“And I wasn’t going to compete with someone you chose.”He lowered his head a beat, and for a split-second, the cocky, confident guy was gone, and in its place was the Tristan I’d known privately; sweet, raw, and decidedly honest.
And that was the problem.I was noticing him, and way more than I should.
Fun was fine.Banter was fine.
But this—whatever this strange pull in my chest was—it wasn’t fine.
My life was not built for sparks or detours or men who make silence feel comfortable.
My life was overnight shifts, bills, and figuring out dinner for the three of us so we can share and grow together.
I already have a heart commitment.Two of them.
And they come first.
Always.
I sucked air into my shaky lungs.The air was cold enough to sting, or maybe that was the ache of everything unsaid between us.
He watched me, quiet for a beat too long.
“Would it be wrong,” he said softly, “if I asked you out now?”
Chapter Nine
The question hung therebetween us, caught somewhere in the cool night air.
Would it be wrong if I asked you out now?
The words felt too big for the space we were in and too fragile to touch.
What happens if he meets the kids and they love him?What happens if he leaves right after?What happens if everything feels right and perfect but it’s just the moment, the circumstance?What if it really isn’t real?
I heard the echo of his question, low and warm, somewhere behind my ribs.My life was my kids.Was there room for another?I wasn’t sure.Before I could find an answer that didn’t sound like running, the outside world interrupted.
Headlights swelled, flooding the gravel in a spotlight.A tow truck lumbered into view, the engine’s rumble breaking through the thin cocoon we’d built.
