Chapter 16
714 Words
Lena’s POV
I didn’t sleep much after Target.
Not because Mateo was extra fussy (though he was), or because Ethan left the bottle warmer on again (he did), but because of what he almost said. The “I love” that he swallowed back so fast I almost thought I imagined it.
Except I didn’t. And now it lived rent-free in my brain.
By morning, I’d been up twice, changed three diapers, and spilled formula on my last clean hoodie. I was running on half a granola bar and iced coffee with no ice.
“Callie said there’s a baby music class on campus,” I told Ethan while Mateo fussed against my chest. “Technically toddler music class, but they let babies in too.”
“Sounds loud,” he said.
“It is. And I want to go.”
He looked at me, surprised. “Okay. Let’s go.”
So we packed up and walked over, because sometimes you just need a room full of tambourines and scream-singing to distract you from your feelings.
Logan’s POV
Parenting a toddler is like babysitting a tiny drunk celebrity with anger issues.
Ours was currently sprinting across the playroom with one shoe off and a scarf around her neck, yelling something about being a dinosaur fairy.
“Please don’t knock over the speaker,” I called.
Too late.
Callie caught it just in time, shooting me a look. “Your daughter’s chaos energy is peaking.”
I grinned. “She gets it from you.”
Callie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. The truth was, we’d started to hit a weird groove. The toddler was wild, yes, but we’d learned her language when “no” meant no, when it meant “yes,” and when it meant “I want cheese.”
Then Lena and Ethan walked in.
Lena looked exhausted in that somehow-still-gorgeous way she did. Ethan had that nervous bounce in his step like he was trying not to look at her too long.
I gave Callie a subtle look. “Trouble in paradise?”
She snorted. “More like denial in suburbia.”
Callie’s POV
Music class was a disaster. But like… a cute disaster.
Our toddler refused to sit on the carpet unless it was on my lap. She refused to sing unless it was her own version of “Twinkle Twinkle,” which included lyrics about spaghetti. She hit a kid with a triangle, then offered them her snack in apology.
I was sweating. Logan was somehow calm, crouching beside her with that dad-patience he pulled out of nowhere.
“Wow,” Lena whispered. “She’s intense.”
“She’s basically a walking mood swing.”
“She’s also kind of a star.”
I looked at Lena. Her eyes were on Ethan. His were on Mateo. And yet… they were orbiting each other, like they couldn’t help it.
“You guys fight less now,” I noted casually.
She didn’t deny it.
“We’re… trying.”
“Try slower,” I said. “It’s chapter seventeen.”
Lena’s POV
After class, we sat outside in the grass. Mateo slept. Callie’s toddler was picking wildflowers and declaring them “wedding decorations.” Logan looked amused. Callie looked horrified.
“She’s been watching Love Is Blind with my mom,” she explained. “Now everything’s a wedding.”
Logan leaned back on his elbows. “Should we be worried or start saving for her Pinterest board?”
Callie smiled. And that smile it lingered. Like it was more than amusement. Like maybe she saw him differently now. Like maybe she didn’t want to stop.
Ethan and I stayed behind while they walked off with their flower-wielding menace.
“She really loves him,” I said, watching Callie watch Logan.
“Yeah,” Ethan said. “Not sure she knows it yet.”
I turned to him. “You’d know something about that.”
He didn’t flinch. “I’m not gonna pretend anymore.”
My breath caught.
“You scare me,” he said. “You and this baby and this whole maybe-I’m-in-love-with-you situation.”
“I scare myself,” I admitted.
We didn’t kiss. We didn’t even touch.
But my heart? It was already halfway in his hands.
- Writer
