Page 113 of Broken Dreams
“What?”
“The sex, once we end this.”
Right. We end this. Duh. I know this, but for a second there I let myself forget. “Well, anytime I need a booty call, I’ll text you first.”
He laughs. “I’m flattered.”
“You should be, I don’t make that promise lightly.”
“No?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m pretty picky on that front.”
He leans back on one arm. “I’m glad I made the cut.”
“For now. Once I’m forced back into the dating pool, who knows what I’ll find.”
“Oh, yes, we could always call Dan, he was pretty boastful.”
I shudder at that thought. “I’ll pass on him.”
“What about the first guy, Phil?”
Oh, Phil. “Yes, poor Phil. He was so sad at the meeting last week. He convinced himself we had a connection, and he was thinking of ways to cut back on the video games to make me a priority.”
“Very magnanimous of him.”
I slap his chest playfully. “Whatever. I’m stuck with you for another week, and you give me nothing.”
“I give you orgasms. Lots of them.”
“How magnanimous of you,” I toss back at him.
“I’m a giver.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, a bleeding heart you are.”
Jett and Elodie run over, big smiles on their faces. “Tan I have a cookie, Mommy?” Elodie asks.
“You may have one cookie and then we’re going to head home for a real dinner.”
“Can I have one too, Daddy?” Jett asks Grady.
He hands him one and the two kids squeal. “Will you push me on the swing?” Elodie asks sweetly.
I start to move, but Grady rests his hand on my arm. “Can I push you instead?” he asks, already getting to his feet.
“Daddy pushes high to the sky!” Jett tells Elodie.
“I like to go high!” Elodie tells Grady.
“Well, then you better hurry so we can fly,” Grady says as he starts to move toward the swings.
Her eyes fill with delight and she rushes to the swing, Grady following. I sit here, on the blanket, and something inside of me both aches and lifts. It’s crazy how it can be both at the same time, but here is this man, who I really freaking like, playing with my daughter without even a second thought.
A single tear rolls down my cheek as a mix of joy and sadness fills my chest. It’s going to hurt when I lose this. I brush it away and promise that will be the only tear I cry because you can’t lose something you never had.
And I never had Grady.
