Page 44 of Hogging the Hunk
I nodded, allowing him to tell his story without my interjections.
“She’d cleaned up her act. Looked healthy, too. That’s when she introduced me to our daughter.”
My pulse picked up the pace stemming from a mixture of suspense and horror. I’d completely misunderstood Milo’s initial question of attraction to him, and it made me feel lightheaded. Somewhere out there might be a woman he was trying to win back. Lexi. Ellie’s mother. Ellie’s warning made so much more sense now.
“Ellie,” was all I could choke out.
“Yeah. She was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen. Everything I was missing in life—the direction required for me to make a change—swung at me like a wrecking ball the first time I held her.”
Tears clung to his eyelashes. He blinked them away, though one escaped, drawing a slow line down his cheek.
“She’s what set me back on track. Wanting to be the best father I could for Ellie, by providing well for her, and repenting of the horrible things I’d done by making amends. I might not make up for every hurt I’d caused everyone in my past. I’m doing my best to make it right by serving people and being kinder now.”
“That’s more than most people would do.”
“Maybe.” It seemed to take a great deal of effort for him to shrug. “I try not to compare myself to anyone else. We’re all on our own journeys. Although, I maintain Greg sometimes acts a lot like I did. I won’t retract my warning about him.”
Our discussion about Greg was currently irrelevant. “I’m sure Ellie and Lexi are very proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. You’re an invaluable part of the community.”
“Ellie pretends like she doesn’t like all the attention she gets with the last name of Fox, but secretly, I think she enjoys knowing her ancestors helped found this community. It’s helped her feel more at home.”
One question popped to the forefront, and it was too dogged to ignore. At worst, Milo could deflect and not answer. I hardly thought I’d be the first to ask though since Ellie’s presence was now well-known in Button Blossom. “What does Lexi think of Ellie living here full time with you? I don’t suppose she lives far away. Still, it has to have been an adjustment in your family’s dynamic.”
The sadness in Milo’s face crushed me, like his grief was composed of a crumbling mountain. “Lexi passed away a couple years ago. She had been battling cancer shortly after Ellie was born, and eventually, her body was too tired to keep fighting. Ellie lived with Lexi’s parents for a while until we decided it was best she come to stay with me permanently.”
“I’m so sorry, Milo. I had no idea.”
“We all have a history. There are parts of it I’m ashamed of, though I know I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without those experiences. Sometimes, we have to trudge through the muck to make it to the meadow.” He sighed and all the energy drained out of him. “That’s why seeing you and Greg together sent up a red flag. I’ve witnessed that kind of manipulative behavior before in myself, and it rubs me wrong when someone else does it. For better or worse, I’m compelled to step in and do something about it.” He amended his words, though I don’t think there was ever much conviction to them. “Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe Greg is a great guy and you two will make each other very happy.”
There was nothing I could say. No words could express my condolences, shock, or compassion adequately enough. Never in a million years could I have guessed the roller coaster Milo had been riding the last decade of his life.
Stepping into him, I twined my arms around his waist, reaching one hand between his shoulder blades where I patted him gently. There was an initial stiffness to his posture, perhaps because I had been arguing with him five minutes earlier. All it took was a quiet, honest monologue to turn me around. Milo’s resistance didn’t last. When he reached his arms around me, and dipped his cheek down to rest on my head, I could almost feel the exchange of molecules between us. We’d never be the same after tonight.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured against his shirt.
It was a worn-in flannel, not unlike my pajamas, and it smelled divine. If I could bottle it up, I would have saved a vat of it so I’d never run out. It was unquestionably and uniquely all Milo, and dangerously intoxicating.
“Hey, don’t be.” Milo tipped my chin up with a gentle brush of his fingers until my gaze matched his. “It was rough. Saying goodbye to anyone sucks, but it’s part of the experience. Life’s good now. That’s all I can hope for. The here and now.”
“Now is good.”
With the sadness of his confession ebbing, other body systems turned back on and I registered things I hadn’t previously noticed. The warmth of Milo’s hand on my lower back. The gentleness of his fingertips on my chin. The very pleasing appeal of his lips. Heaven forbid he ever does anything assertive with them, like lean down to kiss me. I’d be a goner to his wily charms for sure.
I was so close to his mouth that I could be the one to initiate it. Rolling onto my toes, it’d be easy to snatch a kiss. Was I imagining things, or was Milo leaning in, giving me easy access? Waiting for me to make the decision that we’d both have to live with?
Any choice I might have made was interrupted by Maren stumbling in the back door. It took her all of a fraction of a second to see us wrapped in one another’s arms, slosh milk all over the kitchen floor, and exclaim, “Holy cow! Are you two kissing?”
I sprang away from Milo like he was a hot coal who’d tumbled out of the fire. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
Almost instinctively, I slapped a hand over my right eye. “I got something in my eye, and Milo was helping me fish it out.”
Whoever said honesty was the best policy clearly had never been caught in an awkward situation.
“It looked like you were kissing.” Speaking every syllable with purpose, Maren didn’t even attempt to hide her gleeful smile.
Maren had lived with me long enough to know when I was trying to conceal something from her. I really needed to figure out what my tell was. My shrill voice? Or did I blink too rapidly for it to look natural and relaxed?
In desperation, I looked to Milo to back me up. The amusement on his face reflected Maren’s too closely for me to be fully comfortable. If he betrayed me, I was prepared to elbow him in the stomach. Knocking the wind out of him would make him think twice.