Page 164 of The Overtime Kiss

“Exhibit C,” Parker says in an announcer voice as he gestures to the photo of the four of us from Halloween. He’s wearing his astronaut costume, I’m a football player, and Luna and Sabrina are skaters. My heart swells.

“We all had so much fun here too,” Parker says.

“We did,” I say, unsure where this is going.

The next photo is a picture of us at theIce Spectacle. “And here is Exhibit D. We all went to New York together,” he adds.

Then Luna is practically bouncing and…

Oh, fuck.

Everything snaps into place. How did I not see this sooner? They’re onto us. But I steal a look at Sabrina, and she’s tight, tense.

This is bad. I should stop this. “Kids—” I begin.

But they’re running the show. Luna straightens her spine and cuts in. “And we know you two like each other, so this is why we think it’s time for you to get married.”

44

ABORT MISSION

Tyler

A sharp laugh sputters from me. “Are you serious?”

Luna blinks.

Parker furrows his brow.

Sabrina rolls her lips, but her blue eyes flash with something closer to alarm than mirth. No—not just alarm. This is abort-mission levels of panic.

“Yes, we’re serious,” Luna says, more emotional than I’d expected.

Ah, hell. She really means this. The crease in Parker’s forehead tells me he does too.

“We thought—” Parker starts.

Sabrina jumps in, her voice bright—too bright. “Kids, maybe this isn’t the best time.”

But what I hear is—there will never be a good time for this.

My thoughts spin out. Did I misread her? Misjudge everything? My kids, at least—that’s the only thing I might be ableto fix. So I try, turning to the two little people who depend on me, their faces confused. “That’s not how it happens,” I explain. “People don’t just get married because?—”

Because what, idiot?

“But don’t you two like each other?” Luna asks, so guileless. So damn innocent. And it’s moments like this that remind me—she’s still just a kid.

A kid with big dreams.Kiddreams. Not teenage dreams. Not adult ones.

“Of course we do,” I say, because I’m not going to lie about that.

But a quiet voice inside me whispers—While I was busy protecting the kids and Sabrina, did I ever stop to consider she might not see a future with me?

That being crazy for someone isn’t the same as…whatever this family thing is that I want?

My pulse spikes. She’s already been pulling away from me—has been ever since I returned home tonight.

“Then what’s the issue?” Luna presses.

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