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Tori wrinkled her nose with a silent curse. She took the phone and pressed it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hey!” Haylee’s smooth voice was a balm.

Siena laughed and stood up, leaning over the table. She kissed Tori’s cheek and whispered, “Don’t forget to get Harley in an hour.”

“Yeah. See you. Love you!” Tori went back to focusing on Haylee.

For the next hour, they chatted, the conversation never dying until she pulled into the parking lot of the daycare. Talking to Haylee had such an ease to it. There was a constant flow of conversation as they talked for far longer than Tori had expected.

She hoped they hadn’t taken up all the first date conversation on their phone call but somehow she doubted it.

She was excited again, for the first time in weeks, since that messed-up date she’d taken Miranda on. She stretched as she got out of her car, ready to tackle parenting Harley with a renewed energy. She had gotten back on track with her life and her goals.

She headed inside to get her baby.

“Sorry,” Tori said automatically as she pushed the door a little too hard, trying to get in out of the rain.

“It’s fine,” Miranda’s voice was crisp and sharp. It reminded Tori of when they had first met. Why had she not trusted her instincts then? She’d gotten way off course for sure. But now she was on the right track.

“Oh, hey.” Tori smiled and gave a small nod. Rebel was asleep over Miranda’s shoulder, and Tori couldn’t hide how beautiful it all was. “Didn’t forget the stuffy today, did you?”

Miranda stiffened, freezing on the spot. “No.”

“Just checking.” Tori smiled as she ran her fingers over Rebel’s back. She turned her cheek, locking her eyes with Miranda’s honey ones, breath leaving her in an instant. She wanted to lean in, kiss her, take her mouth in the way they should have done days ago. Touches, heat, connection—it all flashed through her. Tori staggered backward. She hated that Miranda still had that power over her. She’d hoped with a new date lined up that it would stop. But Miranda had so much influence in her life.

“Well, I better get going. Nice to see you.” Tori’s voice wavered when she spoke, and she despised that she couldn’t keep herself together.

She left Miranda in her wake as she scurried out the way and went into the daycare. The bounce Tori had finally gotten back deflated as she slowed her steps in the hallway to Harley’s classroom.

“Tori?” Aili stood in the doorway of her office, leaning against the frame.

“Hey, Aili.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Tori nodded and forced herself to bounce once more.

She wouldn’t let anyone, not even Miranda, take her happiness away again. So then why did she feel so awful? She fought down a nearly overwhelming desire to race back outside into the rain and stop Miranda. To do the dramatic romantic-movie big-scene thing even though she knew Miranda would fault her for it and have some sharp retort if she tried anything. Their kiss would be so much like that first rain-soaked kiss, the one outside her apartment. The kiss that ended all kisses. Tori’s pussy tingled just from the memory.

Aili cleared her throat.

“Uh… just got a lot going on.”

“Uh-huh.” Aili wasn’t fooled.

Tori knew it, and Aili damn well knew that Tori knew. But for once, Aili didn’t push.

Tori got Harley from her room and headed on out. She would focus on tomorrow night’s date with Haylee. She hoped by then the heavy weight in her chest, the one that felt far too close to a massive misstep, would disappear.

twenty-seven

Miranda’s feet ached. She’d been on them since six that morning, taking phone calls about another pickup and then dealing with Rebel when she woke up early. The calls with lawyers hadn’t gone much better either, and she was stuck in a state of I don’t know and I’m not sure I care. She just wanted Rebel to have the best life she could growing up.

And since the girl in question had refused to nap that afternoon at daycare, she was a brute to drag through the grocery store. But Miranda had no food in the house. And she really didn’t want to order in again. She probably should have placed a grocery order for pickup, but again, time was not her friend that day.

Rebel struggled against the seat in the cart, screaming as if she was a caged animal. Miranda had given up on shushing her and resorted to just trying to get out of the grocery store as quickly as possible. Anything to save face from the disaster that was a second trip there with a wild child in tow.

The first time had been just as bad.