Page 107 of That One Night
She shook her head. “No. I was going to apologize. I was wrong to say anything to you about her at all. What you do in the privacy of your own home is your business, not mine. I’ve beenfeeling terrible about it ever since I left your place.” She let out a breath. “I didn’t mean to judge you.”
“Maybe you were right to judge me,” he told her.
“So you and Emery? You’re… a thing?”
“Not anymore.”
“Because she’s engaged?”
He winced at the mention of that.
And fuck it, after today all of Hartson’s Creek would know the truth. “She’s not engaged. She’s broken up with him. Has been for a while, just not publicly.” He winced. “It’s a mess.”
Her mom looked at him with soft eyes. “I’ve got time to listen if you have time to talk.”
“It’s okay. It’s all over, anyway.”
“You don’t look too happy about that,” she said softly.
He frowned. Wasn’t that the understatement of the year? “I just keep messing things up, you know? Hurting the people I love.” He let out a breath. “You. Dad. Emery…”
His mom’s face softened. “You love her,” she said. Not as a question but as a confirmation of the truth. She took his hand. “You look so sad. Please talk to me. Let me help.”
So he did. And it hurt, admitting to his mom who he adored what a mess he’d made. Admitting about his bad choices, about the pain he’d caused. The damn agreement he made with Trenton Montclair not to blast his relationship with Emery all over town.
And in consequence, losing the one woman that meant everything to him.
No, not losing. He pushed her. He pushed her so hard he wasn’t sure she’d ever stop running away from him.
And when he was talked out, his mom let out a long, soft sigh.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” she told him. “You don’t have to protect me. That’s not your job. It’s never been your job. I’m your parent. It has always been my job to protect you.” Sheshook her head, her eyes shining. “That day you saw me crying. You shouldn’t have seen that. But as a mom I’ve smiled about you three boys a hundred times more than I’ve cried over you.”
“I don’t want him to ruin the charity launch for you. Not after everything you’ve put into it,” Hendrix told her.
“I understand, sweetheart, I do. But he won’t. I’ll speak to our publicist. They’ll make sure it’s dealt with. That’s what publicists are for.” She leaned forward, cupping his face with her hands. “Please tell me you didn’t ruin this relationship to protect me?”
“For you and for her. He agreed to release the lien on her mom’s farm if I backed away.”
“And that’s what she wanted too?” his mom asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask her.”
His mom winced. “Oh, honey…”
“I didn’t want to put her in that position. It was for the best…” Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
His blood turned cold. He hadn’t even asked her. He hadn’t given her the chance to say what she thought.
He’d just made the decision for both of them. Decided to be a martyr, to lose the thing he loved most, because it was better than watching the woman he loved lose her home.
Fuck. He’d made a mistake. No, more than a mistake, he’d made the biggest fucking wrong decision of his life.
“Mom…”
“You need to go.” She nodded. “Of course you do.” She smiled at him softly. “Now you go and get your girl, and do whatever it takes to win her back.”
Well, here went nothing. Emery took a deep breath, and climbed out of her car, trying not to show her dismay at Trenton waiting for her in his parent’s driveway.
