Page 78 of It's Complicated

Bri was just as shocked as him.

Good.

“You’re dating a man?” Dad finally spluttered.

“Yes.” I fixed my gaze on my dad.

I hadn’t planned on telling him, or anyone, about Jamie, but I didn’t regret it. If this was going to be our last conversation, I wanted him to know the truth. That Jamie was everything to me, and I didn’t need him or his new family. “It’s Jamie, just in case you were wondering.”

“James?”

“Jamie,” I corrected. “His name is Jamie, not James. And yes, we’re together.”

“But you’re not gay,” Dad slow-blinked at me.

“You’re bi?” Bri asked, taking the news way better than my dad.

“Apparently.” I pushed my chair back. “Congratulations on your engagement and new baby. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got Jamie, and he’s all I need.” I stood. “Let me know if you change your mind and want me back in the family.”

Not letting either of them speak, I strode away from the table and right out of the restaurant, my only thoughts on getting home so I could see Jamie.

14

JAMIE

The clickof the door unlocking knocked me out of my spiral, and I jumped up as Isaac walked into the apartment.

I hadn’t heard from him since before he met his dad, and the fact that he didn’t text to tell me he was on his way home or call while he was driving to rant meant the meeting went way worse than he thought it would.

Not wanting to distract him while he was driving, I refrained from texting or calling and instead spent the entire afternoon and early evening twisted up in knots and going over all the worst-case scenarios of what could have transpired at the meeting while simultaneously freaking out that something happened to him on the drive.

“Z?” I hurried over to him.

He looked like he’d just come off a three-day bender. I’d never seen him so broken.

He closed the door behind him and sort of fell into my arms.

I held him tight, trying to offer him some sort of comfort.

“My dad is getting married to a twenty-four-year-old he knocked up, and they kicked me out of the family,” he said, his words coming out in a rush.

“What?” I rubbed his back.

He hugged me tighter. “My dad actually had news this time. He’s getting married, his fiancée is twenty-four, and she’s pregnant. He brought her out and dumped all that on me, then they were pissed that I didn’t immediately jump up and down with excitement.”

I had no idea what to say to that.

“And apparently I’m such a terrible person I can’t be trusted around her and the new baby, so they’ve decided I can’t be part of their family until I prove I’m not a predatory asshole.”

“Jesus. Theysaidthat to you?”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Z.” I kissed his cheek, then kissed under his ear. “I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever.” He pressed his face into my neck. “It’s not like he ever acted like he was my dad,” he continued, his voice muffled. “Now he can make another kid’s life miserable.”

I kept quiet and just held him. There was nothing I could say to make things better, and Isaac didn’t need my empty platitudes right now.

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