Page 29 of Beyond Question

But, fuck that. There’s something here and I’m not going to let her push me away. I’m not afraid of this woman or her secrets. “I don’t understand why you’re so mad. It’s not like I’mwithBron—”

“You don’t understand…” She scoffs as her words trail off. “I don’t date the same men as my daughter, Travis.”

A bark of laughter slips out. “No shit, Paige, it would be weird if you did.”

She raises her hands, then drops them to her sides, growling with frustration. “This is over. Whatever it is, it stops now. Right here, right now.”

Her words are a punch to the gut, but I’m not giving up. “It’s not like we planned this,” I argue. “It’s not like we—”

She laughs bitterly. “No, we certainly did not. But that doesn’t make it any less real.” She motions between us. “This can’t happen. You’ve dated mydaughter; do you hear how messed up that sounds?”

“Eh. Technically, we didn’t really date—”

Her mouth falls open and I realize how fucked that sounds. “Shit. Wait. That’s not what I meant. Paige, I—”

She raises a hand to stop me. “I’ve heard enough.”

I scoff, then shake my head. “You know what? I don’t know why I’m surprised that this is your reaction. You’ve been looking for a reason to say no to me, and now you have one.” I give her a loud, slow clap. “Punish me for something I didbeforeI even knew you. Nice.” I pace away from her, hands digging through my hair as frustration courses through my veins.

People pass by us on the street, but when I glare at them, they give us a wide berth and avert their eyes.

“You understand why it can’t happen, right?” Her voice is softer now, defeated. “Why it’s not a line I’m willing to cross?”

I spin toward her and lean in. “No, actually. I don’t. You’re grasping onto this because you’d take any reason to run.” I shake my head and search her gaze for any hint that she’s cracking, but I only find steely resolve in those pale blue eyes. “I guess we’re more different than I realized, you and me. I don’t need to know who you were with before me because it doesn’t matter. Nothing you did before me matters because it brought you here. To me. To this moment.”

“She’s mydaughter, Travis!”

“She meantnothing, Paige!”

She gasps and lurches back like I’ve punched her and I could kick myself for what I just said. It was the truth, but… “Fuck.” I drag my hands through my hair and begin to pace. “That’s not what I meant, I—”

“No, please, go on. Tell me how sleeping with my daughter meant nothing to you. Tell me how youusedmy most precious baby for a fucking one-night stand or worse—”

“Weusedeach other,” I growl. And it's God's honest truth. Bronte and me, we were just casual. Fucking for fun. No goddamn strings. And webothwanted it that way.

But Paige is done listening to me.

Her reaction is protective and motherly, and I’m sure if it wasn’t directed at me, it would be commendable and sexy as hell, but when it means she’s finally found a solid reason to blow me off?

It’s bullshit and I hate it.

“My past has absolutely no bearing on us.”

“There is nous.”

A car pulls up to the curb and her phone beeps with an alert.

We both stand still a moment longer, locked in silent battle, but then she finally closes her eyes for a long beat, breaking the tether keeping us in place.

When she opens them again, the heat is gone, leaving nothing but resignation in its place.

And in that moment, I know I’ve lost her before I even had her.

Again, goddammit.

“Goodbye, Travis.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

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