Page 73 of Here's to Tomorrow

“Sorry. Rae, this is my daughter, Joey. Joey, this is my…friend, Rae.”

“Your girlfriend? The one you smile about with Nana all the time?”

Another wince, because it’s kind of embarrassing that my kid is giving away all my secrets.

“Girlfriend?” Rae asks with a small smile. “Don’t you thinkthis”—she gestures to show she’s referring to our current Joey situation—“would be something yourgirlfriend,or at least the person you’ve seen or talked to every day for the past week, shouldknow about?”

“Rae…I’m…I’m sorry.” My voice is pleading, begging her to understand.

She ignores me and turns to Joey. “How old are you?”

“Seven. How old are you?” Joey asks her.

“Twenty-two,” Rae tells her. She looks back at me. “That means…”

“Seventeen,” I confirm. A look of pity crosses her face, and fuck do I hate it.

I don’t ever want to be pitied for the best thing to ever happen to me. Having Joey, no matter how young, was one of the greatest moments in my life. I would never trade it for anything else.

“I’m a first grader, you know,” Joey tells Rae proudly.

“Oh, really? What’s two plus two then?” Rae bounces back, a small smile playing on her lips.

My bug gives her a look like she’s crazy. “Four,” she says slowly, like Rae is the one learning something. “I also know what twelve times twelve is. It’s one hundred and forty-four.”

Rae’s hand comes up and she covers her smile before she regains composure. “Wow. You’re smart. You sure you’re only seven?”

I can’t believe this woman says she’s horrible with kids. She seems to have taken to Joey right away. Granted, they just met and haven’t interacted much, but kids are great judges of character, so Joey talking with Rae is a good sign.

Joey nods vigorously. “Yep! Daddy, can I go play with Rocky now?” I nod. As she’s passing by us, she pats me on the arm. “Your friend is cool. I like her.”

I catch Rae’s stare. “I do too, bug. I do too.”

Rae’s shoulders drop as soon as Joey walks out of the room. I gulp because I know it’s coming—she’s pissed. I get that. I do. I kept something big from her. I didn’t necessarily mean to, but it happened.

“Hudson.”

“Rae.”

“What in the actual…f…rench toast!” she catches herself. “This is huge. Why would you keep this from me?”

“I didn’t really mean to. It’s kind of hard to explain. I—”

“Try,” she interrupts.

I sigh. I know that no matter which way I explain it, I’m going to sound like a total douchebag. “No judging, okay?”

“Have I judged you yet, Hudson? That’s not fair.” I can feel the heat radiating off her, and it’s not the fun kind.

“Right.” I clear my throat and hope she can understand what I’m about to tell her. “So, as you now know, I have a seven-year-old daughter. She’s amazing, the light of my life, my entire reason for breathing.”

“Why do you not live together?”

“Oh, we do. Remember that house in Pembrooke I told you about? There were electrical issues with it and the wiring had to be almost completely redone. My mom has a friend who needed someone to watch over his rental while he found someone new to sublet it to and she volunteered my services. She knows being a single parent is hard enough already, and moving into a new house is going to make it even harder. She wanted me to have a little bit of freedom before everything changes. So, I stay here a few nights a week to watch the place,” I explain. I pause to make sure she’s catching everything. She motions for me to continue.

“When I met you, I had no idea this would turn into a relationship of any kind. Hell, I wasn’t even supposed to go on that blind date with you, but I did, and I’m glad. I like you, Rae, likereally, reallylike you. I selfishly liked having that freedom, getting the chance to get to know someone and not just being the single dad for a change. It was nice to just be Hudson—to just be twenty-four for a while. It’s not like I was never going to tell you. In fact, I was going to last Thursday when I drove you home, but then you made that little confession.” She purses her lips and tilts her head, trying to remember. “How kids aren’t for you, that you’re not mom material—what am I supposed to do with that? I have a kid, and she’s definitely for me, Rae.”

She sits there, staring at my coffee table, her eyebrows still bunched together. “I don’t know. I still don’t get why you just didn’t tell me.”

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