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The vision of Leia’s stomach swollen with my baby pops into my mind. I wait for the panic to arise. It always does when I consider children after what she did. But there’s no panic. I knew the decision to take a chance on Leia was the right one.
I shackle her wrist and draw her away from the crowd. She snarls at me but she doesn’t kick and scream. Progress.
As soon as we’re alone, she yanks her hand from my hold. “What the hell, Fender?”
“I need to explain some things to you.”
“If it’s about the birds and bees, there’s no need. I kind of already figured it out. I present Exhibit 1 – my child.”
I chuckle. “Not about the birds and the bees.”
“Good. Those discussions are brutal. I think I have PTSD from when I explained it all to Isla.” She shivers.
“No birds and bees talk.”
“Okay. You dragged me here, grumpy caveman. What do you want to discuss?”
I brought Leia here fully intending to explain to her about my past. But now we’re here, I don’t know where to begin. I’ve never told anyone what happened before. I’ve never needed to tell anyone before. The band knows everything because they had front-row seats to the shit show.
I clear my throat. “Um.”
She holds up her hand. “I get you want the gossip gals off your back but you don’t have to ask me out.”
“What if I want to ask you out?”
She rolls her eyes. “You’ve been sending out ‘leave me alone’ vibes since the minute we met.”
“Not intentional.”
“Really?”
I shrug. “I’m used to pushing people away. It’s hard to change now.”
“But you want to change?”
“Yes.” I clear my throat. “Do you want to go out with me?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “No.”
“No?”
“Are you having hearing difficulties? No!” She rejects me loud enough for the entire town to hear.
“Why not?”
Her eyes widen. “You seriously have to ask?” I nod. “Okay. Let me count the ways. One, you think I’m a bad parent. Two, you think I work too much. And, three, I don’t wanna.”
Oh, she wants to. Her body doesn’t lie. Her pupils are dilated as she heaves for breath while staring at my chest. But she’s holding herself back.
“I apologized.”
“And I thanked you for your apology but I did not accept it.”
“Can I explain why I was an asshat?”
“Asshat? It’s good you can recognize your own faults.”
I smile. This woman is a firecracker.
