Page 58 of So Bad It Must Be Good

It seemed wildly unfair to her, but what did she know about functional, happy families? Zero.

“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” He cupped her cheek with his rough hand, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone.

She tried to smile, but she failed. Hard. “You didn’t tell him. About us.”

Everything in him softened, even his shoulders slumped. “I haven’t really seen him, Kayla.”

“Except the other night when he said you didn’t try to fix him,” she returned, and even though she felt a little petty pointing it out, she couldn’t stop herself. She felt . . . She didn’t know. There was just this gut-twisting, heavy, sinking feeling in her stomach.

“He was drunk, Kayla. He passed out. It was hardly a conversation.”

She should leave it at that, let him go, but all she could do was think of all the other ways he might have kept her a secret. “What about your parents?” she asked, looking at her bare feet.

“My parents?”

She could’ve kept being a coward and not said it, or not lifted her gaze, but this was part of everything about her new life. Having courage. Looking someone in the eye. Standing up. “Have you told them about us?”

His mouth just kind of dropped open as though taken completely off guard by her question. “Have you told yours?” he asked gently.

“I don’t talk to mine,” she replied, hugging her arms around herself because suddenly she felt cold and, well, alone. “Pretty much ever these days.”

He scrubbed one hand over his jaw, but the other stayed on her face, holding on to her.

“I haven’t. And I don’t have any good excuses except things have . . . happened fast, but, listen, when everything settles down with my dad, we’ll go over for dinner. Even invite Grandma.” He searched her face for something, still rubbing that rough thumb slowly over her cheek. “Do you think I’m hiding you?”

“No. I . . .” She didn’t know why she felt so hurt by all this. It had been a couple of nights, and while she felt a whole hell of a lot more, maybe he didn’t, and he wouldn’t be wrong.

But that didn’t make her wrong either, did it? What would be wrong would be to shrink down and away, to shy away from hurt or embarrassment. That would be wrong. “It hasn’t been very long at all, but I guess it feels . . .” Oh, if only words didn’t desert her when she was nervous.

“Serious?”

His eyes seemed an impossible pale blue in the dim light, but they held her gaze as though—despite the fact his brother was getting arrested somewhere—she was the most important thing.

“Yes,” she managed to whisper. “Serious. I-important.”

He swallowed, but his other hand came up to cup her other cheek. “It is. To me. All of those things. I promise you.”

She tried to breathe normally, but her chest was tight and her eyes were stinging. Serious. Important. Maybe something like love. It was almost too much.

“I have to go,” he said gravely. “But call me when you wake up in the morning, okay?”

Kayla nodded wordlessly.

He pressed a kiss to her mouth, soft and sweet, something like a promise in and of itself. When he released her, she could see the regret in his eyes. So she forced herself to smile best she could. It wavered, surely, but it was better than nothing.

He turned and strode out of the room and Kayla simply stood there and waited until she heard her front door open, then close.

Then she sank to the end of her bed and let out a little sob. She didn’t even know why she was crying, half hurt, half elation, so many big feelings fighting for space inside of her.

She took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to stem the tide of tears. Because this was good. All good. He felt the same way she did. Serious and important.

But she had the most obnoxious niggling worry in the back of her brain, that this kind of thing would always come between them. Problems would always need fixing, and he’d be the first to jump up to fix them.

“You like that about him,” she reminded herself, aloud, in the quiet of her room alone. She forced herself to crawl back into bed and did her best to ignore that stupid, pointless worry.

* * *

Aiden hadn’t ever been Mr. Rule Follower, but getting arrested for a DWI was not Aiden at all. Liam was just as much worried for his brother as he was pissed off at him for calling Kayla, for dragging him into this.

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