Gina smirks.
Rowyn chokes on a laugh.
“—but I’m a grown woman,” I finish, shooting them both a look. “I can’t build a future on hook-ups.”
Gina tilts her head, clearly not one hundred percent sold, but before she can jump in, I beat her to it.
“Has he ever been serious with anyone?” I ask. “Like…did something happen? Did he get hurt or…something.”
Gina’s expression shifts, her brow tightening. “For as long as I’ve known him,” she says slowly. “He’s kept to himself. A bit of a loner.”
I nod. That tracks.
“There was a phase,” she adds. “When he was younger. He liked the bunnies.”
Rowyn snorts. “Liked is putting it lightly, from what I heard.”
Gina huffs a quiet laugh, then sobers again. “But it never felt like he was actually into them. Not really.” She glances down at her coffee, searching for the right words. “It was more like… he was trying to outrun something. Does that make sense?”
I sit back slightly, wrapping my hands around my mug again, even though it’s gone lukewarm.
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “That makes sense.”
“But then…” Gina trails off, her mouth pressing into a thin line like she’s trying to shove the rest of the sentence back in.
I straighten. “Then what?”
She hesitates just long enough to make my stomach tighten.
“Then…when you came into our lives,” she says slowly. “Something shifted in him. He got quieter. More closed off. And the bunnies…” She shakes her head. “Gone.”
Rowyn’s brows shoot up. “Coincidence?”
Gina shrugs one shoulder. “If you believe in those.”
I sit back, letting that settle over me. Tuck and I did have something, once. Brief. Messy. Not enough. And I walked away because I needed more. Something steadier. Something real.
But for him…was he pulling away?
Or running?
“Well,” I say, forcing a lighter tone. “Anyway. I have that date with Declan. And I’m hoping it goes well.”
Gina hums, clearly filing that away. “And what about Tuck? You’re just done with him?”
I hesitate.
“I think I should be,” I admit. “If I’m seeing someone else.”
Rowyn immediately shakes her head. “You’re not seeing Declan. You’re going on a date. That’s not the same thing.”
Gina points at her and nods. “Exactly. You can date multiple people, Maria. You should date multiple people.”
I laugh, but there’s nerves tangled up in it. “I don’t even know how to date. I went from high school to marriage to kids. There was no phases in between.” I chew on my bottom lip. “And dating around, I mean, won’t I get a reputation?”
Rowyn straightens like she’s about to go to battle, grabbing her fork and holding it up like a weapon. “It’s the twenty-first century, girlfriend. We do what we want.” She gives the air a dramatic little stab for emphasis. “If anyone says anything,” she adds, pointing that fork like she’s issuing a threat, “we ride at dawn.”
I snort, shaking my head, but warmth spreads through my chest because she means it. They both do.
