Page 28 of Exposed Ink

In my defense, it’s extremely rare, and I really would love to see it.

I realize my mistake when Taylor responds by saying, “You should come over! We were just walking Becky.” She points at the German shepherd I didn’t notice until now. She’s sitting pretty next to her owner and hasn’t made a sound the entire time. “And then we’re heading home to make dinner. Do you like ribs? Dad is a beast on the grill, and he’s making them tonight.”

“Oh, umm …” I glance at Shane, silently begging for help, but he only smiles softly, knowing I’m trapped and I’ll be forced to spend time with him unless I want to turn down Taylor’s invitation.

With a quick glare at him—which doesn’t seem to faze him in the slightest—I look back at Taylor, who’s nibbling on the corner of her lip hopefully.

The wordnois on the tip of my tongue, but at the last second, against my better judgment, I say, “Sure, I would love to have dinner with you and see your library.”

Taylor squeals, Shane smiles, and my heart swells in my chest, once again reminding me that it’s still there and working.

* * *

“Oh good, you’re back.”My mom envelops me in a hug. “I was starting to get worried.”

“I’m okay,” I assure her. “But I’m actually not staying.”

My thoughts go back to Taylor and her dad. After agreeing to go over to their place for dinner, I remembered that the reason I was at the park was because I’d left the barbecue in a hurry. When I told them I would meet them at their place, Shane looked like he didn’t believe a word I was saying, but Taylor, in all her innocence, shot off their address and said they’d see me soon.

I changed my mind a dozen times on the walk back to my aunt and uncle’s house, but then I remembered I didn’t have Taylor’s or Shane’s phone number, so bailing on them would be ghosting them, and I wasn’t about to do that to that sweet girl.

“I ran into a friend,” I say vaguely, “and she invited me over for dinner.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Mom says, too happy that I’m actually willing to hang out with a friend to ask who it is. “Go have fun.” She kisses my cheek. “I love you, Kins.”

“I love you more.”

After we separate, I find Melina so I can congratulate her on her engagement while avoiding Natalia so I don’t have to tell her where I’m going. My mom might give me some space, but there’s no way I’ll get past Natalia without her giving me the third degree. And the last thing I need is for her to know I’m going to Shane’s house.

She’ll make more out of it than it is, refusing to understand that I’m not going there to see Shane—he just so happens to be Taylor’s dad. I’m going there to see Taylor and to check out her library and talk books. And Shane will just so happen to be there.

Now if only I can repeat that in my head enough times so that I’ll believe it.

TEN

Shane

If someone had toldme that Taylor’s and my weekly walk to the dog park would end with Kinsley in my house, chatting with my daughter about books while I cook dinner for the three of us, I would’ve laughed in their face and asked them what the hell they were smoking because there was no way Kinsley would go anywhere with me, let alone to my house.

Yet every time I walk from the back porch to the kitchen to grab something, I can hear Kinsley’s and Taylor’s laughter from the library that I built for Taylor.

Since it’s only the two of us in a three-bedroom house with a living room and den and I don’t need an office, I turned the den into a library as a surprise for her seventeenth birthday. The way she squealed and cried and hugged me, telling me I was the best dad ever, told me I’d picked the right gift for my book-obsessed daughter.

I set the plate of ribs on the table next to the grilled potatoes, veggies, and rolls, and then I head over to the library to let the girls know dinner’s ready. But as I’m walking toward the back of the house where the library is, my phone pings with an email.

When I click on my mailbox, it’s mostly spam, but my eye catches on an earlier email I must’ve missed from Exposed Ink. I click into it and read it twice, confused as to why my appointment has been canceled.

Since the only woman who can explain this is sitting in my house, I head straight back to ask her. I’m expecting to find her and my daughter, but only Kinsley is sitting in the middle of the room on the floor, looking through a paperback.

When she hears me enter, she looks up and smiles softly. “Taylor’s in the bathroom. She has quite the collection.” Her eyes track the shelves filled with hundreds of books. “I told her she’ll have to come by my parents’ place one day. My mom has a library that could rival this one.”

“That would imply you’re planning to see my daughter again,” I say, stepping in front of Kinsley and then kneeling so I’m at her level.

“I …” She opens and closes her mouth. “If you don’t want me to?—”

“You’re more than welcome to see Taylor anytime you want. I guess I’m just confused since you canceled our appointment.”

I raise a brow, and she looks at me sheepishly.

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