Page 54 of Catching the Captain

Traffic is light considering the time of day, and the ride passes relatively quickly. When I pull into my parents’ driveway, I’m surprised to see Valentina’s car.Fuck me.What’s she doing here? Is this just a coincidence or is it a set up?

As I walk to the door, questions bounce around in my mind. Do they know about Kaiden and me? But how could they? Aside from our closest friends, no one knows we’re together. The door’s unlocked when I turn the knob, so I wander in. I head toward the kitchen, as that’s the place I’m most likely to find my mom.

Sure enough, she and Valentina are at the kitchen table with cups of coffee in front of them.

“Hey,” I say, progressing toward them.

My mom points to an open seat next to her and across from Valentina. “Have a seat.”

“Okay.” I lower onto the wooden chair, folding my hands in my lap. “What’s going on?”

“Shouldn’t we be the ones asking that?” my sister snarks.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Aurora Russo, what could possibly be the reason for you to be kissing Kaiden Hart?”

How the hell does she know this?

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, stalling. I want her to tell me what she knows and how she found out.

“There are pictures of you all over social media, looking like a trollop and kissing Kaiden.” Valentina rapidly fires the words at me and her expression is accusatory.

My shoulders pop up in a quick shrug. “Okay.”

“Is that all you’ve got to say about this, young lady?” my mom asks.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say. I’m an adult and I can kiss whomever I want.”

“He’s my ex-boyfriend.” Valentina huffs.

“Exactly. He’s twelve years removed from your life. Surely you don’t have any feelings left for him.”

“It’s still wrong. It’s disloyal to kiss your sister’s ex,” my mom says.

“Mom, they were kids when they dated, and Valentina’s married with kids now. She’s moved on and so has he.”

“He can’t move on with my sister!” Valentina yells.

“Why not?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“It’s not right.” She raises her nose in the air.

“But why? What’s the difference between a total stranger or me being with him?” I push for an answer. I want to make her say what she’s thinking.

“For one, he knew you as a child. It’s perverted that you kissed.”

I break into laughter. “It’s not perverted. He hasn’t been grooming me all these years. Jesus, we hadn’t even seen each other.”

“Other people won’t know that,” my mom jumps in.

“I don’t care what other people think.”

“Not even me or your sister?” she asks.

My eyes swing back and forth between them, and for the first time, I realize how unhappy they both look. Not only because of this discussion, but with life in general.

“No, not really. I’m only accountable to myself, and now that Kaiden and I are in a relationship, I also have an accountability to him.”

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