AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Like parenting with a partner.
“Have you ever thought about having kids?” I ask.
“Absolutely,” Amelia says. “I want them. Some day. But there’s so much I need to do first. Get my company off the ground, so I have the time and money to be a good mom. Move into a neighborhood with a good school district. Make sure I have good health insurance.”
I can see her shoulders squaring up under the weight of that giant to-do list.
“The right guy would help you with some of that,” I say.
She flashes me a smile. “That’s the other thing. I’d have to find the right guy.”
There’s something about the way she says it that makes my heart tighten. It’s cold enough you can see our breath, and the way it mingles as we look at each other.
Then she slips on a patch of packed, slippery snow.
I steady Amelia, holding her up so she doesn’t crash into the ground.
Amelia clutches me. Then she starts laughing. “Whew. That was close.”
“That’s ok,” I say, grinning down at her. “I’ve got you.”
I wonder if she knows I’m talking about more than balancing on fallen snow.
17
AMELIA
That night I wash up the dishes while Cole puts Kiera to bed. Today was so good, I’m a little scared to believe in it. We spent the morning making cookies and watching the snow fall in Cole’s apartment. Then the afternoon playing in the snow in Central Park. And then finally we spent the evening curled up on the couch under blankets, drinking hot chocolate, and watching Kiera’s favorite dinosaur cartoon movie.
She made sure to lean over and whisper to me all the dinosaur facts they got wrong.
One time I looked up and caught Cole watching us. And the look in his eyes...
I let out a shaky breath now, thinking about that look. It wasn’t the stormy sexiness of last night, or the partners in crime dynamic from when we faked a relationship in front of his dad. No, the look in his eyes felt unguarded. Real. Caring.
“It’s because we’re friends,” I tell myself. Maybe if I say the words out loud, I’ll believe them.
But the words feel hollow in the empty kitchen.
The truth is, when Cole looks at me like that, I can’t deny how easy it would be to fall for him.
And that’s not an option.
Even if Cole did get married again, he’d probably pick someone from his own world. Bridget 2.0. A gorgeous model of a woman who’s comfortable in high society and would never spray his dad in the face with hairspray.
I hate her already.
I finish loading the dishwasher and dry my hands on a dish towel. I look around and spot Kiera’s stuffed dinosaur on the counter. Cole mentioned earlier that she likes to sleep with it.
I decide I’ll bring it down to her.
I move as quietly as I can through the apartment in case Kiera’s already sleeping. But as I walk down the hallway to her bedroom, I hear soft voices. She’s still awake.
“You know how you’re pretend-marrying Amelia?” Kiera asks on a yawn.
“Yes,” Cole answers.
“Are you ever going to for-real marry someone new?” Kiera asks. “Like how Mom married someone new?”
