Page 19 of Fixing Up My Love Life

“Twenty-one.”

He goes still. The air shifts, and his gaze flicks back to Madeline, then to me. “Good to know,” he says, but his voice is hoarse.

A flicker of pain crosses his face before he looks away, like something just slipped loose beneath the surface—something he wasn’t prepared to feel.

My heart tightens, caught between the past and the present.

“I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this from me,” Mads teases as she strolls back over, the customers now browsing deeper in the store.

“Keeping what?” Jack asks.

“That you two are working together. This is major.”

“It’s just a renovation,” I say, brushing it off.

Jack says nothing, but his expression tightens. His smile has vanished, his expression guarded.

Before I can analyze it, Anabelle steps beside me. “Your store is gorgeous. I need the grand tour. Lucas told me all about your business smarts.”

She loops her arm through mine, and we head toward the women’s section. I glance over my shoulder at Jack, who’s standing where I left him, gaze steady on me.

A haunted look flickersin his eyes. Did he think Mads might’ve been his daughter? That I’d kept it from him?

She’s not. But if she had been . . . would I have told him?

Even if he left without a goodbye?

CHAPTER 8

Jack

It’s been a few days since I was last at the Hensley House—Brett had pulled me off to one of our other renovation projects. While I was away, the plumber fixed that busted sink, and two of my guys took care of the hole in the floor. With Hazel and her kids living upstairs now, that was priority one.

I walk in, tool belt slung around my waist and hard hat tucked under my arm, just as a little girl begins climbing carefully down the stairs. She’s dressed in a sparkly mermaid costume that flares at the bottom but opens at the feet so she can walk. Her red curls bounce in pigtails, and my heart just about melts when she looks up and grins. “Hi!”

“Well, hello there. Is your mommy home?”

“Yeah. She upstairs.” She keeps stepping down,gripping the bannister for balance. Walking in that outfit can’t be easy.

The floor holds steady under her bare feet—patched just in time. It’s not pretty, but it’s safe. And that’s what matters most.

“Ellen, where’d you go?” Another girl bounds down after her in a giant Twin Waves T-shirt and gym shorts. Clothes that definitely look like they came from Hazel’s shop.

“I here,” Ellen calls over her shoulder.

“You’re not supposed to go down there by yourself.” But then the older girl’s gaze falls on me, and she freezes. “Oh.”

“Kira, where’d you go?” A teenage girl with her hair in a ponytail with a large white bow jogs down the stairs in a Twin Waves High cheerleading uniform. “Mom said Ellen needs to stay upstairs.” She stops behind Kira and practically slams into her when she notices me.

She crosses her arms. “Oh, you’rehim.” She shakes her head. “Mom doesn’t waste any time, does she?”

“Lila, who are you talking to?” Hazel comes downstairs, and her face reddens when she sees me. “Oh, Jack. I see you’ve met my three youngest.” She points to them. “Ellen, Kira, and Lila.”

“How’s your leg doing?” I ask.

She glances down at it. “Doesn’t hurt at all.”

“It never should have happened,” I growl.

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