Page 82 of Daddies' Little Troublemaker

“Do you?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I do.” I frown when he continues to look skeptical. “I do.”

“Okay, Trouble.” He drops the key and pulls me into a hug, kisses my forehead. “Go on and meet your mom, then. Tell her I say hey.”

Does he know how loaded of a greeting that would be? I know about what happened between Mom’s friend’s sister and him.

While I gape at him, wondering if I should tell him what I know, Caleb smacks my ass and whirls me into a hug. “See you later, doll.”

* * *

Evelyn

I bike downtown, unwilling to pay for a ride and equally unwilling to ask Lincoln or Caleb to drive me. I don’t know what my mom would say if I rolled up with one or both of them.

But I shouldn’t have worried about it, because I arrive before she does. I go inside the coffee shop, inhaling the scents of sugar and rich grounds. After I get myself an iced tea, I settle myself at a table near the window. There’s no text from my mom, but there’s still that text from Troy I ignored earlier. Sighing, I click on it. There are a few messages.

Babe, I miss you.

Ew. I can practically hear the oily tone of his voice, even though the words are just text on a screen.

Can we talk? I made a mistake.

Fuck yeah, he made a mistake. He’s disgusting, and now he’s with my sister. I can’t believe Chloe would even want him after he cheated with her. What’s the old phrase? When the mistress gets the man, it creates a vacancy.

Is Troy trying to fill that vacancy with…me? Does he want to yo-yo back and forth Chloe and me, cheating and apologizing, rinse and repeat?

Before I can go into full-on panic mode, my mom bustles into the coffee shop.

“Evelyn,” she says, but her smile falls when she sees my lone iced tea on the table. “You didn’t order for me?”

“Oh…sorry. I didn’t know what you wanted.” Also, I don’t have a lot of extra money right now. But I don’t say that part.

She sighs and straightens her shoulders. “I’ll be right back, then.”

I absently listen to her give the barista a set of complicated instructions involving substitutions and specific measurements. Inwardly, I wince. There’s nothing wrong with asking for what you want, but the way Mom does it comes across as entitled and demeaning.

Finally, she gets her coffee and sits down across from me.

“So,” she says without any niceties, “you refuse to move back home.”

Shit. I should’ve known she would bring this up. “I thought we’re supposed to talk about the wedding?”

“This is directly related to the wedding. If you’re home, you can help me with it.”

I take a deep breath, and my heart pounds with dread. As much as I hate disappointing my mother, I would hate living at home with her and Chloe even more.

“This isn’t what I’m here to discuss,” I say. “For the last time, I’m not moving back home when I have all the space and privacy I need at Dad’s house.”

“But his stepbrother is there,” she says, wrinkling her nose.

Before I can respond, my phone chimes, and Troy’s name pops up.

For fuck’s sake, will he never stop?

Mom cocks her head to the side and reads my screen upside down. She stares at his name. “So you and Troy are still talking.”

“It’s…” I take a deep breath. “It’s rather one-sided.”

---