Page 7 of One Baddie for Three Daddies

Her mouth opens and closes like she’s searching for words. Finally, she settles on, “Wow. Yeah, it has been.”

I can’t help but smirk at her stunned expression. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

She laughs, a little nervously. “Same here. What are you doing in San Diego?”

“Work,” I reply casually. “I’ve been here a while now. Real estate market’s booming.”

“Right, of course.” She nods, as if piecing things together in her mind.

The awkwardness hangs between us for a moment before I break it. “You look good, Bia.”

A flicker of something passes through her eyes before she smiles. “Thanks, James. You do too.” She glances around the bar and then back at me.

“This place is nice.”

I shrug nonchalantly. “They have good whiskey.”

She laughs again, this time more genuine. “I see some things never change.”

“Some things do,” I counter, holding her gaze.

She tilts her head slightly, curiosity dancing in her eyes. “Like what?”

“Well,” I lean in a bit closer, lowering my voice, “for one thing, you’re back in my life.”

She bites her lower lip for a second before letting out a soft chuckle. “I guess so.”

“So, what brings you here tonight?” I ask, letting my eyes linger on hers for a moment longer than necessary.

She twirls one of her braids around her finger. “Just needed to unwind after a long day. I’m working on a big project, and it’s been... intense so far.”

I lean in, intrigued. “Big project, huh? Tell me more.”

“Well,” she starts, her voice gaining a spark of excitement, “I just got hired to design a new property for a real estate company here in San Diego. It’s my first major assignment since moving here.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Really? Which company?”

“Murphy-Olsen Realty,” she replies, watching my reaction closely. “I had a meeting with them today. Alex and Liam were there.”

My jaw tenses and I exhale roughly. She notices and adds quickly, “I was surprised you weren’t there. Weren’t you supposed to start a company together after college?”

“Things changed after you left, Bia. We had a fallout after college.”

Her brow furrows in confusion. “What happened?”

“It’s complicated,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “We kinda just went our separate ways after... ” The words hang in the air between us.

She looks down at her drink, her fingers tracing the rim of the glass. “I didn’t know. I thought you guys would stick together no matter what.”

"We had a big argument," I finally say, my voice controlled but low. "Things got heated, and I decided it was best to go my own way."

Bianca's eyes search mine, looking for answers I’m not ready to give. "What was the argument about?"

I shrug, keeping my face neutral. "Just...stuff from college. Old wounds."

She looks skeptical but doesn’t push further. Instead, she swirls her drink, her fingers tapping the glass rhythmically. "It must’ve been pretty bad if it made you leave like that."

"Yeah," I mutter, more to myself than to her.

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