me.

We both jumped and looked down.

Sofia threw her head up and marched out the front door, confident both of us would follow her order.

“Seems that Sofia decided you’re reading the frog book.”I shrugged and motioned Gia to follow me home.

ChapterEighteen

GIA

Why was I still here?

I should’ve left an hour ago.Something about sitting in that ridiculous fairy treehouse, laughing with his family, and feeling folded into something warm had stirred up an ache I didn’t know what to do with.I longed for this kind of something that I’d never really had and had no business wanting now.

Bagel had taken up residence at my feet.He was a sweet boy.

I phoned Misty while Sofia got her bath, half hoping there’d be an emergency waiting for me that could give me a solid excuse to bolt.Misty was fine.Cheerful, even.There went my out.

She was super unhelpful by signing off with something along the lines of “jump his bones” before she hung up.

Sofia ran out in a pink frilly pajama set and pulled me into her room.“Daddy, the frog.”

“I’m sorry,” Timothy whispered, handing me a large picture book that turned out to be about a frog who kept turning into different people until he realized he was better off as himself.Cute story.Exhausting performance.It required at least six voices, one croak, and what became an accidental British accent halfway through.

At the end, Sofia patted my hand.“You did okay.Daddy does better people.”

I pressed my lips together to hold back a smile.“It was my first try.You could cut me some slack.”

She nodded, grave as a tiny judge delivering a sentence.

“Goodnight.”I gave her a small hug and left Timothy to work whatever magic he used to get her to sleep.

And…here I was.Still sitting on his sofa.Still scrolling mindlessly on my phone.I didn’t know exactly what I was waiting for, but leaving now would be awkward.

Honest truth?Something inside me had cracked open in that treehouse—some locked-up, lonely part I’d kept sealed tight for years.Now that it had tasted warmth, it wasn’t ready to walk away.

“She’s asleep,” Timothy announced when he finally emerged.He was barefoot, jeans slung low on his hips, and his t-shirt wrinkled after the bath and bedtime activities.

His gaze found mine and held.Something raw moved behind his eyes.It was unsteady enough to make my pulse trip.He pressed his lips together, then tipped his head toward the door.“Come outside with me?”

I followed him into the thick summer night.The cicadas screamed loud enough to swallow every other sound.The air sat heavy and warm against my skin.

He turned to face me, shoulders tight, chest rising like he was bracing himself.His dark blue eyes searched mine.“I heard what you said to Sofia when she asked what would happen if I found her a new mommy.”

“Oh.”I sucked in a breath, heat rushing to my face.“She blindsided me, and I shouldn’t have said?—”

“Thank you.”He swallowed and stared out into the night as silence settled between us.“I saw you and Hudson Raynes at your house the other day.I stopped by to… It doesn’t matter.He’ll be good to you.”

“I’ve known him a while.He’s only a friend.But you and me?”I shook my head, unsure how to explain it.

“What about you and me?”

I stared at his clenched jaw and tight posture.He had the arms of a man who did hard work and wore the scars of it.His shoulders held the tension of someone who juggled a lot and pushed his feelings farfardown.

I sighed, unsure how to vocalize it.Also, I was unsure where he stood on the matter of “us.”

“Gia?”Just my name—rough and broken.