Page 46 of Undertow

Kids at Parker’s school are divided up by house. Parker’s house is emerald, and she said this meeting was for emerald parents.

Hayden’s son is onyx.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, afraid I already know the answer.

“Finishing our date.”

I glance back over my shoulder. Naturally, there’s more space between us and the dock than before.

I look back at Hayden and sigh. “There’s no school meeting, is there?”

He shakes his head.

“You sent my daughter a fraudulent email to lure me here under false pretenses? I’m no expert, but you are—isn’t that a crime?”

He smiles faintly. “I didn’t send her a fraudulent email. Parker knows where you are. She knows you’re with me. She helped me set it up.”

That throws me for a loop. “What—Why would she do that?”

Feigning—but is he, really?—smugness, he says, “I guess you were miserable without me.”

I roll my eyes. “Ugh, I wasnot.”

He moves closer, reaching out and grabbing my waist so he can pull me in. “No?” he murmurs, dipping his head and kissing me. “I was pretty miserable without you.”

I can’t resist kissing him back, but I pull away before he can pull me under and obliterate my senses completely. “I told you I didn’t want to see you again.”

“You did, but it was a lie. Anyway, you owed me the rest of that date, and I’m not a man who lets his debts go uncollected.”

I pull away from his embrace with some effort. “Hayden, I’m serious. We talked about this. You saw what Landon did…”

“My son is not dangerous,” he says seriously. “I know he did an idiotic thing and scared you half to death. I understand that, and I’m very sorry. The truth is…” His jaw locks, and he looks out at the water. Whatever he was going to say, he doesn’t finish. He looks back at me and says, “He knows that he can’t pull a stunt like that again. He’s out if he does.”

“Out?”

“Of the house. Of his trust fund. Everything he holds dear is gone if he comes after Parker again.”

“Oh,” I murmur, surprised to hear that.

“He’s grounded and not allowed to hang out with his bonehead friends for a while. I have his car keys, and he’s effectively under house arrest for the remainder of the summer, so I promise you don’t have to worry about Parker.”

Easier said than done.

“Parker is worried aboutyou,” he says.

“Because I’m wasting away with want for you?” I ask sarcastically.

He cracks a smile. “No. Because you’ve put your life on hold for her, and she doesn’t want you to wake up one day when she’s off at college and realize you’re all alone and you don’t want to be. Now, I’m not saying I’m your destiny. I don’t want to argue with you about the kids or the impossibility of our future together. I just want to enjoy the rest of the date you promised me. That’s all.”

I’m not sure I believe him, but I’m not sure I have much of a choice, either.

I bite down on my bottom lip, glancing back at the dock one last time.

“For the record, this feels a lot like kidnapping,” I tell him.

He takes my hand and pulls me up the stairs. “That’s a good note. Do younotlike dates that include kidnapping?”

“They’re not my favorite,” I inform him.

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