I chuckled. “No. Personal growth.”
“Again, dick isn’t hard.”
“Cole,” I said with a laugh.
“I just want to do right by you. I do hate Anson and Klaus, and I don’t know Evan, but I love you and Ellis, so that love has to cancel it out. I-I can’t guarantee I’d be good, so I think we should just… go slow.”
“OK.”
He released me. “Do the guys even know you are considering me?”
I nodded. “Sort of. They knew about Ethan.”
He frowned. “What about Ethan?”
“Um, we’ve been talking for a few weeks now. He came to my concert, and then we went to the lake and had pizza. Then… you kidnapped me.”
He blinked rapidly. “Wait.You’refucking Emily? You’re the girl he kept talking to?”
I nodded. “He promised he wouldn’t tell.”
“What the fuck?” His frown deepened. “How did you guys start talking?”
“He heard about my marriage. He reached out to congratulate me.”
“Motherfucker. Should give that prick an award for his acting skills.” Cole shook his head. “What a dick.”
We were both quiet again.
“So… we’re going to try?” Cole asked softly after a moment.
“I-I think so. We will go slowly. You’re right. We’ve both changed a lot.”
“You could turn into a worm, and I’d still carry you in my pocket and love you, Rosebud.”
“Am I at least a cute worm?”
“The fucking cutest.”
The bathroom door opened, and Ellis came out.
“Look how shiny my teeth are!” She showed us her teeth.
“Oh wow. Those look like they’d like to tear apart some pancakes.” Cole eyed her teeth. “Like a dinosaur.”
“With bacon?” Her eyes were wide. “Dinosaurs eat bacon.”
“Hell yeah, little me. Come on. We’ll make Mommy some breakfast and have cookies for dessert.”
Ellis clapped her hands excitedly, and Cole turned for her.
“Get on, cowgirl,” he said.
Ellis hopped on his back, and he stood.
“Wow! So high, Daddy!”
He grinned at me. “What do you say, Rosebud? Want to be dinosaurs with us?”
