Page 76 of Finding You

He laughed softly. “Honey, I’m not the man for that job. I want you to stay.”

She squeezed him tight, then pulled back and let out a soft sigh. “I think I’m going to look into something else. For work,” she added.

His heart skipped a beat. “Yeah?”

“I just…I thought this was ideal. And it is. I mean…” She bit her lip and glanced away. “I feel like I’m betraying the woman who worked her ass off to get to where she is now. Like, what does it say about me that I was ready to march in a one-woman parade about not tying yourself down to marriage and kids, but now I just want to be here?”

“I think it means that you are a human being allowed to change her mind about what she wants,” he told her, brushing a curl away from her forehead. “It doesn’t mean you’re someone else, my darling. You’ve always loved our daughter.”

“I love her so fucking much. And this isn’t really about her. I mean, it is. But it’s about me. And it’s about you.”

Kylen’s brows shot up. “Me?”

“You’ve been working so hard, and I know it’s because this is the life you wanted,” Dani added before he could defend his choices. “But I miss you when I’m gone. You’re one of my favorite people in the entire world. And I just…I think maybe a little bit of this could make me happy too.”

His heart didn’t know what to do. He wanted to beg her to stay. He wanted to tell her to go because he was afraid if he didn’t, she’d choose this and then resent him for it.

“I need time to think,” she said before he could fully panic. “But I do want to be here more. I want to watch Flora grow up. And I want to be here when your shit is falling apart because you don’t deserve to go through it alone.”

He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let’s go order those sushi burritos you like for delivery. With massive boba teas. We can curl up under the blankets, and then I’ll drive you to the airport.”

She scoffed. “You just got home from there.”

“Yeah, and Flora loves watching the planes take off,” Kylen said. “It’s not a hardship. I’ll even go meet your pilot and make sure they’re not some fresh from flight school jackass.”

She lifted a brow at him. “You were a fresh from flight school jackass once.”

“I was,” he said with a sniff. “And I wish someone had grabbed me by the collar and told me that safety is better than arrogance.”

She laughed and shoved him away, but she caught his hand at the last second and squeezed his fingers. For the moment, he allowed himself to think about his little family and not Dallas. But between one breath and the next, he saw Dallas behind his eyelids and realized there was a space for him here too.

It could be something. Really. But Dallas would have to let him in.

“…so I haven’t checked my phone because I’m afraid he’s ghosting me,” Kylen said, his mouth full of sushi rice and salmon.

Dani looked over at him and rolled her eyes. “He probably already texted you, and he’s waiting like some lovesick fool for you to reply.”

Kylen had considered that scenario when he put his phone in the bedroom and closed the door behind him. And it made him feel like an asshole because Dallas was going through it. But he also needed space for himself too.

“I’ll check it in a few,” Kylen said.

Dani scoffed, then used her toe to tap Flora’s thigh. “Princesa, go get Daddy’s phone from the bedroom and see if Mr. Reed sent him a text.”

Flora’s eyes lit up, and before Kylen could stop her, she took off like a shot. He glowered at Dani. “Using our daughter against me?”

“Saving your love life, so you can thank me later,” she said. She held out her hand when Flora appeared and snatched it before Kylen could get his hands on it. With a sharp grin, she swiped her finger over the screen in the pattern to unlock it. “He texted,” she said after a moment of silence.

Kylen groaned and threw his hands over his face, tipping his head back. He let out a soft grunt when Flora climbed into his lap and kneed him in the balls. “What did he say?”

“You want me to read it?”

He looked over at Dani. “Yeah. Please? It’s been hours, and I really do feel like a dick now.”

She smirked, and he watched as her eyes moved back and forth over the text. “Dearest sweet butt…”

“Stop,” he moaned as Flora slapped her hand over her mouth and giggled.

“Fine, fine.” Dani cleared her throat. “He said he spoke with Monty—that’s the hot lawyer, right?”

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