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“Did he call?” I asked Grams, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“He did, and he’s busy,” she said matter of factly.

As I sat down, I tilted my head and eyed Gramps. He looked smug, like he was proud of himself for embarrassing me and I couldn’t help but ask, “Did Miles need condoms too?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

JESSE

It’d beenanother long week of finding balance between Max, work, and Easton. I still wasn’t ready to admit that Easton and I were dating, or in a relationship, but we sure the hell acted like it.

Every morning I had to remind myself how much I didn’t need to get any closer to him, but by noon, I’d be swooning over something he’d do, or say. We’d steal kisses throughout the day, he’d rub my feet while I worked on my laptop, and then make me lunch.

Most of the time, we were at my house with Max. They had started reading96 Facts about Taylor Swift,and although Max had no idea who that was, he’d ooh and aah as Easton read with enthusiasm.“She had to pick the mantis pods off the trees before they were sold to customers.”

“Ohhhh,”Max would respond, then tell me to look.

By midweek, when Max was at school, Easton sent me an address and told me there was a hidden key under the mat. Healso told me not to wear panties. I told myself I should have said no. That we had spent too much time being delusional.

But then I took my panties off and jumped into my car, following my GPS to his house and letting myself in. I found him in his bed, completely naked with his arms open for me to join him.

I ran across the wooden floor as I threw my clothes around the room, jumping into his arms and letting him cover me with his body. If he’d had suggested as much, I’d have stayed in his bed all day. Instead, he talked me into going outside.

Easton’s house was a lot like mine in terms of old and charming. But unlike mine, he didn’t have neighbors. It was completely silent and serene, not to mention private. So we made use of the fact that we could have sex outside and no one would even know.

It was lewd and dirty, but it made me feel young again. I had never been so impassioned with someone, that we couldn’t even manage to get inside before making love against the tree in his front yard. It showed me how much sexual passion I still possessed even though I considered myself nothing more than “just a mom.”

By Friday, we laid entwined in my bed, Easton’s hand running up and down my spine. Goosebumps continuously formed on my skin and I had a stupid smile on my face. No matter how many times I told myself to stop, I’d give myself one more day in his arms.

Easton was like a slot machine. The more I played, the more enticing he was.Just one more quarter, just one more time.There were even moments I was convinced I had a gambling addiction because of the risk, yet, I kept throwing quarters in and pulling the lever.

“Tell me more about your parents.” He kissed the top of my head and spoke softly. It was another moment I should havestopped, drawn a line, and suggested we not cross it. But the way he held me and kissed me made me want to tell him every detail of my entire life.

“Dad worked at one of those fancy buildings in Atlanta. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what he did, but it involved lots of numbers and angry phone calls.”

“Reminds me of my brother,” Easton snorted. “He makes a lot of money doing whatever it is he does, but it doesn’t interest me enough to pay attention when he talks.”

I laughed, suppressing the noise into his chest. “Exactly. I had no idea what he did, but he provided us with a good life.”

“What happened to him?”

“He had a heart attack, not long after my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone said he diedofa broken heart, but mom was still alive and fighting. I think the stress was just too much and his body succumbed. But that left me to take care of my mom alone.”

“That’s hard. Especially as an only child.”

“Yeah I mean, I was an adult, but no siblings, and neither of my parents had siblings. That left me with no aunts or uncles, no cousins. My grandparents passed away a long time ago so they weren’t around.”

“Were you and your mom close?”

“Oh yeah,” I sighed with a smile. “She was my best friend. Losing her nearly killed me, and if it hadn’t been for Max, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

Without him asking, I knew he wanted to know more, so I started tracing circles on his chest while I got the courage to tell him the whole story.

“Max’s dad, Clay, and I were dating for a while. We never lived together, he had wanted to. I ended up moving in with my mom after dad died, which pissed him off, but I had to take care of her. Still, we made it work between us. The sameday I found out I was pregnant was the same day my mom fell from weakness and had to be admitted into the hospital. I truly needed Clay that night. I needed to tell him about my mom, about my pregnancy, and I needed a shoulder to cry on. But when I got to his apartment, he told me he didn’t want any of it. The drama, the baby, the responsibility.”

“What the fuck?” Easton tensed up beneath me, clearly considering getting in his truck to find Clay, but I patted his chest and he calmed down.

“I don’t need a hero,” I reminded him. “I thanked him for showing me who he really was, and I went back to my mom’s hospital room. She got better and we started making candles as a form of therapy. Which, as you know, I was able to turn into a pretty good business. About a year after Max was born, she succumbed to the disease and passed away.”

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