Page 25 of My Mom's Man
“Great.”
“Sorry, Dad. For real. I know this sucks for you.”
I should be relieved. Happy even. But anxiety claws at my insides.
Emma.
How does this all shake out for Emma?
When I cram my hands into my pockets, I’m reminded again of what I did earlier. And now, instead of dealing with it, I’m having a heart to heart with my son.
“Do you guys need any money?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Nope. Haven’t touched what you already gave me.”
“There’s more where that came from,” I remind him. “Me and your mom agree since you’re not going to college, you can use that money however you see fit.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”
We chat a couple more minutes and when Brayden realizes I’m not going to kill myself or some shit over my breakup, he finally leaves me be.
I race back inside like my ass is on fire because I have a mess to clean up.
I’m a fucking idiot and I don’t want any trace leftover of what I did.
It’s time to get my head on straight.
Emma
“How’s the crush going?” Ava asks as she kicks off her heels. “I haven’t heard anything else about it.”
Heat creeps over my flesh. Last night was intense. Of course she doesn’t need to know what happened, or better yet, didn’t happen.
“Uh, it’s fine. I think he sort of likes me too. It’s kind of a messy situation.”
She nods, a sad smile on her face. “I understand messy. Do you want to talk about it?”
Headlights flash through her darkened living room and I jolt to my feet. “Maybe another time, yeah?”
“Of course. Thanks, Emma. We appreciate having you. Quinn will Cashapp you tomorrow.”
I thank her and then slip out of the house. It’s going to be awkward seeing Reid in person afterlast night. Texting him was easy enough because I didn’t have to see his handsome face. Now we’re going to be alone.
“Hey,” I say in greeting as I hop in the truck.
He stares straight ahead, jaw muscle ticking. “Hey.”
Okay.
Something weird is happening right now.
“Do you hate me?”
I guess we’re not going to ignore last night. “What? No. It was my fault.”
His head whips my way, and he bristles with anger. “Not. Your. Fault.”
Why is he being so intense?
