Page 97 of Bonus Daddy
“Did you two plan this?” I asked, looking from a grinning Lo to a more serious Sloane. “The good cop, bad cop routine?”
Lo smirked. “I’m flattered you think I’m the good cop.” She put her hands on her hips. “And no. We’re just that good. So give it up. We know Brian, and we know something happened. He left here a rabid dog and came home a cuddly puppy.”
Lana put her arm around my shoulder. “And I know you. I swear you’re walking a little funny. Not to mention the constant singing to yourself.” She leaned in closer to Lo and Sloane. “Our girl is in love.”
“Lana,” I hissed.
Sloane waved dismissively. “You’re among friends.”
“Do you need wine for this?” Lo asked.
I shook my head. “I’m just working out my feelings right now. I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“You’ve clearly been working something else too,” Lana said with a wink.
My face flamed, and I prayed the floor would open up and swallow me so I wouldn’t have to put up with the teasing.
Lo fist-pumped. “I knew it.”
“Come on. Let’s order dinner and get the details out of her,” Lana said, rubbing her hands together.
Once the four of us were settled in my apartment with Thai food, the pressure to spill my secrets became too high.
“I think I’m in love with him,” I admitted into my Pad Kra Pao.
“’Course you are.”
“It happened to both of us,” Sloane said, thumbing at Lo, then herself.
“Me too,” Lana said. “When I met Max, I wasn’t interested. The next thing I knew, I was pregnant with his child and changing my name.”
“But what do I even do?” In Vermont, I found myself living in the moment, and it had all seemed too easy. But back in Jersey, as I began packing up my apartment, it was clear we had no future.
“I’m moving to Vermont,” I reminded them as I dropped my chopsticks into the cardboard container.
Sloane hummed. “That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. But tell us more. What’s the plan? What’s in Vermont that you can’t get in Jersey?”
I sipped my water while I worked through how to explain the situation. It was complicated. Vermont wasn’t just a place; it was an idea.
A goal.
A town where the girls and I could be happy and healthy. Where I could put distance between myself and my failed marriage.
But lately, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the right thing to do.
I’d begun to consider that maybe it would be better to own my story than to run from it.
“Family,” I finally said, keeping the rest of those thoughts to myself. “My parents are gone, but my sister and brothers are there. It’s a lot cheaper to live up there, and it’s slower-paced.”
The girls all nodded, splitting their attention between their food and me.
“I had a great childhood. I want that for my kids. Running through the woods, farm chores, spending so much time outside.”
“What about Kit? Can she continue her piano studies there?” Sloane asked. “Sully has been raving about her since he and T.J. went to the concert.”
My stomach sank. “Sort of,” I hedged.
Vermont did not offer anything close to the opportunities shehad here, but…
