Page 80 of Stay

“Have fun. Be safe,” I tell him.

“Same to you, but more of it,” he says. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I set my phone on the coffee table and rest my eyes for just a minute.

When I wake up on the couch, I stretch and then pause. It’s brighter outside than I would’ve expected. I reach for my phone and see the time and all the missed messages and groan. I can’t believe I slept through the night. I jump up, throwing clothes on and rushing into the bathroom to brush my teeth. It’s a messy bun kind of day and I don’t bother with makeup. I don’t bother with reading my texts either. If I take a second longer, I’ll be too late to make Owen’s breakfast. I slide my feet into my boots and am still sliding my arm through my coat sleeves as I run to Sutton’s back door.

I knock and rush in, pausing when I see Sutton and Owen at the breakfast table…with another woman. She’s beautiful, with large blue eyes and light brown hair, and her clothes scream expensive. They’re eating scrambled eggs and toast, sipping coffee and juice, and the whole scene is so unexpected, I just stand there staring for a few seconds.

“Felicity!” Owen says, getting up to rush toward me.

His arms wrap around my waist and I smile down at him, still half asleep.

“Good morning, Ace,” I croak.

I clear my throat and Owen reluctantly lets his arms drop. He takes my hand, which is more unusual than the hug. He’s a little cuddler, but I think he’s reached for my hand maybe twice since I’ve been here, and both times were while crossing the street.

“Morning, Felicity,” Sutton says, his voice formal.

His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes and unease builds in my gut.

“This is Owen’s mom, Tracy,” Sutton says. “Tracy, this is Felicity.”

Ah. The mom. Is that why she’s looking me up and down, lip slightly curled, like I’m gum on the bottom of her shoe?

“Of course it is,” she says.

My head tilts, unsure of what she means.

“Hi, Tracy! Nice to meet you,” I say.

She takes a sip of coffee and continues with her staredown. I feel like I’m one of the contestants onProject Runwaystanding in front of the judges and I really botched my project.

Why did today have to be the day when I didn’t have time to look decent?

“I’ve been talking about you all morning,” Owen says, squeezing my hand.

I grin at him and he lets go, pointing to the table.

“Come eat. When we found out Mom was coming early, Dad and I got up and made breakfast.” He makes a face. “It’s not as good as yours, but?—”

“Hey,” Sutton says, looking more relaxed when he laughs at Owen. To me, he says, “There’s plenty. Join us.”

I sit down reluctantly, wishing I could be anywhere but here.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” I tell Sutton. “I fell asleep on the couch after I got off of the phone and…” I shake my head. “I didn’t wake up until seven minutes ago.”

Sutton chuckles. “It’s okay. We had it under control this morning.”

“Must be nice to be late for your job and then have such a pushover boss,” Tracy says, laughing at Sutton like they’re in on a joke, but the punch landed where she intended.

“Felicity’s always here before we even get up,” Owen says, looking from his mom to me.

God, I love this kid. But I don’t want him to feel like he has to defend me with his mom. I smile with what I hope is a reassuring smile, even though I feel like crying.

I stand up. “You can deduct it from my pay,” I say, nodding to Sutton. His eyebrows lift and he frowns. “I’ll just grab some coffee and work on Owen’s lunch.”

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