He couldn’t fucking say that when I was in the middle of grumping my ass off.
I drove up the driveway and spied Hallie’s bike resting against the fence.
That was the only upside to this house. Hallie and Dylan were close enough to their school that they could ride their bikes without crossing any major roads. That would change once the new house was everyone’s home.
I killed the engine and glanced over at Nate.
“Now that we’re back together, I don’t have to worry about coming off as an insecure douchebag for the gift I chose for you,” he said.
What on earth?
“In my defense, I was an insecure douchebag when I picked it out,” he added.
“So, are you gonna tell me what it is, or are you just gonna be a tease about it?” I asked.
The lights faded above, blanketing us in darkness.
“Is your birthday suddenly on the fifth?” he retorted. “Of course I’m not gonna tell you. But I will say this. It’s a family-oriented gift—probably not one you give to your ex.”
Well, now I was fucking curious. Dammit.
“I’m taking Paws, by the way,” he said and climbed out of the car. “He and I need to spend some quality time together.”
In other words, I was taking the food and the litter box.
A moment later, we had everything—and were planning on ordering takeout, ’cause we were fucking starving—and the outdoor light flicked on before we’d reached the porch area. Instead, the front door swung open, and Hallie stood there.
We stopped short.
“Where have you two been all day?” she demanded, holding up a note. “Working late? I don’t freaking think so. You didn’t answer at your office, Dad,” she told Nate. “Your voice message was switched to your off-hours message, andyou…” She addressed me next. “According to Uncle Theo, your work truck was parked at some random site in Mclean before you drove it to your house—which you never do. You always pick up your own truck at work. I checked the security app, and I know you were at the other house. You turned off the alarm. And now you’re here—you arrived together…and…” She frowned. “Dad, you have Paws. Why do you have Paws?”
I blinked.
Nate was quicker to find his words than I was. “Sweetheart, are you trying to tell us you want to become a police officer?”
“She won’t be accepted at the academy.” The words just tumbled out of me. “She’s too smart.”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m being serious. Why did you arrive together?”
“Hold on now,” Nate cautioned. “Did something happen? I don’t have any missed messages from you.”
I didn’t either.
“Because I called you at work first,” Hallie responded. “You wrote on the note that you were gonna work late, so when you weren’t there, I got suspicious and…” She trailed off.
I cocked my head.
She lowered her voice and gave Nate a pointed look. “I can’t say the rest here.”
Why the fuck—ohh. Because I was the birthday boy tomorrow. She knew about the gift Nate was giving me, didn’t she? And maybe she didn’t think it was an appropriate gift to give an ex either…?
On the off chance that she was suspecting Nathan and I had reunited, that gift had to be something next level. Otherwise, it would be too farfetched to make assumptions based on Nate not being at his office when he’d said he would be there.
Let me put your mind at ease, baby girl.
“I don’t know what you want us to say,” I said, stepping toward her. “That I forgot about returning the work truck because I was busy hunting Nate down? That I finally forced him to come out to the new house?” I came to a stop right in front of her and set down the litter box and the food bag. “That we met up there and confessed how much we missed each other? Loved each other?”
She flushed. “Maybe not, but?—”
