Page 103 of Indiscretion

Naomi laughed. “Maybe.”

“How old is Leo anyway?”

“He’s an old man. He’ll be eleven next month.”

I waved her off. “That’s nothing compared to Sheldon.”

“How old is he?”

“Twenty.”

“Are you serious?”

I nodded. “I got him when I was nine.”

“How long can a tortoise live?”

“Some make it into their fifties.”

“Wow. I had no idea. Does Sheldon get along with other animals?”

“We had a dog growing up. They didn’t really have any interest in each other, sort of just coexisted. Ben had a cat that wanted to sniff him all the time. Sheldon seemed unfazed. Why? You want to introduce our children? I’m not sure we’re ready for that if we’re taking it day by day.”

Naomi smiled. “True.”

I’d actually been thinking about our day-to-day arrangement all week. An idea might’ve sprouted its roots watching dumb-ass Will Archer flirt with Naomi, but the thing had legs, and it stuck around even after my jealousy passed. “I wouldn’t want Sheldon to get attached to someone I wasn’t sure would be around tomorrow.”

“I suppose…”

I took a deep breath. I had no idea how to broach the subject, considering I was usually the one avoiding it. “Maybe we should make more of a commitment? You know, for the sake of the children.”

Naomi looked over at me. “What kind of commitment?”

I waited a few seconds before answering so it didn’t seem like I’d spent the amount of hours I had thinking about the subject. “I don’t know. But I suppose if you were my girlfriend, there would be less risk of Sheldon getting attached to you and Leo in vain.”

“Your girlfriend, huh? What does that entail?”

“I don’t have much experience in this area, but I would think we’d spend a few nights a week together.”

“We’re sort of already doing that, aren’t we?”

“And I guess we’d prioritize each other.”

“That sounds nice.”

I cleared my throat. “And…not see other people.”

Naomi shrugged. “Easy enough. I’m not doing that anyway. I’m more of a one-man type. But are you sure that’s whatyouwant?”

It scared the shit out of me, but I wanted all that andmorewith this woman. “I want what’s best for Sheldon.”

Naomi side-eyed me with a grin. “Uh-huh.”

“What? I’m a responsible pet owner.”

She stepped in front of me, turned, and stopped, forcing me to stop too. “I would love to be your girlfriend, Dawson Reed.”

I tried to play it cool, but inside I fist pumped. “Sounds good.”

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