Page 163 of The Endowment Effect

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Lucas’s leg moved up and down with nervous energy as he sat at a picnic table under one of the pavilions at the local park.

He had agreed to meet Birdie. She said it was an emergency of raging-Mia proportions and to meet her there right away.

Of course she was late.

He sighed with relief as he spotted Angus’s car pulling into the parking area and forced himself to wait for her to approach him, rather than rush to open her door like some slavering lovesick teenager.

Instead he tortured himself by watching her walk his direction, wearing the same skinny jeans and oversized sweatshirt from earlier that morning when she freaked out over being caught in bed together by Pinkie and her misfits.

The most gossip-prolific women of Wayward.

Truth be told, he was glad they were discovered as he no longer could hide his feelings for Birdie. Not even from himself.

For once he was going to go after something he wanted. Consequences be damned.

There was nothing he wanted more than Birdie and Mia.

As she approached, he noticed she had pulled her hair back in a high ponytail and kept her head down as she walked toward him.

He stood, ramming his hands in his pockets to refrain from any unwanted advances.

She seemed legitimately distraught.

“What’s Mia raging about this time?”

“Us,” she replied succinctly, keeping a distance from him that he didn’t care for. “Somehow, she recognized your sheets and comforter, and put two and two together and freaked.”

Lucas thought that through. “Yeah, she helped me set up my blow-up bed the other night when Maynard showed up after a fight with Hal. They had just moved in together when one of Maynard’s exes showed up with a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and no clothing under his raincoat.”

Her eyebrows pinched and he added, “I told Mia Maynard’s house had been fumigated for roaches.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“Tell that to Maynard. Apparently, pest infestation was a far greater character flaw than forgetting to inform his ex-lover of his new live-in.”

He sat to hear the rest, as it seemed this might take a while and she followed suit.

“I wanted to let you know, as soon as possible, that she’s really angry. Not as much with you. Mostly me. Accused me of forcing my way into your relationship with her and managing to make it all about me.” She picked at her fingernails. “Is it healthy for your daughter to be jealous of your relationship with her father?”

“I think in our complicated situation, it might be,” he said, gently placing his hand on her lower back. “I’m new to this whole parenting gig, but it’s been my experience that when people are angry, what comes out of their mouth rarely has anything to do with what’s upsetting them. Sometimes it’s easier to fall back on cheap shots than address the real issue.”

“What do you think the real issue is?”

“It’s hard to tell. Maybe she’s concerned I won’t want to spend as much time with her. Maybe she’s afraid she’ll lose you and your attention. We’ll probably not know until she calms down and gets her head straight.”

“Angus took her for a drive about an hour ago, hoping to do just that. Thinking the beach might coax her into a better frame of mind, help her to open up to him.”

“Smart man.”

“Quite the sacrifice considering Angus burns sitting in the shade, while Mia skins turns the color of—”

“Caramel?” he inserted with a wry grin.

“Just like her father,” she said with a sad smile. “To complicate the situation even more, Oliver Sanderson stopped by the diner this morning and spilled the beans about her grandparents.”

Little fucker.

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