“I’m surprised you aren’t with them.”
“I worked a late shift last night for an emergency surgery.” Lifting my head, I finally looked over at Rhett. “I haven’t seen Raven in a couple days.” Because I’d done my best to avoid her. I couldn’t take any more of her talking about Mike. The last straw was when she let me read a text from him, agreeing to meet her at Lucky’s for a drink this weekend.
“AJ and I are supposed to meet him and Raven at Lucky’s on Saturday.” And there it was, almost like he was able to read my mind. “You should come along.” No thanks. “You work too much.”
“It’s what I love.” It was all I had, which was pathetic, really, if I took the time to think about it.
“That’s fine and all, but you need a life outside of that hospital, Mad.” Rhett paused from flipping through the channels and reached out to trace Blake’s cheek with his fingertip. I looked down just in time to see his cheek twitch, I was assuming from the tickling sensation it caused. “I didn’t picture myself being a father, at least, not this soon. I thought I’d be married, be successful, but I wouldn’t change a thing about where I am now. AJ woke me up, showed me what loving someone truly felt like. This little man wasn’t planned, but I can honestly say I think he’s a gift from my father.” A rush of emotions filled Rhett’s eyes that made my chest tighten.
“He’s a gift.” He gave me a little reassuring nod. “I love my life, Mad, everything about it. I wake up every day next to a woman I love more than I ever thought was possible, and we’ve created this amazing little boy. I’m lucky. I’m blessed.” I couldn’t agree more. “I just think that, to find your own happiness, you need to quit hiding in the shadows of everyone else.”
“I’m not hiding.”
Or was I?
Silence settled in over us, and I snuggled Blake a little more. Closing my eyes for a second, or ten, I allowed myself to imagine what life would be like if I were a mother. To feel that kind of love, so unconditional and pure.
“He insisted that what took place between the two of you that day in the field was nothing.” My gaze met Rhett’s once more, and I felt my stomach tense. “But I’m not blind, Maddison. There was something there. I’ve never seen you and Mike act that way, especially with each other.”
“It was noth—”
“Okay, yeah, I know. Nothing.” He said this with a smirk. “But if you’re wrong and it was something, don’t you think you two owe it to yourselves to know for sure?”
We sat next to one another for another ten minutes without saying a word. His earlier statement repeated in my mind over and over, doing nothing to ease my indecisiveness. In fact, they only managed to make me question myself even more.
He was wrong. He had to be. It was nothing. Just a strange exchange that needed to be shelved. We were family, Mike and me.
My best friend liked him.
Nothing could happen. It just couldn’t.
Chapter Fifteen
Mike
Grabbing my keys off the small table next to my couch, I slipped on my boots and stepped out into the hallway of my apartment building. Placing my key in the deadbolt, I ensured it was locked and spun around toward the exit.
Wyatt, my neighbor, was walking up the front steps when I pushed open the door to the outside.
“Going out?” He shifted the bags in his arms as he paused to shoot the shit.
“Lucky’s.” Somehow, I’d let Raven wear me down and had agreed to meet her for a drink. I could honestly say that the biggest factor was Maddison. I convinced myself that if I could go out with Raven and have a good time, maybe what I was feeling for Maddison was simple loneliness. Then, another part of me hoped that if she met up with me and found out I wasn’t the guy she thought I was, she’d give up and move on.
“Date?”
“Just meeting up with some friends.”
Wyatt was a little older than me, a divorced man with a small boy. On occasion, I’d seen him out in the front lawn of our apartment building tossing a ball with his son on the days he had him. I felt for the guy. He’d lost his family because his wife couldn’t decide if she wanted him or her coworker. In the end, the coworker had won, and now, the man lived in a big, old house with Wyatt’s wife and son while Wyatt was stuck in a shitty apartment.
“You should join me.” The invite surprised me just as much as him, I thought, when his eyes widened just a small fraction.
“Thanks.” He stepped around me and used his body to hold open the door. “I appreciate the offer, but Joey’s coming over tonight, and I need to start dinner. Tacos and movie night.” He smiled, giving his bags a little shake to emphasis the contents.
“Sounds fun.” His smile widened even more, and I wondered how he did it. I’d have a hell of a time only seeing my kid a few nights a week. I would drive myself crazy knowing the woman I loved and my son were living my life with a different man. “Well, have a good night.”
“You too.” He gave me one last nod before going inside the building and letting the door close behind him.
I got a text just as I was climbing up in my truck, and once settled, I
