Page 27 of Wild and Bright

I avert my gaze, unable to respond.

He sighs heavily. “You need to accept that you’re never going to have a good relationship with her and let it go. She’s old. She’s not going to change, but it’s really not that hard to appease her.”

I grit my teeth. “Maybe I don’t want to appease her.”

“You’d be a lot happier if you did.”

“You’re happier when you appease her. Because you’re a pushover.”

“So what if I am?” He shrugs. “As long as I don’t have to deal with her bullshit, I really don’t care about anything.”

“Her shit would drive you crazy if you had to live with her. You would turn into Venom, too.” I narrow my eyes. “You know just now she was seconds away from bragging about some eighties celebrity who almost asked her to move in with him. And you also know ‘almost asked her to move in with him’ is code for said hi to her one time.”

His determined expression shifts into a scowl. “God, it’s bullshit when she does that, because there’s literally no way of verifying it. I bet you she’s making at least ninety percent of it up.”

“And it’s such a dumb thing to brag about, too, because no one under the age of sixty has ever heard of these so-called celebrities. Seriously, who the fuck is Harry Hamlin? And she talks about him like he’s Chris Hemsworth.”

Logan cringes. “That’s my least favorite of her stories. It’s so fucking long for how little happens in it.”

“Yes! Finally, we agree on something.”

His expression grows stern again. “Only on that, and honestly, I think you’re on the road to becoming just like her if you don’t figure this out. Think about that.” He shoots me a probing look. “Think about being in your late fifties and still bragging about the folk-rock star you hooked up with in your early twenties.”

My whole body grows cold. I want to say something sassy back, but I find my throat is too tight to speak.

“Shit,” Logan mumbles. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”

I swallow. “Yes, you did.”

“No, I really didn’t. I’ve been…” He winces. “I’m kind of worried about you with this whole thing with Cam. I wish you had stuck to the fifties-wife thing with Hunter.”

“This is a better opportunity for me.” Anger has made my voice regain much of its volume.

“I don’t know. This whole thing is all so weird. I worry Cam is up to something.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t get me wrong.” He raises both hands in the air. “It’s not that I don’t think you’re beautiful, or that he’s not into you, because it’s obvious he’s always had kind of a twisted crush on you. But he’s like a legitimate celebrity now. Why would he ask you of all people to do this? He’s probably hooked up with movie stars.”

I scowl at him incredulously. “Are you out of your mind? He’s a folk-rock musician. Who listens to folk rock? I know literally no one. He’s not the fucking Weeknd.”

He looks like he wants to roll his eyes. “I want you to be careful.”

“Are you worried he’s going to murder me?”

“No.” His tone isn’t nearly as confident as it ought to be. “But I do worry he has some kind of ulterior motive with this whole thing.”

I frown. “Like what?”

He stares at me for long moment before answering. “Cadence.”

I stiffen, but only for a moment before I’m able to shrug it off. I shake my head. “He has no interest in her. These last two days, he’s forgotten she even exists twice. I don’t even think he remembers that day at Denny’s.”

“I don’t know. The older she gets…the more she looks like him. And if he lives with her, he’ll probably notice.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” My tone is firm. “She has Ryder’s chin. And anyway, Cam wouldn’t notice even if she did look like him, because he doesn’t want to. Who on earth would want a baby mama when they have the kind of money he does?”

“I don’t know. It all seems really weird.” His gaze is fixed on the carpet, his brows drawn together.

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