“Wait…Sophia’s dad is Callum Kinnison?” Kate glanced between the image on the screen and Alexis. What was I missing?
“Yeah.” Alexis chuckled, though she didn’t seem surprised by Kate’s reaction.
“You know him?” Hunter asked.
“Know him?” Kate’s eyes were wide. “I love his music.”
She stared at the phone a moment longer before passing it back to Alexis. “You have a beautiful family.”
“Thank you,” Alexis said. “We’re divorced now, but we have a beautiful daughter together.”
Hunter clapped a hand on my shoulder, steering me in the direction of the bar. “We’ll be back,” he called over his shoulder. “With a round of shots.”
Everyone cheered. Alexis gave me a reassuring smile, returning to her conversation with Kate.
“Man, you are so screwed.” Hunter chuckled as he led me to the bar. “Do you know who Alexis’s ex is?”
I shook my head. “Should I?”
From what I knew of him, he’d bailed on Sophia for the summer. And it wasn’t the first time. I didn’t get the feeling he’d been the best husband either.
“This,” Hunter said, typing on his phone, “is Alexis’s ex.”
He held up the phone, which displayed an image of a tattooed man holding a guitar. The muscles of his arms flexed as he played the instrument, his long, black hair falling into his face and covering his blue eyes.
“He’s walking, talking sex appeal. He could bottle it up and sell that shit.”
“And I’m not?” I shoved the phone back at him, not wanting to dwell on Alexis’s past. “I think Alexis finds me pretty appealing.”
“Yes, but…for how long?” he asked, echoing some of my own fears. “Maybe it’s fun now, but I see the way you look at her. You want more.”
He was right—I didn’t want to be the nanny. I wanted us to be a family.
People bumped into us as they made their way to the bar. A beat thumped in the background, making my head throb. I massaged my temples.
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” he said. “At least, if you’re both in the same place. But she’s older, established in her career, divorced, has a kid.”
“Why are you telling me what I already know?” I grabbed one of the shots and tossed it back.
“Because you’re at very different places in your lives. Plus, she may be hot now, but how old will she be when you’re thirty? Fifty?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I was sick of having this argument—first with Alexis, now with Hunter. Age was irrelevant; we belonged together.
“You say that…” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “But what about kids? I know how much having your own would mean to you.”
“First of all, she has an amazing daughter, whom I adore. And if we wanted more kids, we’d figure it out—together.” I was so tempted to grab the empty shot glass and smash it to the floor. Instead, I shrugged out of his hold, annoyed with him. With this conversation. With everything.
“You’ve been through a lot, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Yeah, well, what do you know about relationships? About love?” I snapped. “You never sleep with a woman more than once. You’ve never been in love.”
His expression shuttered closed. “You know what? You’re right. What do I know? I only spent two years watching you go through treatments, watching as you fought for your dreams, your fucking life.”
He turned away, asking the bartender for something.
“Hunter,” I said, once the bartender had gone. It wasn’t fair to take out my frustration on my best friend, not when I was more annoyed with myself and Alexis than him.
