Page 27 of Up All Night

Yeah, that last one had occupied my thoughts for the better part of the day. But there was no way I would admit that out loud. Not that thinking about him meant anything. It didn’t. I was merely confused, and that was all there was to it.

I’d kept replaying our interaction on the drive to the gym and during the workout, trying to figure out how things had changed between us. Sure, there had still been a couple of barbs exchanged between us while I trained him, but for most of the session, we’d both been cordial.

I’d been so surprised when he’d offered to continue driving me to work every morning until I got my car fixed that I hadn’t known what to say. I had been grateful when he had played it off like it was only because it would help him, which I’d gone along with so we could feign some sort of normalcy when it came to us.

Between the car ride and the workout, things seemed different, but in a good way. That maybe there was hope we could be acquaintances one day instead of feuding neighbors. The thought of that sent a warm feeling through my body—and I wasn’t even remotely wanting to figure out why. Because this was West we were talking about, the guy who had tried to get me evicted—more than once. He was the guy who had banged on my door and told me to turn my music down. He was the guy who had hit my bedroom floor with some sort of stick at five thirty in the morning. He was the guy who had sent a vacuum salesman to my door.

But he was also the guy who had offered me rides to work for the foreseeable future. A guy who was trying to prove his worth at his job, so much so that he confined himself to a rigid lifestyle in order to achieve it.

When he’d let that statement slip, I’d been shocked. I hadn’t thought to think about the ‘why’ of how he seemed so stuck on his schedule.

Or maybe I was reading way too much into one sentence he had seemed to accidentally tell me.

Or maybe there was more to West than I had ever cared to think about.

WhowasWest Vanderhall? And what made him so closed off?

“I really thought he was the one,” my mom said, reminding me I had spaced out and only been half listening to her.

Was she for real? How had she thought a married man was the one? Then again, she had also thought Craig, Antonio, Philip, Darius,andAmir had each been the one. And those were just the ones I could remember.

It took a herculean effort to not roll my eyes at her and tell her how ridiculous she was being, but I swallowed down my annoyance and patted her hand. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Thanks, honey.” She smiled and took my hand in hers. “Guys come and go, but you’ve always been my constant. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

I didn’t know what she would do without me either. But despite all my mother’s flaws, she really did love me. In her own way. And I would always be there for her when she needed me, because at the end of the day, she was my mom and I loved her, too.

I squeezed her hand. “It’s been you and me against the world since day one.”

“That’s right.” Her smile grew, and she seemed to have already forgotten Hector. “Parker girls don’t need men.”

I wanted to laugh at her words, but I kept it in.

“What?” she asked. I must have not been able to keep my expression neutral.

My brow rose. “You? Not need a man?”

“Hey, now.” She sat up straighter. “I don’tneeda man, but I surewanta man.” She winked and nudged my arm.

“Now that, I do believe,” I said half-jokingly, half-serious.

She laughed. “Yes, I date a lot, but you have to go through some bad ones to find the gems.”

She had been through so many bad ones that I didn’t have any hope there were any good ones. To be fair,I’dbeen through enough to know there were only bad ones out there.

I remained quiet, planning to silently disagree with her.

She squeezed my hand this time. “Now, I know that ever since your break-up from Jeremy, you haven’t been wanting to get back into the dating world, but I think it’s time.”

I stiffened, hearing his name. “I’ve dated since then.”

“A couple random dates here and there don’t count.”

I gave her a pointed look. “I don’t think you’re the one who should be giving me dating advice.”

She pursed her lips. “That may be so, but you can’t stay single forever.”

“Why not?” I demanded. “Parker girlsdon’t have the best track record.”

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