Page 84 of All Our Secrets

But I couldn’t.

“I don’t think the two of you are going to get back together,” I murmured.

Her lips flattened before she spoke. “He’s not dating anyone,right?”

There was a question in her tone. An accusation. I was far too peeved to care, though.

“Why does it matter? If he’s not interested, that says enough,right?” I mimicked her tone.

Becky scoffed. “Who says he’s not?”

Was she really trying to insinuate that Silas had feelings for her?

“He—”

“Did T.J. poop?” Sarah cut me off abruptly. “I smell something.”

I narrowed my eyes at her before checking my son. There was no way she smelled his stinky diaper before me, which meant she was shutting me up so I wouldn’t say something I couldn’t take back. It was smart, but I still glared at her as I checked Junior.

“My son is clean. Maybe it’s you?” I told her.

She fanned herself. “Man, this heat. It’sboiling.”

A.k.a. my attitude was getting snooty. Despite my feelings, Becky didn’t deserve my wrath. My inner turmoil had nothing to do with her. But I still wished she wasn’t Silas’s ex. Why had he dated any women at all anyway? Sheesh. I was getting annoyed thinking about it.

Then I froze in front of the stroller. Shit. These emotions didn’t align with the conversation I’d had with Silas earlier. In front of Silas, in the light where I saw him so clearly, the guilt consumed me. When near Becky, the jealousy trumped all else. And in the dark of the past two nights, something else entirely had won.

I was stronger than these feelings.

“Are you sure you checked him good?” Sarah went on.

I rolled my eyes. “Who’s the mother here? Me or you?”

Becky wrinkled her nose. “I think I’ll leave you to your motherhood.” She turned to leave, then stopped. “That reminds me. I know Silas and your husband were close. You’re lucky he’s been there to help. I’m sure Theodore would thank him if he could.”

There wasn’t a hint of malice in her gaze, but her words… I didn’t know if she was more put off by the fact that I was a mom or that Silas helped me. The accusations rang clearly, though.

“Just let it go,” Sarah muttered as Becky flounced off.

I sighed very, very loudly.

Then Becky yelled, “Silas!” and ran over to him.

“Oh dear,” Sarah whispered. “Now, see? What can we do? You’re still in the denial stage.”

I ground my teeth, and Silas’s gaze met mine before he looked at Becky.

“Peyton…” Sarah murmured. “Lose that expression, or Silas will get the wrong idea.Ohnever mind. Is that hearts I see springing from your eyes? Yeah, you’re giving the man all the vibes he needs to behave in a more than friendly way.”

∞∞∞

A day spent watching Becky pining after Silas was exhausting. My feet and legs hurt from walking all day, so it wasn’t hard to disappear into my bedroom with my son and put us to sleep early that night.

Cold air bit into my shoulders, waking me from my slumber. I shuddered, blindly searching for the blanket, only to feel the thin material sliding away.What…It took my groggy mind a second to realize someone was pulling it off me.

I peeked over my shoulder, one eye cracked open. The light filtering through the partially open door revealed Silas’s hulking form looming over me.

He had come to me. A longing fluttered inside my ribcage. Instead of letting that emotion take root, I hissed. “What are you doing?”

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