Page 44 of Just a Distraction

“I went back to Café del Cibo, you know.”

A look of mock horror crosses her face. “I forbade you!”

“You can’t fault a guy for at least trying to see you again. I know, I know. I said I wouldn’t, but only to respect your wishes.” Callum wriggles off my lap and waddles back to her. “I just . . . Rose, I like you. I respect that you can’t have a relationship right now. But I can’t be dishonest and pretend. The next day, when I hung out here with my family, after the night we spent together? Well, let’s just say my family could tell right away that something had happened. That I was smitten.”

“Smitten?” A bemused smile teases across her face.

“Yeah. Smitten. How could I not be?” I reach up to finger a tendril of her hair but then draw back. We’re in public. With her son. Of course I can’t touch her.

She cocks a brow. “Seriously?”

My face and neck burn in one quick rush. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. They don’t really know anything. I didn’t confirm any of their speculations. They keep trying to figure out who you are.” I shake my head. “It’ll blow over. They’ll forget about it. But they wouldn’t let it go if they knew you work here now.”

She doesn’t meet my gaze as she helps Callum get some toys out of his diaper bag. “I guess if you’re trying extra hard to be honest, I should, too. You’ve come to mind a time or two these past few months.”

“A time or two?” I tease.

She meets my gaze. “Maybe more than a time or two. And yeah, part of me

wishes things could be different. But we live in opposite worlds, Milo. I can’t date casually. I have Callum.”

I blow out a slow breath. I nod, but it’s not without some effort. “Maybe I don’t want to date casually, either.”

“You sure? We lead completely different lives.” She leans forward and taps my shoe with her finger. “I looked these up online. I know it’s dumb. But they cost almost as much as mymonthly rent, Milo. It’s like Jenny from the Block meets the Prince of Wales.”

A laugh bursts out of me. “The prince? I’m no prince, Rose. Is that what this is about, our different economic situations?”

She does have a point about the difference in our resources and all that. But it doesn’t matter to me. And frankly, the fact that she thinks that’s a reason not to date makes me like her more. Some family members have had, on occasion, people in their lives who valued the money more than them.

“It’s part of it, yeah. I’m focusing on school right now.” She runs her tongue across her teeth, watching her hands as she fiddles with them in her lap. “When I’m done with that, I might entertain the idea of dating again.”

“A lot of people have relationships while they’re in school.” I hold up my hands. “I’m just saying. And who cares if we grew up differently?”

Callum toddles back over to the sofa I’m sitting on, carrying squishy blocks in both hands. He sets one on the seat and then twists the other one high in the sky, like he’s imagining it’s an airplane.

“And a lot of people who try to manage a relationship while they’re in school? Their priorities get mixed up and they get sidelined and drop out. I’m just not ready to take that risk. And my family’s not like yours, okay? Your parents are still married to each other.

“My mom? She got married three times before she finally wised up and stopped the madness. She’s finally sort of content being single, but it took a lot. And it’s probably because she throws all her energy into helping my sisters with their kids and working at least two jobs at a time. We just do things in ways your family can’t even comprehend.” She gives a wry smile, dropping her head to one side. “And don’t tell me they wouldn’t judge.”

It’s surprising that her mom’s been married three times. But I’m stuck on another thought. “You think my family would look down on you because of your family?”

She gives me a look like,I’m not stupid. Of course they would.

“So, let me get this straight. You and I can’t even go on a single date because you’re afraid my family won’t like you? Or that they’d feel like they were better than you?”

Rose shakes her head and sighs. She reaches out her arms and asks Callum to come to her. He doesn’t, staying near me, squeezing the soft blocks and hitting them against each other. “Fine,” she says to him, narrowing her eyes before smiling. She swallows hard and meets my gaze. “And that they might think I’m only interested in you for your money. So, yes, it’s a long list.”

“I’m not a prince. I don’t come from a perfect family. We have so many problems you have no idea about. Rose, I’m just me. I’m a man who feels a strong connection to an incredible woman.” I gesture to her, my heart pounding. “I don’t know you very well, I get that. But I like what I know. A lot. I like all of it, okay?” I glance at Callum before looking back at her.

“I like you, too. Truly. You’re a wonderful person. But I have a lot of baggage, and I’m not talking about my son, he’s not the baggage. There’s just a lot. I’m sorry.”

She keeps rejecting me, and it hurts every time. So why can’t I just move on? “Don’t be sorry. I appreciate the honesty upfront.”

“You’ve been honest with me, and I was just trying to be honest with you . . . I don’t think there’s any problem exchanging letters, though. And maybe hanging out on occasion as friends? You’re one of the few people I know here in Longdale,” she says with a smile. “Unless you’d rather not?”

“I’d love to hang out as friends.” And I mean it. I’d rather exchange letters than not have any contact with her at all. Eventhough my stomach burns at her words. Maybe it really is about school, our families, our different upbringings, or Callum.

Or maybe it’s about me . . . maybe she really doesn’t like me in that way. That’s her prerogative, but I can’t help feeling like that would combine with the thoughts I have every time I get a rejection letter from a literary agent—that I’m not good enough.

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