Page 26 of No Broken Promises

Rose snorts. “Not even close. I told him that my daughter needed a date and that she'd probably fight tooth and nail to not even show up. But he said he hadn't been sexually harassed by a student's mom before, so he was intrigued.”

“I showed him your picture,” Emma says while sounding very proud of herself. “You know the one from when you were sick… your hair was sticking up in every direction, and you were wearing your favorite sweats, and your shirt was hanging off your shoulder.”

Her words build on the embarrassment in a way I could never have predicted in my entire life. I lean forward and let my face fall into my open hands, trying to get rid of the mental picture I have of the photo she is talking about. “Why would you do that?” My words come out muffled, and I try not to start crying from the shock of everything.

“Because,” Emma whispers loudly, dropping her voice for no reason. “It's perfect, if he sees you at your worst and still wants to go on a date with you. You know that when you try to cancel on him, because Nox has the flu and throws up for the fifth time, he'd be fine to come over to the house and watch a movie instead of just letting you do everything alone.”

Emma's logic, though flawed, does make a twisted sort of sense.

“Plus,” Rose adds on. “I also showed him a picture of you looking normal.”

The excitement on their faces, and the way they both seem to jump from foot to foot when I finally look up from my hands, makes it impossible to turn them down. Especially since they've already started in on how they are excited to have Nox for a sleepover.

Worst-case scenario for my night is a date that I have to leave halfway through and a full night alone in my bed with my favorite reruns playing.

“Fine.” I agree to their weird interference in my life.

“Fantastic.” Rose shimmies a little bit where she stands. “I was afraid I was going to have to bust out all the reasons why you need to get laid. You’re going to meet him at Flare in Bangor tonight at seven.”

Groaning, I hang my head again. “Rose. I was married to your son. You shouldn't say that shit to me.” Not to mention, I only have about three hours until I have to be in Bangor, and it will take me at least forty-five minutes to get there. Only two hours to turn this pumpkin into something respectable? I don’t even think an entire day will be enough time.

Rose scoffs, dragging me out of the melancholy place my thoughts have gone, only to tear my heart out with her words. “You married him for Nox, Parker. And I let you live in that memory, burying yourself in a relationship you didn't want, even after he died, because that's how you processed everything. But you're my child too, and I'm tired of watching you throw your life down the drain for the memory of my son.”

Emma chooses that moment to walk away. I barely stop myself from calling after her to not leave me alone with her mother. After all, Rose is poking every single emotional wound I have with an extremely sharp stick.

“That's not fair, Rose.” Yet she is right, and I know it. I’ve already come to that conclusion myself, but just like every other time in my life that something happens, life comes up.

“Life isn’t fair, Parker.” Rose pats me on the head and then sighs deeply while she stares out at Nox. “Otherwise, Danny would be alive. But you’ve given us a gift that we never thought we’d have. We got Nox. And you too. You never once let anyone disparage my son’s memory. For that? I’d do practically anything for you. Even push you out of your comfort zone and into a blind date.”

“It’s going to go terribly, you know that, right?” I lean my head on her shoulder, taking the comfort that Rose always offers.

Rose laughs, and I feel it travel from her body into mine, releasing tension that I didn’t even know I am carrying. “Oh, it’s going to be the worst date ever. But it’ll be done, and you’ll know that you can survive it. And then, Parker, you can start to live again.”

My eyes sting with the bright light of the sun shining down on us and the powerful emotions that Rose is sharing. I absently wipe at the tears that have appeared out of nowhere.

“I forgot about you, Parker.” Rose goes on and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “In all the grief and the worry and the way I couldn’t breathe at night while Linc was still overseas and in the military, I forgot that you weren’t living. You weren’t moving on, and I didn’t notice it. There’s no excuse for that, Parker. I want you to know that. It wasn’t until the Townsends lost Cassie and the boys came home that I got to see how selfish I was. How much I had hurt you, just by forgetting. But no more.” She sniffles and lets me go when Nox interrupts our conversation.

“Gigi!” He jumps up on the porch railing next to us, climbing it like a monkey. “You and Mommy are silly. Come play with me. Before the rain comes.”

There isn’t a cloud in the sky, but I roll my eyes and leave Rose sitting there on the porch anyway. Then I play soccer with my child, at least until he gets tired of me and demands the pizza party that Auntie Emma had promised him.

“Seriously?” I put my hand on my hip and raise an eyebrow at him playfully. “You’d rather have a pizza party with Auntie and Gigi than hang out with me?”

He cocks his head to the side, just like his uncle did, and purses his lips together while he thinks about it for a second.

“Yes,” he finally says, sounding way too serious. “I spend every night with you, and Auntie Emma needs me right now. She and Gigi need cuddles.” With that logical answer, he marches into the house and comes back out a few minutes later with his backpack.

I watch him cross the front yard and stand on the sidewalk before turning around. “Snap to it. Time’s wasting and I’ve got cookies hidden at Auntie’s house.”

Rose laughs and starts down the stairs to Nox, but Emma stays at my side. “I ate those cookies already. He’s gonna be sorely disappointed that I found his stash in my freezer. His name is Benton Mays, and he’s my law professor. I’ll shoot you a text with a picture of him so you know what he looks like. Remember, Flame at seven p.m. tonight.” She only repeats herself so I won’t be able to say I forgot.

I wave them off and suddenly feel very nervous. My phone goes off immediately with a text, no doubt from her. My teeth are practically chattering in my mouth from the stress, and the drive to Bangor two hours later does nothing to calm my nerves. If anything, I am worse off than I had been before.

Parking at Flame isn’t an issue, especially not in the gray Prius that I’ve had for the last five years. But getting out of the car, well, I don’t know if I can do that. My hands are clenched around the steering wheel, and my heart won’t stop thudding painfully in my chest. I can already feel the migraine setting in.

You can do this, Parker. Just give it a chance.

Danny’s words suddenly fill the car around me, and I am taken back in time. To another night when I was overwhelmed.

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