Page 74 of Lost and Found

She adjusted her sunglasses and took in the gorgeous man walking their way. His expression twisted her stomach in the most incredible way, growing more intense as she realized part of it was because she would be spending time with Matt and Wes at the same time. The night of pizza and fireflies had been magical, and now this? Bringing Wes into their day-to-day made it that much more fun for her. How would Matt like sharing the spotlight?

“Hey,” she said as he joined them. “Thanks for doing that.”

“Car seats are harder to take out and install than I realized.”

She laughed as they meandered past the pirate ship playground. Matt skipped ahead as they moved closer to the woods. “You’d be a good dad, you know that?” Then she flushed. “I’m not saying that because—” She didn’t even know how to outtalk the awkward question, and she was a professional interviewer, able to twist an uncomfortable moment into a segue for a great conversation. She could do it in her sleep. Except for right now with Wes. “Last night, er, um.”

His hand smoothed down her back and let it drift off her backside in a deceptively possessive yet reassuring way. “You don’t have to put caveats on our conversations. If you want to say something, just say it.”

“It really did just pop into my head. I’m not—”

“Honestly, Bailey.” His hand smoothed up her back. “Part of this not rushing thing means we’re talking. I’m more than aware you have a kid and don’t think you’re interviewing me for a job.” He shrugged like she hadn’t asked anything remotely uncomfortable. “Yeah, I thought I’d get married and have kids one day. Things didn’t go according to my plan, and it didn’t happen. I stopped thinking about the future. But I might have kids one day. Think it would be kinda great.”

Her insides squeezed. Could she imagine parenting with Wes? Could she imagine growing a family with him? “You’d be great.”

“I want to be a better dad than my dad. I know that much.” He raised his shoulders. “Not that my mom was an angel.”

“Did Chloe’s death change them?”

“Yeah, but they were rocky to start. That’s one thing they taught me early on. Relationships take work. If you don’t put anything in, you won’t get anything out. Then again, sometimes you just choose wrong. I did that with my ex. We weren’t right for each other, and we didn’t know until life got hard. We never talked. We didn’t plan. We didn’t put in the work.”

“Did you have an inkling it was the wrong choice before she left?”

His dry laughter made her heart ache. “I wouldn’t have promised to marry her if I did.”

“Good point.”

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and maybe I was just doing what I thought I was supposed to do. Dated a girl. Nothing was really wrong. Now I know nothing was really right, either. We were moving forward together, not realizing we hadn’t hammered out the details.”

“That’s pretty deep.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know about that.”

“Ryan and I bonded through trauma. I don’t know if we hammered out details, but we mostly covered the big stuff. Like his family.”

“I can only imagine.”

They stopped for Matt to join other kids on a set of xylophones and drums set up alongside the park. They clanged and banged, finding a tune to repeat until everyone was pleased.

“What details should you have hammered out?” he asked. “Asking for myself, in case you’re wondering.”

Her stomach flipped. “Wow, you’re not shying away from this conversation.”

“The more we get into it, the more I want to know.” One side of his smile curved. “What do you wish you’d known?”

She had to think, and it wasn’t easy. Logical, planning discussions didn’t mesh well when she hadn’t stopped floating since he kissed her under the oak tree. “I don’t know. Who’s responsible for birth control and the dishes? Whose parents call dibs on holidays?”

They walked on down the trail as Wes made a thoughtful noise. “Those are solid questions. I should’ve known you’d be good at that.”

“They just popped into my head.”

“Well, my parents are always out for the holidays. If I do visit, it’ll be without the stress of presents or a family meal.”

“Isn’t that sad?” she asked.

“Hell no, sweetness. It was liberation when I left, and now it’s simply setting boundaries.”

“I miss seeing my parents. I wish I saw them more than I do.”