Page 113 of Halo

“Giddy?” I set my phone beside my water before picking up my menu and pretending to study it. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Matt and Rachel got the rest of the nursery furniture for Christmas, and once it was all in place, she decided the walls were the wrong color. With Matt and my parents helping host a winter conference in Dallas for the next few days, Rachel enlisted me to help repaint the nursery.

We've spent most of the morning at a home improvement store debating the subtle differences between approximately four thousand shades of gender-neutral gray. Now, with two gallons of the winner in the trunk, I'm treating her to lunch at a local café and bakery before we head back to start painting.

Across the table, Rachel lowers her menu instead of taking the hint. “Are you still talking to that older guy with the kid?”

I roll my eyes. “That older guy with a kid is named Nick. You know that. And we're more than just talking.”

Rachel folds her menu and sets it on the table. “What does that mean?”

I shrug. “We’re seeing each other.”

“Since when?”

“Since we went out earlier this month.”

“Hold on.” She narrows her eyes. “You went on a date with him? And you didn't tell me?”

“And what? Get a lecture from you and the entire family?”

“The fact that you knew we'd lecture you should've been your first clue that maybe you were doing something you shouldn't.”

I smirk. “Thank you for proving my point.”

“Are y’all ready to order over here?” Our waitress steps up with a pen in hand.

We place our orders, and Rachel waits until the waitress has topped off our drinks and moved on to the next table. The second she's out of earshot, Rachel turns her attention right back to me.

“Did y'all kiss?”

I choke on my water.

“Oh my gosh, you did.” She leans closer. “Did y'all make out?”

I cough into my napkin before taking another sip of my drink.

Rachel goes still. “Leah, did he talk you into having sex?”

I scoff. “Honestly … how dare you say something like that.”

Rachel recoils. “I'm just asking. You barely know him, Leah, and he's what? Almost ten years older than you?”

“That doesn't mean he had to talk me into anything.”

“Okay, but according to Declan, he's a manwhore—”

“That's coming from a man I chose to leave, Rachel. A man I have a court order against. He doesn't know Nick, and neither do you! How dare you suggest something so … so vile about him.” I take a deep breath, my anger ebbing enough for me to notice my nails digging into my palms. Uncurling my fists, I flex my fingers beneath the table. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.”

Rachel quietly nods, her hand drifting over the curve of her belly as her eyes drop to the table. “When you said you have a court order against Declan ... were you talking about the alimony?”

Crap.

I didn't mean to say that.

My thumb mindlessly draws figures through the condensation on my glass. “No. It's just something my attorney thought was necessary. I shouldn't have brought it up.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “Necessary for what?”