Exclusive Excerpt:
Felix eyes me sleepily. “That’s one wild frown.”
I readjust my cap. “Tailored just for you.”
His cheeks dimple. “What’s the matter?”
“Are you in the mood to talk?”
Felix pushes himself upright, leaving a smear of condensation on the glass. “About what?”
“Everything.”
He squints, hesitant. “Define everything.”
“How’s your mum doing?”
A whimper-laugh drizzles out of him. “I’d rather talk about the sorry state of my love life.”
“How sorry are we talking?”
He stares at me blankly. “You first.”
I laugh. “Remember when I dragged you for coffee at Zealandia Café and we bumped into my colleague Jack and—”
“And Ben McCormick. Trust me, a week is not long enough to erase the embarrassment of almost toppling into them.”
“Jack’s the guy I’ve been flirting with at work.”
Felix gives me a standard cardboard smile. Those smiles are pissing me off. His days are littered with them.
I fight back a growl. “I’m fairly sure he’s a lost cause.”
“Considering he wedged his hand into Ben’s back pocket, I’d say he is.” Felix stares at passing cars. “Are you gutted?”
“He’s a decent guy. Hot and charming but mostly just a distraction.”
Felix whips his head toward me. “From what?”
I give him a pointed look.
“From missing us,” he murmurs.
Yeah. From that tiny ache that’s ripping me open.
“Do you miss us all equally?” Felix claps his mouth shut. “Forget it. That’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is. No matter how untrue, they’ll swear they don’t have one.”
I peer at him through the rearview mirror. “I missed you all equally.”
“You’ll make a good parent.” He drops back in his seat, and catches my eye, mouth twisted toward a smile. A real one this time.
I want more of his smiles. I want Felix to see what we could have together. Want to graduate from “chauffeur” to Guy He Has Fun With.
Felix clears his throat and clicks his seatbelt open. “I should get inside.”
“Tiffany has an hour left.” I eye the arcade. “We can use it.”
Felix hums. “Yeah, okay. We’re out of parchment paper and detergent. The Warehouse is still open. We can swing by.”
Parchment paper and detergent? That’s how he wants to spend a free hour? Felix doesn’t know how much he needs me. “Out of the car, sunshine.”
“What?”
“Hop out, or I’m coming around and making a show of opening your door.”