Page 112 of How to Prevent a Fumble

“That wasn’t just a kiss.” His eyes flicker to my lips.

“A kiss, Warner.”

And when we go back to his place that night, stumbling through the door drunk, I don’t think about what that means for the rest of my time with him.

32

BRIAR

Time is a funny thing. It moves quickly when you desperately want it to slow down, and it plods along when you desperately want to put distance between you and a certain moment.

For me, that certain moment was the night of his charity event.

A night of drunken messiness, as I called it the morning after.

It hurt to look at the flowers Leo had gotten me, and I hid in my room for most of the day before he came to find me. The troubled look on his face was one I couldn’t quite emotionally deal with, and it showed.

I wanted to ask him about therapy. And why he chose me, really. The real, honest reason. But those were all things I don’t think I was really ready to hear about, right? Things that I really couldn’t focus on.

I want to say I handled the situation with grace, but I didn’t.

For a week after, Leo would mope around the apartment, keeping to himself other than making breakfast in themorning when Elara was up early. The two of them carried on as if there was no tension at all.

But I couldn’t.

I know Leo. I know men. As much as I would be fine eventually, the feelings I’m starting to have for him scare me.

Four weeks go by slowly as the evenings grow darker and darker. I continue to answer Leo’s emails, cook his dinner before he’s home, and run errands for him. We’ve had minimal contact, and even though I’ve gone to a game since that night, I didn’t go down to the field with Isla.

Thankfully, the kiss made its way around socials as I knew it would, and in his publicist's words, we wereset for at least a month.According to all the news outlets, we werevery much in loveand on our way to getting married and having babies of our own, not that they would ever really know.

“Mom, what are we doing for Halloween?” Elara asks, plopping down beside me on my bed.

“I’m not sure Bub, what do you want to do?”

“Well, Junie was saying that she and Mr. Gardner go trick-or-treating in their neighborhood, and she invited me to come along.”

I give her a sidelong look. “Does Mr. Gardner know this?”

She nods eagerly, and I remind myself to shoot Emmett a text to make sure she’s telling the truth.

“Then we can go, as long as it’s okay with him. What do you want to be?”

A week later, Elara and I are pulling up to Emmett’s large house in his fancy gated neighborhood. I help Elara climb out, ensuring her costume doesn’t get too wrinkled.

And she screams.

“Elara, someone’s going to think something is actually wrong.”

“Mom,” she takes off the hat covering her whole head. “That’s what he sounds like. I need to play the part.”

I sigh loudly, biting my lip as I gather her Halloween basket. Juniper is pushing open the door, a large smile on her face. She’s wearing a gold suit, her face painted gold.

Great. Because we need the two sassiest characters in Star Wars.

I’m halfway up the driveway when another car pulls up next to the Grand Wagoneer. A much louder, much fancier one. I turn to watch Leo stumble out the door, his large green ears making it difficult for him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, my eyes wide.

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