Page 94 of Educating Arrogant Mr. Hunter

“Thanks, guys.” I looked in the same direction. Beckett leaned heavily against the side door of his car. His fingertips rubbed hard at his forehead, and his shoulders slumped forward. I’d never seen him look so defeated. He needed me. “I should go. I’ll message you later.”

With one last hug from Ruby and Grayson, I shuffled over to Beckett. He held out his arms, and I gratefully fell into them. “How’s she doing?”

“Asleep.” Tired lines creased the skin at the corners of his eyes.

“I think it’s time we told her the truth.” And hope for the best.

“I agree. Follow me home?”

I nodded. I wasn’t going to leave him to do this by himself, and I wanted to be there to make sure both of them were okay.

* * *

By the time I’d pulled into Beckett’s driveway, he’d already gotten out of his car and was helping Zoey into the house. She rubbed at her tired eyes and gave me a smile when she saw I was there. Now without the drama from before surrounding us, my heart raced and sweat dampened my palms. What would Zoey think when we confirmed our relationship status?

They waited until I got to the door before we all went inside.

Zoey poked her head back out the big wooden door. Her nose scrunched up, and she looked at both cars in the driveway. “Where’s the tree?”

“We’re going to pick it up later this week. The Rossi’s will put it in a safe place for us. Uncle Grayson and Auntie Ruby took care of it,” I reassured her.

Beckett headed toward the kitchen. “Does anyone else want hot chocolate? I think it’s that kind of day.”

“Me!” Zoey sprinted after him, leaving me to trail behind.

I climbed onto the island chair next to Zoey. My throat lurched with a dry swallow. Would Zoey think I was trying to replace her mother? Or be upset we’d kept our relationship a secret? I twisted my hands together, not knowing where to start. Should I say something first or wait for Beckett to begin?

He stayed silent while lifting three mugs from the cabinet over the coffee maker, the hot chocolate mix, and milk, and placed them next to the stove on the opposite counter from the island.

“Are the two of you boyfriend and girlfriend?” Zoey sent us a piercing look that should make her dad proud.

He turned around and leaned his elbows on the island. His gaze met his daughter’s. “We are.”

“Since when?” she demanded.

“A week,” I responded. It was close enough. We didn’t need to include the time before we realized how we felt about each other.

“What did Mrs. London mean when she said you two slept together?”

I choked on my spit. I gasped in my next breath as Beckett answered. “Wren slept over a few times.”

“Like a sleepover?” Her wide eyes looked more excited than confused.

“Exactly,” he answered.

She leaned her elbows on the island, mimicking her dad. “Are you two getting married?”

I was not the one to respond to this question.

Beckett reached across the island to hold one of my hands and one of Zoey’s. I liked how we were all connected. “We care about each other, but this is all new. We don’t know what the future holds.”

“And we’d talk to you about anything like that first.”

She raised her eyebrows, again reminding me so much of her father. “Like you did this time?”

“No.” Never again. I opened my free hand and held it out to her, breathing in a sigh of relief when she took it. “I hate how you found out about me and your dad, sweetheart. We only kept it from you this long because the school has a policy that states your dad and I can’t be together. And we didn’t want you to have to lie about it with us.”

“That’s stupid.” She frowned.

---