Page 143 of Rush

“El?” he asks me.

I shake my head. “We’re good. Have a seat, eat.”

Elijah sinks onto the floor beside the coffee table, opens a box, and pulls out a slice. Charlotte groans as the smell fills the room.

“Ugh, breastfeeding makes you absolutely ravenous,” she says. Elijah stands without hesitation to where she is and hand-feeds her a bite.

My heart nearly leaps out of my chest at the tenderness of it.

While we eat and Broderick catches up with his brother and sister-in-law, I notice how alike they are—their acts of service, their quiet observance. Elijah has already refilled Charlotte’s water bottle twice and changed Mia’s diaper without being asked, doting on both his wife and daughter.

How fortunate she is to grow up with a father like that. My own father paled in comparison, always opting for the ease of nannies. Elijah is Charlotte’s partner in crime. Their devotion could turn the most cynical into believers.

“Do you want to hold her?” Charlotte asks Broderick.

I stare at Mia in her mother’s arms—so perfect. Her tiny button nose, the dark lashes fanned across her cheeks, the soft rise and fall of her chest as her little lips work in sleep—it’s almost too much beauty for something so small.

I’ve never been this close to a baby this young before. It’s terrifying and alluring in the same breath.

“Absolutely I do. Come to Uncle Brody, sweet angel.” He rubs his hands together, practically vibrating with eagerness.

I half expect him to joke it off, but his sincerity catches me off guard. Charlotte rises, walks the few steps, and places Mia in his arms.

When Charlotte steps back, my ovaries explode.

Holy fuck.

Broderick—cradling a tiny infant in his big strong arms—makes my heart ache, twists in ways I never imagined.

He pats her tiny bottom, whispering little introductions as she sleeps, as if she already understands him. He’s such a natural.

I’m a whole mess of emotions, from awe that rattles my bones, to the instinct to run for the hills. These are feelings I definitely shouldn’t be having for my fuck buddy.

Charlotte and Elijah snap photos, oohing and aahing, talking about sending them into the family group chat.

I clear my throat. “Could I be a pain and use your bathroom?” I ask, desperate for distance, desperate to look at anything that isn’t Broderick holding a baby like he was born for it.

“Down the hall, first door on the right,” Charlotte says with a tired but luminous smile.

I make my exit, keen to gather my thoughts. In the bathroom, I wash my hands and stare at my reflection in the mirror.

He wants children, and you don’t even know what you want for dinner,I chide myself.

When I open the door to leave, I stop in my tracks, the conversation echoing down the hallway.

“Are you two together?” Elijah asks. “You haven’t brought a girl home since…Lauren.”

That’s the second time her name has come up—clearly an ex. I can’t help but wonder what she was like. My own history with Alex’s ex, Madison, makes me shudder.

Broderick chuckles. “We’re justfriends.”

That’s exactly what we are. So why do I hate the way he says it?

“She’s beautiful,” Charlotte chimes in. “And the way you look at her suggests otherwise.”

“The most beautiful. But she’s not interested…still dealing with…things.”

I know exactly what he means.Things.Like Alex. The unresolved feelings that claw their way back whenever his namesurfaces, whenever I catch a trace of his cologne, whenever I remember what barely had time to blossom before he shattered it—the night he broke my heart. I heave a sigh.