Page 79 of The Exception

“What about me?” I gathered a stack of dishes and carried them to the sink.

He followed. “I’ve talked this entire time about me. How are you? How was your week? How are you not going nuts being with your men?”

I tripped on the air, and my heart caught in my throat. “I’m fine.”

“You miss them.” Lucas took the plates and glasses from me, rinsed them, and put them in the dishwasher.

I should’ve known we wouldn’t make it through the whole meal without this coming up. Best to squash the topic now. “Sometimes we have to make sacrifices—”

“No.” Lucas cut me off.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, yes, sometimes we all make sacrifices, but this is not one of those times.”

If only that were true. I returned to the dining room table to wipe it down. “It is.”

Lucas stepped between me and the table. “Your entire life, you’ve done things for everyone else. For me. For Andrew. For your own fucking parents. You always take the smaller slice of cake, and always go without if there’s not enough to go around. Do you think I don’t see that? Sometimes, it’s okay to do things for you.”

I was touched that he’d noticed, but that just meant I’d raised a considerate human being, not that I was wrong about this subject. “This is not a thing I can do just for me.”

“Because of me? If that’s what’s holding you back, I hate it. If I’m what’s standing in your way, I free you of that obligation.”

If only it were that easy. “You. The partners. The firm…” I could go on all day about the people who would be hurt by my actions, every time there was bad press about Joystick.

“I guarantee you, at least some of your business partners have been through similar things. I read the industry blog—gossip is everywhere. They’ll have your back on this.”

“I can’t—”

“Can’t what?” Lucas talked over me. “Can’t be happy? You need to be. You deserve to be. You’re not just the best mom in the world, you’re probably one of the best people in the world. You’ve got a lifetime of karma saved up, and this is your chance to cash a little of it in.”

I wanted to argue. I also wanted what he was saying to be real. I wanted the latter so much.

Lucas threw his arms around me in a tight hug, startling me. “I love you, Mom. I love everything you’ve done for me, and everything you’ve given me. It’s time to live for you. Even if I have to make you do so for me.”

I laughed at his faulty-but-sweet logic. “Not sure it works that way.”

“It does if that’s what it takes.”

The doorbell rang.

“Fuck, they’re early,” Lucas muttered.

My gut twisted. “Who is?”

He stepped back and looked me in the eye. “Please, Mom. If you don’t like them then walk away, but don’t do it for any reason besides that. No arguments. You know I’m right.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I also didn’t have an argument. “I’ll hear them out.” Damn it, I did want this. I did want Joystick and Eli.

The bell chimed again, followed by a knock.

Lucas grinned and practically skipped to answer.

Joystick and Eli would be on the other side. The butterflies in my gut knew it before Lucas opened the door. My heart fluttered. Excitement surged despite my trying to squash it. I shouldn’t be so excited to see them again, but I was.

“Is your mother home?” Isabella’s voice curdled my insides.

Fury replaced my doubt. What I wanted wasn’t unreasonable—Love. To be loved. To do more than just exist or survive.

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