Page 8 of Snowbound with My Dad's Best Friend

My mouth waters, like a dog in heat.

Damn … why am I so pathetic?

“So?” he asks, and my cheeks heat up. I saw his mouth moving, but I was far too distracted staring at him to actually hear anything he said.

Shaking my head, I look into his eyes.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I was asking if it was easy work.”

Letting out an awkward laugh, I shake my head yes.

“Yeah, it was all easy work. To be honest, I didn’t know if I could do the job. I know nothing about technology, unless it’s my phone.” I hear myself rambling, but I can’t seem to turn it off.

He feeds right into it, changing the subject to how he didn’t either, but after years of trial and error, he mastered it and was able to build this company from the ground up.

Suddenly, the nerves that fueled me disappear, and it feels like no time has passed.

This is how we used to talk, for hours on end.

Although back then it was about nonsense.

The conversation now is deeper.

I love to see how his bright eyes light up and his killer smile flashes when he talks about something he’s passionate about.

I miss this part of us.

Hell, I miss it all.

It’s always been easy to talk to Steven.

Leaving five years ago tore me up, but the hardest part was losing my best friend.

It’s one of the many reasons I fell for him so fast.

“So what about you? I haven’t had the time to stop in and see Russell, so I haven’t heard anything about how you’ve been,” Steven questions, and dread fills my stomach.

I’ve been trying to avoid this all day. “Oh,” I begin, trying to find a good place to start. “I’ve been alright. When I moved to Ann Arbor, I got a decent job, but when I got laid off, I had no choice but to move back home to sort my stuff out.”

Obviously, I skip over the large secret I’ve been keeping from him. Our child…

I’m in no position mentally to lay that out on the table, at least not yet.

Steven nods as he listens, but it’s clear that he has something on his mind, and I have a feeling I know what it is.

Five years ago, I left without an explanation or even a message telling him why.

It wasn’t fair to him, but it wasn’t fair to me that his parents gave me no other choice.

Having Damian was the best thing that ever happened to me.

It’s heartbreaking to think that Steven and his parents are missing out on knowing an incredible little dude.

“I’m sorry,” he says, cutting me off as I start to describe how pretty Ann Arbor was. “I can’t dance around the obvious anymore. What the hell happened all those years ago? Why did you skip town and not even tell me why?”

The pain in his emerald globes twists my heart. He has every right to be pissed at me. I broke his heart.