BEXLEY TURNER

MY EYES STAY GLUED to the text message from Hayden and I take a deep breath before clicking on the notification.

Hey, Bex, it's Hayden, but you know that already. I was thinking about stopping by around one, does that work for you? It reads and I bite my lip.

That's fine. See you then! I type back, my heart hammering against the inside of my chest with nerves and excitement.

Another text from Hayden pops up in my notification bar and I click on it. See you, gorgeous.

My face heats up, a light blush spreading across my cheeks. Only Hayden and his words could make me feel like a dazed, lovesick teenager again. I like his message before turning my phone off and sliding it back into my pocket.

"Mama." The bedroom door opens and Nash runs in, his floppy hair bouncing on top of his head. He looks up at me, chocolate on his face.

"Nash," I tease and lean down to pick him up. He wraps his legs around my waist and looks at me with a smile.

"Aunt Chrissy said to come and get you," he says as he places his hands on my cheeks and squishes them together with a giggle.

"Did she now?" I ask while exiting the room and walking towards the kitchen. When we make it to the kitchen, Chrissy is pulling cookies out of the oven and places them on the counter. "Oh, so that's where you got the chocolate."

"Hey, Bex. I hope you don't mind me giving Nash a cookie," Chrissy says when she realizes that Nash and I have entered the kitchen.

"I don't," I smile at her. "Little man can be persuasive."

"Yes he can," she laughs as she puts another batch of cookies in the oven. Jared walks into the kitchen and grabs a cookie from the tray and Chrissy swats his hand away.

"Jared," she scolds with a teasing smile. He gives her a hug and places a kiss on her lips as he reaches for a cookie. I laugh when he grabs the cookie and runs away before Chrissy can swat him with a spatula.

"You two are cute together," I grin and she blushes before turning back to the cookies.

Nash fusses in my arms and I place him down with a sigh. "You're getting big, kid."

He runs away towards the living room and sits on the couch. I pull out one of the stools and take a seat at the counter. Luckily, Chrissy's kitchen is kind of connected to her living room, so I can see Nash from where I sit.

"When are we putting the Christmas tree up?" I ask Chrissy while I watch her bake cookies.

"Later today maybe," she responds.

"Alright, so, uh, I ran into Hayden at Walmart earlier."

"Oh, wow!" She turns to me with wide eyes.

"Yeah," I sigh. Flashes of his blue eyes and gorgeous face run through my mind and I smile to myself.

"What happened?" She sets the timer on the oven before sitting next to me. "Spill it, all of it."

"I don't even know where to start, Chris," I groan and turn my head to see if Nash is still in the living room. When I spot his legs swinging off the couch, I turn to Chrissy.

"From the beginning, dummy."

"Nash and I were in the checkout line and then Hayden saw us and approached us," I tell her, the encounter from a few hours ago fresh in my mind. "Nash called me mama and Hayden got so confused and asked if Nash was his kid. I told him to stop by tomorrow so I can tell him everything," I finish and take a breath of air. Chrissy looks at me with wide eyes, a hand covering her mouth.

"Wow."

"Tell me about it."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"The truth. He deserves to hear it, even if I don't want to tell him."

Thanks for reading!