Page 57

“Then we had a good time, right?” She questions, her smile not reaching her eyes but her tone is encouraging enough.

It doesn’t feel right, but I slowly nod. “Right.”

“Stop worrying and overthinking, Ford,” she smirks, taking a step away from me as she lets out a quiet laugh. “I’m still planning on going back to Starling Ridge after I get my aunt’s house listed. Nothing is changing so there’s absolutely no pressure.”

Hearing the reassurance from her literally feels like a weight is lifted from my chest, but at the same time, disappointment festers beneath my ribcage. Her nonchalance throws me off and the emotion washing over me has me confused as hell. I’m not supposed to want more with her, but I do.

I’m not sure where this is going with Andi, but I wholeheartedly want to find out. I want to do right by her, but I also have no clue what I am doing here.

She’s the mother of my child. I only want her happy, living the life she deserves.

And I know I want to be a part of that—however that may look.

“Hey Andi,” I call out to stop her by my bedroom door. She’s been making it a habit to get up a little early each morning, that way she can already be awake when Matteo wakes up. She’s afraid he might start to ask questions if he finds her in my bed.

She turns her body to look at me. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She cocks her head to the side. “For what?”

“For just—” I pause, swallowing roughly as I, once again, resist the urge to drag her back to bed. “For being you.”

A tender smile lifts her lips and the gold and green hues in her eyes sparkle in the early morning light creeping through the blinds. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

I tip my chin, the corners of my mouth twitching. “Okay.”

She disappears into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind her. Matteo isn’t awake yet and Andi doesn’t disturb him before she leaves the house. After he wakes up, he comes padding intomy room and climbs in bed with me to cuddle before we start our day.

Sitting across from Matteo, I look down at my hand, finally free of the cast after six long weeks and I flex my fingers.

“Does it hurt?” Matteo asks me as he shoves a spoonful of Italian ice into his mouth.

Matteo came along to my appointment today and it went better than expected. Since everything looked like it was healing well, they said I no longer needed to wear a cast and they were able to remove the pins from my wrist.

Matteo suggested Italian ice to celebrate and I couldn’t deny him of that. I texted Andi when we were leaving the doctor, unsure of what her day looked like, but I didn’t want her to worry if she got home and didn’t find us there.

“I wouldn’t say it hurts,” I tell him as I scan the new bandage on my wrist. “It just feels a little weird. A little weak.”

“Well, I guess you’re not a robot anymore,” he says with a frown, his lips purple from his Italian ice.

“I guess not,” I agree, chuckling as I fake a look of disappointment. “I guess I’m just a regular human now.”

Matteo looks at me, a twinkle in his eye. “I still think you’re cool.”

My heart swells inside of my chest as I stare back at my son. “Thanks, bud.” I smile brightly, my heart pounds strong and steady in my chest. “You’re the coolest person I’ve ever met.”

He slowly nods, looking past me as he takes another bite of his lunchtime dessert. “The pillows in your bed smelled like my mom.” His eyebrows pull together, like he’s trying to piecesomething together and my stomach quickens as he focuses on me again.

“Oh, well—” I pause, anxiety washing over me. He hasn’t caught the two of us together or seen her in my bed. He doesn’t know, he can’t know. “She was in my room talking to me this morning before she left.”

“Oh, okay.” He nods again, accepting my response and doesn’t question it further. “I know that girls can have cooties, but I think my mom got a shot from the doctor so she doesn’t have them.” He offers me a smile. “If you like her, I promise I won’t tell her.”

The words that tumble from his mouth catch me completely off guard. The things that kids say...I swear.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“My mom,” he says, like he’s reminding me who we’re talking about. “You guys are always talking and smiling and laughing. Jackson, from my preschool; he really liked Ruby and he would follow her around the playground to talk to her all the time.”