Page 169 of Love Unwritten

ME

Please don’t call her that.

TÍA

¿Por qué?

LILY

It’s adorable.

DAHLIA

I mean I think you can do better than a nickname like that, but it’s still cute.

ME

Settle down, Strawberry Sweetheart.

Julian sends a middle finger emoji.

¡Me encanta!: I love it.

¿Por qué?: Why?

I’m quickly distracted from my phone by Ellie softly strumming.

“What about the new song you’ve been working on?” Nico asks.

While I’m happy she is getting back into songwriting again, my chest tightens at the idea of what could happen if Cole wants more songs from her.

It’s one song. Relax.

Ellie’s eyes pop. “No.”

“It sounds so good.” My son smiles.

“How do you know?”

Nico’s cheeks turn pink. “I might have listened a little bit.”

I make a face. “I told you it’s rude to go sneaking around like that.”

“I didn’t mean to…at first.”

That’s my son.

Ellie pauses her strumming. “It’s not finished.”

I clear my throat. “I didn’t know you were working on another one.”

Way to not sound like a self-conscious asshole.

She glances down at her guitar. “Yeah. I’m just messing around with a few ideas.”

“Can you play what you have so far?” Nico asks.

Ellie looks over at me before her eyes flick back to her guitar. “How about another one instead? Maybe one of your favorites?”