Page 32 of Under Southern Stars
“Maybe there isn’t. Maybe he’s just a good guy who brings you coffee and saves lives.”
“Nobody’s that simple.”
“Honey, you’re looking for problems that might not exist. Just enjoy it.”
After we hang up, I stare at my phone. In two hours, I’ll see him at Madison’s game. I’ll watch him meet Troy, navigate my complicated life, probably handle it all with that easy grace.
My phone buzzes. Another text.
Jack: Looking forward to seeing you!
My heart does a backflip.
He’s coming with his partner. His partner’s kid. Building connections between our lives already. Andhe’s looking forward to seeing me.
Sophia: Me too! See you there!
I remove the exclamation points. Put them back. Take them back out, and only put one in, but add a smiley face. Then delete it. Add it again.
God, I really am acting like a teenager.
Time to armor up, as Madison would say. Or maybe—just maybe—time to let the armor crack a little and let vulnerability be the birthplace of something new.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JACK
“You’re fidgeting,” Rodriguez observes, pulling into the sports complex parking lot. “Since when do you fidget?”
“Since when do you care?” I scan the fields, looking for the right one. It’s a circus out here—kids in uniforms everywhere, parents hauling coolers and folding chairs, coaches with clipboards barking orders.
His son, Diego, bounces in the backseat. “Is this your girlfriend’s kid’s game? Mom says you have a girlfriend now.”
“She’s not my—” I catch Rodriguez’s amused look in the mirror. “It’s complicated.”
“Everything’s complicated with you.” He parks next to a Tesla with vanity plates reading ‘CRYPTO1’. “Bet that belongs to the ex.”
I spot Field 3, see a familiar figure setting up a folding chair. Sophia’s in jeans and a Metro General Fun Run t-shirt, hair in a ponytail, looking absolutely perfect.
“There she is,” Rodriguez says, following my gaze. “My man, you’ve got itbad.”
A man joins her—tall, artificially white teeth, carefully styled hair. The Tesla owner, I’m guessing. Troy. He’s got his armaround a blonde woman who looks like she stepped out of a yoga Instagram ad.
