Page 19 of In the Works

“I know.” Biting the inside of the cheek, I shook my head.

Jason shrugged. “I think this is so much nicer for them than before. We can laugh together, and they aren’t listening to screaming matches.”

I couldn’t stop a laugh from rising in my chest. We had been at each other’s throats for years. Finally letting go of our romantic relationship had felt like lifting the Earth off Atlas’s back. And Jason was right: being friends again was really nice.

He nodded to me and started to walk past, knowing I’d gotten the message.

But before he left, I stopped him. “Can I ask you something?” A part of me regretted the words as soon as they left my lips, but I didn’t know who else to ask about something like this.

“Of course you can.” Jason chuckled, trying to hide the slight concern on his face.

A light breeze blew through the air as I nervously tucked a strand of blonde behind my ear. “How was it for you… to start dating?”

Unable to stop himself, a huge grin took over his face. “Wow, really? You’re going to ask your ex-husband for dating advice?”

All I could do was shrug. “Maybe I am. You’re the only other person I know who’s gone through it. So, that’s my question.”

Jason sighed, letting the inquiry really sink in. I assumed his answer would be complicated, and maybe a part of me wasn’t ready to hear it.

Eventually, he met my eyes. “It’s not easy. It kind of feels wrong, even if you know it’s not.”

You can say that again.

“So what did you do about that?”

He sucked in a deep breath. “Honestly? Kind of just listened to my gut. If my gut told me someone wasn’t right, I backed off. And Liv felt right.” Stopping for a moment, he looked around at the newly budding trees. “We didn’t get to date around. You and I just found each other so young. So I guess I'm trying to say, don’t be afraid to make up for that now.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Jay.”

He smiled at me and started to walk toward his truck in the lot. But he stopped and turned on his heels. “Sarah, you’re just going to have to rip the band-aid off. Because you deserve someone great, and they’re out there somewhere.”

“Right.” I shot a finger gun his way and walked to the minivan. We piled into our separate cars, and Jason sped off.

Opening my phone, I pulled up a text chain with Bri. I knew that she probably needed the weekend to think, but I wanted to make sure she didn’t forget to actuallythinkabout it. So I typed out a quick message that read:

Hey, stranger. Any thoughts yet?

Before I could second guess myself too hard, I hit the send button. The resultingwhooshwas one of the least comforting sounds I’d heard in awhile.

I let the air I’d trapped in my lungs out and turned to look at my exhausted kids. “What do we think: should we take some Chinese food to your grandparents?”

Ava and Leila lit up, excited squeals filling the backseat.

Resting my hand on Derek’s shoulder, I lowered my head into his gaze. “Der?”

He shrugged. “Okay.” As much as he wanted to be down in the dumps, a light smile played on his cheeks.

“Perfect.” I put the car in drive and got us rolling.

My mom was already waiting outside by the time I turned down the long driveway. Even from the car, I could see how giddy she was to see her grandbabies. Despite the fact that I brought themover nearly every week, Dorothy always acted like it was the first time in ages.

Once the car was parked, I opened the passenger doors and helped Ava out of her car seat. Derek was already trodding toward the front steps of the house.

“Hello, darlins.” Dorothy wrapped Derek in a huge hug, one that Leila got absorbed into once she was in hugging range.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I held Ava’s hand. Derek and Leila pried themselves from their grandma’s grip and headed inside, racing to find their grandpa. Once Ava was close enough, Dorothy opened up her arms for Ava.

She dropped my hand in nanoseconds to be taken in by her grandma.

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