I give Ty one more look over my shoulder, and he’s still watching me, just as I expected, so I give in, and nod—just a little. He winks in return.

He and I…we’re better when we’re on the same side.

Houston

All I wanted was a do-over, a window, just one damn opening so I could figure out what the hell went wrong. But now that I’ve got my do-over, I sort of wish I could just pick up where we left off instead, because now I don’t know what’s next. Part of me wants to scoop her up into my lap and kiss her right here in front of everyone. Then, there’s part of me that thinks she’ll smack me in the face if I do.

“You look nervous,” Rowe says, sliding into Paige’s seat while she’s gone. I smile at her, rubbing my neck while I turn to look to see where Paige is. When I don’t see her anywhere, I turn back to Rowe with a heavy sigh.

“I might be. I mean, I am. Can you tell? Is it bad?” I wince. I swear to god I was more confident in my game when I was a teenager. Fatherhood has done a number on me.

Rowe laughs lightly as she twists to the side in her seat, pulling one knee in while she faces me.

“She’s nervous too,” she says. For some reason, this helps. This helps a shit-ton.

“Has she…mentioned…” I’m careful with my words to her. Paige has always been very private about us, and I don’t want to mess things up by telling someone too much.

Rowe lets out another breathy laugh, nodding yes while she looks down in her lap. “I think we all sort of know you two have, had, are, was, were, are working on a thing,” she says.

“That’s one way to put it,” I chuckle, relaxing lower into my seat. I wish I wore a hat today. If I did, I’d pull it down so I could hide.

“Paige and I talked…a little,” she says. This has my attention, and I sit up again, leaning forward with my arms on my knees, wringing my hands, and cracking my knuckles. “She only left because of Leah’s trust, you know. Or…you should know.”

Trust? My brow bunches, and I’m sure I’m staring blankly at her trying to decipher why in the hell Paige would think she had anything to do with Leah’s trust, when understanding washes over me. “Ahhhhhhh,” I breathe, shutting my eyes. “She thought that Chandra would use her against us.”

“She did,” Rowe says. “I guess she ran into her at that party, and…”

“And that’s when she came home to me, and said she had to leave,” I finish. Rowe notices something over my shoulder, and I can tell by the face she’s making that Paige is on her way back.

“Thank you,” I mouth.

“No problem,” she says, laughing as if I just said something funny. She leans forward as she stands and whispers, “I fix break-ups; it’s my thing. Now turn around and smile.”

I do as Rowe says, and am greeted by Paige stepping into the seat on the other side of me.

“I don’t think I like you two getting all chummy,” she says, handing me a giant pretzel wrapped in paper. “You looked hungry.”

I shake my head while I take my twisted bread from her, picking a piece off and stuffing it into my mouth. “I wasn’t,” I say, while chewing. “But I’ll eat it anyway.”

“Well, I needed something to buy, so you’re welcome,” she says. All I can do is laugh because she’s so cute, even when she’s flippant and thoughtlessly thoughtful. I love her, and I don’t care if she hits me. I’m telling her. Right. Fucking. Now.

My deep breath is loud, and she notices, her body growing a little rigid as if she can sense I have a speech coming. I wish she would just tell me what I was about to say, because right now, I haven’t got a clue. But I’m going to say some words, and they’re going to be honest, because that has always worked for me. Why change things up now.

“I have to go to work, and Paige, I’ve gotta leave in like five minutes, so please, just let me say this without interrupting,” I start, and she’s already blowing my request.

“You have to work?” She’s seriously repeating me, and it’s frustrating and funny all at the same time.

“Yeah, I have to work. So quit interrupting, so I can…”

“Then why’d you come?” she asks, and now she sounds sad, and all I want to do is let her interrupt like crazy for the next ten minutes before I have to leave. And then not leave. Then quit my job because making her happy is way better than my paycheck.

“I came to see you,” I say, shoulders up, nothing else to give. “I was supposed to spend the day painting Leah’s room, and I was supposed to fix some things around the house for my mom, but instead I had to hunt down my friend and make him fix the mess he made between us. Then…I ran into you, and you said to come to the game, so I came. I’ll always come. I’ll always pick you, Paige. Always…you.”