Page 84 of Tempting Him

“Thanks, Dad.”

“We’re going to be heading back early in the morning,” Mom says from her bed. “So it’ll be an early night for us tonight, but I’m sure you have plans,” she says with a grin.

“Yes, be safe tonight,” Dad adds.

“I will.”

“You don’t have a special person in your life?” Mom finally asks. She’s always questioning who I’m dating, and I’m surprised she’s gone this long without bringing it up.

“Honey,” Dad says, probably wanting to stop this before it starts. “Leave him alone. He’s young. He has a lot of time.”

“What? I’m just curious. I figured if you had someone we’d probably meet them today.”

“There’s nobody,” I tell her. “It’s either the wrong person, wrong time, or wrong circumstance.”

“Wrong circumstance?” she questions.

“Honey,” Dad says again.

She ignores him. “What does that mean, Jay?”

I don’t look in my dad’s direction when I reply. “He doesn’t live here.”

“Does he live nearby? How’d you meet?”

Dad fidgets next to me as he sits in the chair near the window.

“Not that close. He was only here for a short time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mom offers. “If it’s meant to be, you’ll work it out.”

I force a grin and nod.

“It’s not going to work,” Dad says, unable to hold his tongue any longer.

I sigh, my shoulders dropping as I anticipate whatever the hell is about to happen now. Janae looks up from her phone as she lounges on the bed, aware the mood has shifted.

Mom’s brows furrow as her head snaps to her husband. “What are you talking about?”

Dad gestures to me, his arm outstretched as he looks at my mom. “Caroline, your son was fu—doing whatever with Alek!”

I don’t miss when Janae sits all the way up, her eyes as round as saucers as her mouth forms an O. Mom flinches back before bringing her gaze back to me.

“Aleksander Drakos?”

“Yes. I caught them our first night here. Our son was up in his hotel room. Apparently, it wasn’t anything serious,” he says, his voice dripping with disbelief.

“Is that true?” Mom asks, her tone calm but her face giving away her shock.

“Yes, it’s true, but I don’t know why we’re talking about this. Dad said enough that night, even threatening to report Alek. He left already. Went back to Chicago early to make Dad happy.”

“Well, I’m still not happy,” he says.

“And you don’t have to be,” I snip. “What should matter is whether I am, and I’m not. Not at all.” I stand up, ready to say what I have to say and leave. Looking only at my mom, I say, “I met Alek before I started work. We did what adults do and then I showed up to work on Monday and found out it was him. He said he wouldn’t have done anything if he had known who I was and was ready to end it then. It was me who pursued him. When we decided, as adults, to continue what he had started, we made sure work was never compromised. Everything remained professional. Our time was spent alone and we knew it was a short-term thing. He left. He’s gone, so it’s over. What is there to talk about?”

Mom remains silent for several seconds, processing, as Dad begins to pace in front of the window.

“I had no idea he was...but okay, umm.” She stands up, hands in the air. “I can understand how your father might feel, and the age difference is there. However, my parents have quite a gap in their age. Fifteen years. But they’ve never had issues, and they’ve always been happy.”

---