Page 4 of (Un)Spoken

“It’s gorgeous.” I smiled back at him. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

“All I did was put up a few walls. Everything else was all Alex.” Cole beamed with pride. “She’s the heart and soul of this place.”

I stared at him, studying the admiration that lined his face. “You’re really happy, aren’t you?”

He nodded, “It took a long time to get here, but now, I can’t imagine my life anywhere else.” He shuffled closer to me, running his hand through his hair. “Look, Tor, I know I fucked up a lot in the past–”

“It’s in the past,” I said, cutting him off. His eyes studied me, as if searching for a lie in my words. “I mean it,” I continued, hoping that if I said it, it would be the entire truth. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, Cole.”

“I am,” Cole admitted quietly. “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes. I know it’s going to be a busy fewdays, but I’d like to spend some time together, get to know the grown-up version of you better. Although…” He chuckled as he pulled me into a hug. “You still fit under my arm pretty well.”

I shoved him off me. “Only because you got all the tall genes and didn’t leave anything for the rest of us.”

As we finally started to fall into a comfortable rhythm, my phone rang out. My eyes cut to the display, hissing a sharp breath. I grabbed the device and held it to my chest, giving Cole my most innocent smile. “I have to take this.”

Cole nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. But when he reached the door, he hit the frame twice. “Dinner at the house tonight? I can pick you up in a couple of hours.”

“You got it.”

As I watched him exit, I hit the answer button, smiling widely at the screen. “Hey baby, how was your day?”

Emilia’s toothy grin filled the whole screen, piercing a hole through my heart. It hadn’t even been a day yet, and I was already missing my daughter tremendously. I was used to spending all my time with her, not having been away since before she was born four years ago. But as hard as it was to take this trip, and knowing that I wasn’t ready to bring her with me, it was also nice to have some time alone. But just because I planned to take full advantage of my trip didn’t mean that I didn’t miss Emilia with every fiber of my being.

“Good. We played with paints!” The evidence was still all over her chubby cheeks, streaks of blue and yellow covering her sweet dimples. Her brown curls were wild, piled up on top of her head. Emilia was chaos in human form but still the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

“You did? Are you being a good girl for Daddy?”

“Yup!” She nodded. “We’re going to Target later. He said I could pick out my snacks.”

I ducked my head, hiding my laughter. “Already pulling out the Target move?” I called out to my ex, Cam. “How much of the house has she destroyed?”

He chuckled as he looked over our daughter’s head. “When the heck did this kid get such an appetite? I swear, last week, she wouldn’t eat anything, and now, she’s gone through most of the fridge.”

“No idea.” I knew all too well how often Emilia’s tastes changed. She might have been the light of my life, but she could also be exhausting. “You could always take her out to see the horses. Those are her favorite.”

“Good plan,” Cam answered. “I know Dad’s working on one of the new mares today.”

Cam’s family lived on a vast farm on the edge of town, the same plot his great-grandfather had purchased almost one hundred years ago. After Emilia was born, we’d moved into one of the cottages on the property, wanting to be close to his family in case we needed support. Honestly, after a decade of knowing them, I was almost as close to the Sedas as I was to my own parents.

When Cam and I broke up, I expected that to change, but it was the opposite. His parents sat me down and said that no matter what happened between Cam and me, we would always be family. They even let me stay in the cottage while Cam moved back into the main house.

It was working well for us. It gave me some privacy but kept Cam close enough that he could see Emilia as much as possible. It might not have been the most traditional situation, but it suited our needs right now.

When I had a project or deadline for one of my online classes, Cam stepped up, taking care of Emilia so I couldfocus. And with his work as a shortstop for a minor league baseball team, I had his parents' support when he was on the road for weeks at a time. Even though our romantic relationship was over, we were a team, a family, and in many ways, he was my best friend.

Turning my attention back to my daughter, I smiled. “Where’s Auntie Hadley? Did you already scare her away?”

“She was the genius who thought paints would be an amazing idea.” Cam gave me a knowing look. “And then, when it came time to clean up, she had a sudden emergency and had to leave.”

I chuckled; that sounded like Hadley. She was all about the bright spots in life, bringing a hefty dose of sunshine wherever she went. Ever since we were matched as roommates during my short-lived college career, she’d been my constant, my cheerleader when life tried to weigh me down, but ever since they first met, Cam and Hadley hadn’t gotten along. Her free-spirited nature tended to grate against Cam’s rigidity, a fact she exploited as much as possible. It was endlessly entertaining. The only thing they agreed on was Emilia, which was why I’d happily offered to let her crash at my house while I was gone. She wanted to spend more time with her goddaughter, and I knew Cam could use the help, even if he’d never admit it. Now, all I had to do was pray they wouldn’t kill each other in the process.

Cam leaned down and kissed Emilia’s forehead. “Why don’t you go play, baby? I have to talk to Mommy for a minute.”

“K, Daddy.” She hopped down from the counter. “Love you, Mommy.”

“Love you more, kiddo.”

“Love you, foreva and eva!”

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