Page 40 of Need You to Choose Me

And he confirms it. “It was better he tell you than some random media outlet like TMZ. I told him he was lucky that people respect Tori in the industry or else that shit would have been all over the tabloids.”

So Tori’s connections must be big if people were willing to dampen her relationship with a pro athlete. “Damn,” I mumble, impressed. “She must be good at her job.”

“She is,” he confirms. “You should check out her work. I think you two will get along.”

“Still, it would have been nice of him to ease us into the news. He never talked about being a husband or a dad before. And then BAM.”

“Not looking forward to a niece or nephew?” he asks, plopping onto the bed and setting the cheese puffs between us.

I lean my back against the headboard. “It’s not that. I mean, I’ve never been rah-rah kids. I don’t love them, but I don’t hate them, you know?”

Bodhi seems genuinely surprised by that. “I thought you liked kids. Your friend has one, right?”

He remembers me telling him that? It was in passing conversation not long after we met.

“Skylar,” I confirm with an easy smile. “Like I said, it isn’t that I dislike children. But they aren’t for everyone. I’m not sure they’re for me. I think it’d be better if I can spoil them and then give them back, you know?”

Something in his eyes dim. “Huh.”

He’s being weird. “I take it you’re on team kids then?”

His finger comes up and scratches the column of his throat. “Yeah, you can say that. I’ve always liked children and they’ve always taken to me.”

“Well, youarea big kid,” I reason, elbowing him playfully. He doesn’t elbow me back. He actually looks sort of sad. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. Kids aren’t for everybody, right? Like, I’m sure Icouldbe a good Mom, but that doesn’t mean Iwantto be. And you’d make a great dad because of how playful and unserious you are. I don’t mean that as anything other than a compliment either.”

His throat clears. “Thanks, Olive. I appreciate that.”

I offended him, I just don’t know how.

My attention is pulled to my phone screen lighting up with a message from #43. I grab it before Bodhi notices.

#43:I miss you

I gape at the message. Has someone kidnapped him? Stolen his cell?

Me:Did someone take your phone?

#43:Having a bad day. Is it so surprising that I’d reach out to you to make it better?

Well, yeah. Kind of.

“What’s that expression for?” Bodhi questions, tugging my focus back to him as he eats more of his snack.

I swallow, glancing back down at Alex’s message. “Seb said something to me once about you and your ex. Do you ever miss her?”

His eyes widen a fraction at the personal question. “Uh…” He hesitates before letting out a short sigh. “Sometimes I miss the good times we had. Life was different back then, though. Easier.I’ve never wanted to get back together with her. Not even when I had the chance.”

“And you did? Have the chance, I mean.”

His tongue slowly drags across his bottom lip before his shoulders slump. “She wanted to make things work, but I told her we weren’t good for one another. And we weren’t. We fought. We had different ideas for the future. She didn’t like how much I was gone, and for good reason. But that wasn’t enough for me to change my mind. I wanted somebody to support me, not make me feel bad for what I was doing for myself.”

I nod along. “That makes sense.”

“She passed away not long ago,” he admits quietly, making my heart drop. “And I have to say, I miss her more now than I did back then. We have…history together. A lot of it.”

“History is hard to forget,” I agree, fiddling with my phone.

“Yeah,” Bodhi murmurs.

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