Page 56 of The Stand-In

“That’s a betrayal, for sure,” Matt replies and pats Quinn’s shoulder. “Try not to take it personally. He was trying to hurt his mom, not you.”

“He did both,” Quinn says, wiping her eyes. “I’m going to head home and cry myself to sleep. I wassoscared, and now the adrenaline is wearing off, and I feel like I could sleep for a month.”

“Why don’t you stay?” I offer. “Stay in the guest room. Get a good night’s sleep and talk to him in the morning. You might both feel better.”

“Yeah.” She rubs her hands over her face and then nods. “Yeah, okay. I’ll do that. But I’m taking a glass of wine in with me.”

“Take the bottle,” Rome says. “You’ve earned it.”

She grins and turns to my dad and Matt. “Thank you for coming. You really calmed me down and kept me that way until London and Drew got home, and I appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” Dad assures her.

Quinn walks off, headed for the kitchen and, I’m sure, the wine fridge.

“You did a good job of not backing down to Caleb,” my dad says and claps his hand on my shoulder. “He’s testing limits with you, and he’s starting to have feelings about you being with his mom.”

“Hell,I’mhaving feelings,” Rome says, with a laugh. “Because we’re all realizing that this isn’t a casual thing. Personally, I like you. And Caleb does, too. He just has to be a ten-year-old for a while.”

“I get it.” I blow out a breath and push my hands through my hair. “Scared us, though.”

“That’s what he wanted,” Matt says as he and my dad turn to the door. “Good luck, buddy. You’ll be fine.”

“Thank you both.” I walk them to the door and hug each of them before they go.

“You have a good family,” Rome says when I join him once more.

“I know.” I let out a long breath and, like Quinn, feel the adrenaline wearing off. “I hope she’s okay up there.”

Rome looks up the stairs, then motions for me to follow him. “Come on, let’s get some wine of our own.”

Quinn is already leaving the kitchen, averylarge glass of wine in one hand and chips and queso on a platter in the other.

“Now, that’s comfort food,” I say with a grin.

“I need it. Thanks again, guys. See you tomorrow.”

Rome pulls down glasses, opens a fresh bottle of red, and pours.

“Did you at least have a good time for the few hours you were gone?”

“Yeah. We did. Listen, Rome, I need you to know that I’m here for the long haul. I have a thing for your sister that isn’t going away any time soon.”

“Nice. It’s about time someone appreciated her.” He sips his wine and passes me a glass, then sets another for London on the counter. “I don’t have any issues at all with you, Drew. And despite what he pulled tonight, Caleb has had nothing but great things to say about you. I think he’s confused.”

“I’ll have a talk with him tomorrow.”

“There seriously needs to be a handbook on how to deal with a ten-year-old,” London announces as she walks into the kitchen and immediately picks up her wine glass and drinks deeply.

“Did you have a talk with him?” Rome asks.

“I tried. He’s just so stubborn, and he won’t talk to me about why he was so mad. And when I explain that he scared people, especially Quinn, he just doesn’t seem to care. That’s not like him. I made it clear to him that I refuse to simply not go places or live my life because he’s decided to act like a jerk about it, and from now on, he’ll be on lockdown with a professional nanny who isn’t nearly as nice as Quinn is.”

“What did he say to that?” I ask.

“He fuckingsneered.In my face.” She narrows her eyes and takes another sip. “For the first time in his life, I almost slapped him. So, I told him to go to sleep, and I left.”

Her phone pings with a text, and she looks at Rome. “Did you tell Dad what was going on?”

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