Page 22 of If This Was a Movie

She moves to say something else, but I interrupt her before she can.

“Look, Evergreen Park is small, and my family is nosy. Word travels fast in this town and faster when my sisters are involved. If it gets out I didn’t do my best to give you a safe place to stay for the night, I’d never hear the end of it from my mother.”

“You’re thirty-five, Nate. I don’t think your mom has that much sway on you.” She looks me over, and that smile spreads. “Unless you’re a total momma’s boy, which is a red flag by the way.”

I laugh out loud and shake my head.

“Not a full-blown momma’s boy, though I’m close with my whole family. It’s just that my mom raised me to always help someone in need, and I know Sloane is probably going to call her tonight and fill her in. We’re tight like that, and my sisters love to meddle. If my mom finds out I wasn’t a proper gentleman, I’m toast.” I nudge Sophie under the table with my foot, but she doesn’t need the hint to help me out.

“Yup, he is! Grandma will yell at him,” Sophie says, and I look at my daughter with a smile. “And probably take him off her Christmas list, and she gets really good presents.”

Never in my life did I think I’d use a five-year-old as a wingman, but here we are.

“See? Don’t get me in trouble with my mom. And then we can talk about the rest.” I shift my eyes to Sophie. “Later. Only if you want, of course. But even if you just want to spend one night in the cottage and never see me again, that’s fine, too. I think I fucked up big time a year ago, and if I can only make it up in this small way, so be it.”

Her brows furrow, a quick jolt of guilt flashing over her face as she bites her lip. What I wouldn’t give to get into her head for just a moment.

“I don’t know…” she says, hesitating, but I can also see her resistance is less now like she’s coming around to the idea, so I try another angle, trying to knock out any and all arguments.

“Your friend’s dating some security wiz, right?” She nods, and I reach for my wallet, slide out my license, and hand it to her. “Go. Call him, give him my info. Run me by him, look up my record so you know I’m not a psycho.”

“I don’t think all psychos have it written on their record, you know,” she says.

I smile at her, and she returns it, even if she doesn’t want to. I stare at her for a few more moments, waiting to see what she does. Eventually, she sighs and nods. I lift the license to her once more, and reluctantly, she takes it, sliding out of the booth and heading toward the bathrooms.

And even though I think she’s going to take me up on my offer, I send a few texts to friends, telling them if a young woman named Julianne calls, I’ll owe them a favor if they tell her their hotel is completely booked up for the night.

NINE

JULES

Once I’m in the bathroom, I pull my phone out and dial a familiar phone number from heart, not even bothering to find the contact as I pace.

“Hey—” Ava starts, but I cut her off quickly.

“Put your man on.”

“What?”

“Put your man on. I know he’s glued to your side every waking moment; so put him on,” I tell her, no time to stress about niceties or explanations.

“Uh, excuse me?” she asks, her sassy nature coming out. “What am I, nobody? You just call me up to talk to my hot?—”

“I’m in a crisis, Ava, and I need to talk to Jaime. Please, for the love of fuck, put him on the phone.”

A beat of silence before she speaks. “A crisis? Are you okay? Are you safe? Did?—”

I groan to the ceiling before speaking, taking a deep breath before I do. “I’m fine. I’m safe. There’s an issue with my place, and I need to ask Jaime to check someone out before I take him up on an offer. I promise I will call you first thing tomorrow morning to explain, but in the meantime, can you please putJaime on the phone so I can have him do a quick little search and make sure this person is not a murderer?”

Another pause before she speaks again, and I can hear the smile in her words now.

“Well, is he hot? Because I could maybe forgive a murder—” There’s a scuffle before the phone switches, and Jaime’s deep voice fills the line.

“What’s going on, Jules?” Jaime asks.

“I was talking to her!” Ava shouts from the background, followed by a huff. I picture him standing there, Ava jumping and trying to grab the phone from his hand but failing miserably, and it makes me smile.

“And now I am. What’s up? You got an issue?”

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