At Olivia’s request, I slid into the back seat of Kam’s SUV so we could finish coloring our Cinderella pages on the ride to Kam’s Spin Cycle business. How the hell had I gotten myself hoodwinked into this outing? Obviously, it was all because this little girl with dark curls and startling blue eyes begged me to come. Except Kam was no better. It was almost as if he enjoyed torturing me. Not like I didn’t have other things to do on my day off. But Kam had taken my keys and took care of me last night, and spending time with him and his daughter wasn’t really a hardship, even though I liked to pretend it was.

Just as we were pulling in front of the bike shop on Detroit, it suddenly hit me that Kam’s business was two doors down from the coffee shop where Stewart used to work but still frequented. I was being ridiculous. More than likely he’d gone home with the dude he was rubbing up on last night.

“C’mon, Uncle Eli,” Olivia said excitedly as we exited the car.

Once inside, we spent way too much time helping her pick out a bike. She had her heart set on a bright-yellow one, but her dad made her sit on several different models to be sure it was to her liking. I shared a smirk with Kam’s manager, Jerome. He knew all too well what a perfectionist Kam could be.

All I could do was shake my head and smile. Kam was always intense about things that were important to him. When he was set on an idea, he followed it all the way through. His business, his relationships, his triathlons. Though lately he’s only done a handful of bike races. Triathlons were way more involved and intense, so maybe he was finally slowing down.

As Olivia folded her arms and pouted, I remembered that she could be just as stubborn as Kam. When she refused to budge on the yellow model, which was slightly too big for her, Kam sighed and adjusted the seat to the lowest level to match her height.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she squealed as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I want to ride it!”

“You up for it?” Kam asked me over her shoulder.

“I can’t keep up with you,” I admitted, but he’d definitely heard it before. The only thing I could probably match him in would be a hike.

Kam smirked. “With a five-year-old?”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Fine. Hook me up.”

As he pulled a used bike from the rack, I patted my pockets, searching for my cell. “Left my phone in your car. Be right back.”

I’d just reached in the back seat to retrieve my phone when I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. My shoulders tensed at the same time my stomach flipped. Traitor.

“Hey, Stewart,” I said, turning to take him in. He had a tall iced coffee in his grip, so he must’ve come from the coffee shop as I’d presumed earlier. Perfect timing on my part as usual.

“I stopped over last night, but you didn’t answer,” he said with his usual no-frills, I mean business voice. “Figured you had to get driven home since you were downing those shots.” Guess he’d been paying attention to me after all. That superior tone used to make me stand at attention when we were dating, but now it just drained me. He was always persistent, and it used to send a thrill through me at the beginning of our relationship; I thought it meant he really wanted me.

But what I’d eventually realized was that all he really wanted was control. I knew we weren’t meant to be, but sometimes I caved—in fact, had I not been at Kam’s last night, I might’ve let him in. Probably why Kam drove me straight to his place without asking. He knew me and my history with this man.

Whenever Stewart and I fucked nowadays, it was only a physical release. We didn’t kiss or hold each other anymore, not since we broke up, even though I desperately wanted someone’s arms around me again; except, it would have to feel right. As far as Stewart and I were concerned, it could never be the same again, not unless he made some major changes.

And so far? Same old, same old.

“That’s because I wasn’t home,” I huffed. “You have to stop coming by. We’re over, and you’re just making it harder on both of us.”

“We don’t have to be over,” he replied in a softer voice, the one he always used to try and sway me. “You still have feelings for me.”

“You obviously still have feelings for me too, but that doesn’t mean we’re right for each other.” I learned that much at least in these last few months.

“Where were you?” he asked with some insistence in his voice as his gaze slid over to Kam’s SUV.

I shrugged. “Maybe I went home with somebody.”

“Who?” There was a flash of anger in his eyes, and I immediately felt guilty until I remembered his little display last night.

“What about that guy on the dance floor?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“I was just—”

“Trying to make me jealous.” I folded my arms.

Without any acknowledgment, he asked, “Who’d you go home with?”

Tired of games, I let out a breath. “I slept at Kam’s place.”

He rolled his eyes. “So that’s why you’re here this morning. That guy could never offer you what I—”

“Knock it off.” I narrowed my eyes. “Kam’s been nothing but nice to you.”

Speak of the devil, Kam rolled Olivia’s new bike out onto the sidewalk. “You ready, Elijah?”

Olivia ran over and tugged on my hand, obviously brimming with excitement. “Uncle Eli, let’s go.”

Stewart’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. He’d heard me speak of Olivia but had never met her.

“I’ll be right there, sweetie,” I replied with a chuckle. “Just give me one more minute.”

She ran back to her daddy and clapped excitedly about her bike as she rang the bell on the handlebars a few more times.

“Look at you all cozy with Kam’s daughter.”

“She’s amazing,” I replied, looking back at them. “What’s the big deal?”

He bit his lip as if contemplating something. “You never talked about kids before. That something you want?”

I’d definitely thought about it. If it ever happened, I’d want a kid just like Olivia.

“Who knows,” I replied with a sigh. “What does that have to do with us?”

He motioned toward Olivia and Kam. “I mean, if you want something like that, we could—”

“Don’t even say it, Stewart.” I gritted my teeth. “You’ve made lots of promises the past several weeks.”

A light-bulb moment. If Stewart was so controlling with boyfriends, how would he be with kids?

A shiver raced through me remembering my dad and how hard he leaned on me growing up. He didn’t understand kids, and especially not gay kids, and never cut me a bit of slack.

Fuck. Right in that moment I vowed I would not hook up with Stewart ever again.

“Gotta go,” I said, not willing to give him any more of my time. I took a few steps toward the bike shop before twisting back to look at him. “Don’t show up at my place again.”

As I joined them on the road, Kam shot me a worried look. “Everything okay?”

“It will be. Let’s go.”

We rode around the side streets so Olivia could test out her bike. She was sandwiched between Kam and me on the pavement so she wouldn’t try crossing the street by herself, the little rebel.

We ended up at Madison Park, where she squealed and threw off her bike helmet in order to get to the nearest empty swing.

I hadn’t been on a playground in years, but I took full advantage of it by following Olivia wherever she went and acting like a kid all over again. The best part was hearing her giggle, or maybe it was seeing the huge grin on Kam’s face. It was definitely a toss-up.