Page 94 of Singled Out

I couldn’t deny it anymore as much as I wanted to.

Dakota was right. I’d fallen in love with Harper Ellison. The last thing I’d ever set out to do.

My dreams of her were relentless, and surprisingly only a fraction of them were sexual. They were of her laughing at something I said, of us taking Danny out on the boat, of her eyes sparkling as she teased me. I’d had one dream of her behind the counter in the shop she and my sister and Cambria wanted to open, spreading her jewelry pieces across it proudly and confidently.

So much for our fling staying strictly physical.

I heard the door slide open behind me. Then my son’s enthusiastic steps burst outside and crossed the deck to me.

“Dada!”

“What are you doing out here?” my mom asked as I picked up my boy.

I hugged him for an extra second, then kissed his nose, eliciting that giggle I loved.

“It’s peaceful,” I said, wishing that peace could penetrate the turmoil inside me.

She pulled out the other chair and sat, as if understanding I needed…something.

Danny climbed up on my lap, fiddling with my watch, talking about things I couldn’t understand in his own language.

“Were you surprised when Dad left?” I asked my mom.

Her head whipped in my direction. “Where did that come from?”

“Dakota said you weren’t surprised when it happened.”

My mom didn’t speak right away. Danny wiggled down and descended the two steps that led to the brick path. The yard was fenced in on all sides, so I let him go where he wanted, keeping an eye on him as he marched along.

“No, I wasn’t surprised. Was there a reason you and your sister were talking about this?”

Danny trotted to one of the flower beds, chasing a butterfly. I didn’t normally talk to my mom about personal stuff. I could shrug off her question now, or I could grow a pair and level with her.

As much as I didn’t want to talk about my feelings, ignoring them hadn’t gotten me anywhere.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” I finally said.

“How did I not know this?”

“We kept it secret.”

“Harper Ellison?”

I guess even when you managed to keep a secret in a small town, you still couldn’t keep it from your mom. I expelled a breath. “Harper Ellison.”

“Did she break up with you?”

“I ended it,” I said. “Before anyone could get hurt.”

I felt her look pointedly across the table at me even though I didn’t take my gaze from my son.

“It doesn’t take a master’s in psychology to figure out you’re hurting, Max.”

“Why weren’t you surprised when Dad left?”

She hesitated, letting nearly a minute tick by before she spoke. “Your dad and I got married because I got pregnant. I don’t think he ever loved me.”

That hit me like a linebacker from behind, the guy you never saw coming. I staggered, closed my eyes. Tried to get it to sink in. “Did you love him?”

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