Page 312 of Safe With You

Ellis coughed.

I dared him with my eyes to say anything else.

Mila accepted the answer immediately.

“Can we get pizza?”

I blinked. “That was a quick subject change.”

“I told her she could help pick lunch,” Ellis said.

“Pizza sounds good to me.”

Mila smiled.

Ellis shook his head. “Two against one already.”

“You invited me.”

“Starting to question that decision.”

“No, you’re not.”

His eyes met mine.

“No,” he said. “I’m not.”

The words landed differently than they should.

Maybe because of this morning.

Maybe because I was still learning how often Ellis said exactly what he meant and left me to decide whether I was going to believe him.

This time, I did.

By the time we finished lunch, Mila had informed me that pineapple on pizza should be illegal, Ellis had judged me for leaving part of my crust on my plate, and I’d somehow agreed to accompany them to Target.

According to Ellis, we only needed three things.

According to Mila, that meant nothing.

She proved herself right before we made it halfway through the store.

“Daddy.”

“No.”

“You didn’t even look.”

“I know that voice.”

Mila held up a water bottle covered in sunflowers.

“I need this.”

“You have four water bottles.”

“This one has flowers.”