“You’re yet another person invading the threesome that used to be her family—Chris, me and Hazel.” She sighed, her heart heavy. “Thirteen is an awful age, and she’s going through an awful time right in the middle of it.”

“So you’re sacrificing your happiness...”

“Mike, my happiness will always come second to hers.” She shifted to look straight into his eyes. “I’m falling for you. I can’t afford to lose you as my friend, and I don’t want to lose you as my lover. Please be patient a little longer.”

He put his own hand over hers on his cheek. “You’re falling for me, eh?”

Despite the tension between them, she couldn’t help laughing. “Are those the only words you heard?”

“Those words matter the most to me.” His eyes darkened with emotion. “I’m falling for you, too. I’ll be patient, but babe, you can’t segregate yourself into two different people—Zoey the woman and Zoey the mom. Hazel deserves all of you, and frankly, so do I.”

She turned again, leaning back against him as he held her tight. “Let me at least get Hazel past Chris’s wedding this weekend before we talk about bringing you into the picture, okay?”

“That’s fair. How’s she doing with all that?”

“Surprisingly well. I’ve got to say, Genna has been great about including her in all the plans. The four of us had breakfast together last week at The Spot, and it was...fine. Weird, but okay. I had to set aside the fact that Chris left me for this woman. That they were sleeping together for months before he asked for a divorce.” She paused, swallowing back the stinging pain. “And there I was, drinking coffee right across from her. For Hazel’s sake.”

“That must have been rough,” Mike said, resting his cheek on her head. “I hope Hazel appreciates how hard that had to be.”

“I don’t want her looking at it that way. Like it’s some big sacrifice for me to be near her father.” She tugged at the light blanket that had fallen to their waists. The night air was getting cool. “Chris and I made a vow not to badmouth each other to her, but I wasn’t always kind about Genna. Not until I learned they were expecting a child and getting married.”

“Why did that change things?” Mike asked. “I mean, I know it’s a big change for Hazel, but Genna is still the woman who broke up your marriage.”

Good old logical Mike. If only logic worked on thirteen-year-olds.

“Genna is also the woman who’s going to give Hazel a baby brother. It would be horrible for me to put some wedge between them out of my own personal spite.” She heard the critical edge in her voice, and so did he.