Page 114 of Promise Me Not

Not that I’ll ever give her the chance.

Not that Vivian is his grandmother or anything but…

I swallow, shaking off the anxiousness threatening to slip in, and focus on the now.

And right now, I am happy to see them.

“Well, it’s been a while since we’ve made it down for a visit, and when we heard you were here, we figured we may as well come where you are and see our kids, too.”

“Hey,” Mason pretends to complain. “You’d rather see her than me and your sweet princess baby girl?”

“Oh, please.” His mother raises a brow, and I laugh as it looks so much like her son. “Noah is glued to Ari’s side after everything, and she likes it that way, and you…well, yeah, I’d rather snuggle with that baby boy and let you two run off and do you sort of things.”

My eyes snap to Mason’s.

Us sort of things.

Oh my god, she knows?

Wait. Knows what?

There’s nothing to know. Right?

As if he can read the jumbled thoughts I hardly process my damn self, Mason smirks and looks away. “That sounds a lot like an offer to babysit.”

“It is, even though I should want to punish you, you brat.”

“For what?” Mason gapes, blinking innocently.

“You know what! Don’t think your aunt didn’t call and rub it in my face.”

Mason goes stiff, eyes everywhere but on us. “Okay, Mom.”

His dad glances my way from the corner his my eye, and I grow even more suspicious.

“Don’t ‘okay, Mom’ me. My only baby boy went all the way to Alrick on his free time instead of coming home to see me?”

My head whips his way. He runs a hand over his hair, peeking at me briefly before shrugging off her words.

“It was…a quick trip. Sudden and—” He cuts off, swallowing.

“You went to Alrick?” I ask, unable to hold the question back.

When did he do that? We talk every night and every morning. We text throughout the day, most days anyway. He never said a word.

Sure, his aunt and uncle live there, and that’s where his cousin Nate grew up with Parker and me, but…he went to my hometown and didn’t tell me?

“Did you go to pick up some of Nate’s stuff, or Parker’s?”

He still won’t look at me, and then we’re in front of the child development center.

Clearing my throat, I tell the others I’ll be right back, running in to get Deaton.

He’s wide awake this time, and I lift his tiny self into my arms.

“Well, hello, handsome.” I rub my nose along his. “Someone is here to see you.”

“He is literally the cutest thing in history.” Cameron sighs, staring down at him with gleaming eyes. “I want one, but, like, not yet. I’ll just play with yours and the dozens in this class until then.”

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