Only she didn’t think he’d fooled her. He’d been caught up in events and his past. He’d been wrong not to tell her what was going on, but other than that, he hadn’t been deliberately terrible. A year ago, she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with him.

She stared at her phone, then typed.

Ask again.

Twenty-Three

Toby’s plan to let Reggie walk away had seemed right at the time, but as days passed, he found himself missing her.

Maybe if he could spend some time away from her, he could get her off his mind, but four days a week he dutifully showed up at the community center to knit hats with his son’s third-grade class. He did his work, all the while listening to her talk with the kids, or make jokes with Micah, who now regularly showed up to entertain them as they knit.

At first he’d wondered if something was going on with the former rock star and Reggie, but he hadn’t seen any hint of attraction between them. She was friendly but not flirty, and Micah seemed to treat her like a sister. Which was good. Toby didn’t want to have to take him out back and beat him with a stick.

No, he told himself as soon as the thought formed. Reggie was just a friend. He’d been the one to tell her he wasn’t doing relationships anymore. He couldn’t take the chance. Based on that logic, he should be disappointed that Reggie and Micah weren’t together, only he wasn’t. He couldn’t be.

Even as his fingers worked the yarn, going carefully around the loom, his mind was a dark, swirling mess of wants, needs and shoulds. He needed to keep his son safe. He should focus on Harrison rather than himself. But he wanted to spend time with Reggie. He wanted to make her laugh and listen to her talk and just enjoy the contented feeling that came over him whenever he was around her.

When the day’s session ended, Reggie collected the completed hats. Harrison smiled at his dad.

“You remember I’m going over to Noah’s for dinner tonight.”

He grinned. “You’ve told me forty-seven times, kid.”

Harrison laughed. “Na-uh. I’ve told you forty-six times.”

Harrison left with Noah and Noah’s mom. The other parents left with their kids, leaving Toby and Reggie to handle the cleanup.

“This has been a great project,” she said, adding a few more hats to an already overflowing box. “Harrison should be proud of himself. He came up with a terrific idea.”

“He’s pretty happy.” Toby collected unused skeins of yarn and put them into an empty shopping bag, which he then dropped into an open tote. “I haven’t seen you in a couple of days. How’s it going?”