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“Well, I have some experience in the field.”

“What do you mean?”

Mia kept her gaze on Bella and Dylan. “I left Hawk when I was three months pregnant.”

My eyes widened. I never would’ve guessed that. Their relationship seemed so sweet, so strong. I vaguely remembered them fighting a lot ten years ago, but they were so happy now. “Can I ask why?”

“Bella wasn’t exactly planned. When I saw that positive test, everything with Hawk became more… real. When we were dating, I’d been into Hawk’s bad boy lifestyle, you know?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

“But then I had a kid in my future. And instead of the sexy, mysterious bad boy, I saw a man who was going to put my kid’s well-being in danger. I didn’t know if I wanted my baby to grow up with a dad who might get in trouble with the law, or something worse.” Mia frowned, like imagining it broke her heart.

“What changed?” I asked. “What convinced you to come back?”

That turned her frown into a soft smile. “Hawk proved to me that it’d be worth it. I didn’t believe him at first, and it took timefor him to convince me. But he was determined. He proved to me he would be a good dad and would always put Bella first, no matter what. It was hard for me to believe it when he was just running his mouth, but he was patient with me. He backed up his words.”

“You three seem like a happy family.”

“It’s not all sunshine and roses,” Mia admitted. “But it was good for us. It built real trust between us. And we got a lot better at communicating.”

I sighed. “Is it really that easy?”

“It’s not easy,” Mia said. “But if Ace loves you, he’ll understand your reasoning. He won’t rush you.”

I could only hope she was right.

As the sun began to set, Mia announced that it was nearing Bella’s bedtime. Bella yawned and reached her arms up to her mom. Dylan was already saying he was starving. That kid could seriously put away enough food to feed a small army.

We made it home. Stephan had picked up pizza on his way back from the garage, much to Dylan’s delight. He scarfed down half of one and took the rest up to his room to devour while he played his video games.

Stephan and I put the leftover pizza away. It was quiet in the house, save for the muffled sounds of Dylan’s game and his shouts into his headset. There was a strange, simmering tension between us, and I didn’t like it. It was so different than the easy connection we’d had until now.

This was why I’d wanted to take it slow. Not everything could be effortless, right?

“Harley—” Stephan started, at the same time I said, “Can we?—”

I bit my lower lip, hiding a smile. Stephan offered me a tentative smile in return. “You first.”

“I wanted to ask if we could talk.”

“I think we should,” he said warmly.

I made a cup of tea, then followed Stephan out of the glass doors and onto the back deck. The moon was nearly full, and bright enough that it cast soft light over the still surface of the lake. The night air was cool and smelled faintly of smoke. Somewhere, someone had a campfire going. That, or a dragon was having a little too much fun. I cupped the mug in both hands and let the warmth seep into my palms.

Stephan stood next to me at the deck railing. He looked even more handsome in the moonlight, with his face cast in half-shadow. That worried furrow was back in his brow. I leaned closer and rested my head against his shoulder.

“I know you want me to stay here,” I said.

He nodded. “I do.”

“Part of me wants that too. I know it’s not going to be easy for me to leave at the end of the summer. Not for Dylan, either. He’ll probably cry and then pretend he’s not crying.”

Stephan chuckled. “I did the same thing at his age.”

“I just can’t do this that fast,” I said. “We said we’d go slow, and even though it’s been…” I trailed off as I searched for the right word.

“Incredible?” Stephan nosed against the crown of my head as he rubbed my lower back. “Perfect? Amazing?”