Page 116 of Betting on You

“I’m sorry, did you say he’sstupid?” she asked.

“Oh no.” I shook my head, knowing what was coming, as I said, “Yes, I said Ross Poldark is stupid.”

She looked at me and grinned, and it was on. The silly, immature game we used to play had returned.

“Ross Poldark is so stupid, he went away to war and left his fiancée with his cousin,” she said, locking the door behind us as we left.

“Ross Poldark issostupid,” I said as we walked to the car, “that he scythes an entire wheat field in the heat without pulling his hair up into a man bun.”

“Ross Poldark is so stupid,” she said as she merged onto the interstate, “that he tells his wife where he’s going when he sleeps with his ex.”

When we got to Zio’s, we grabbed a table in the back room, by the big fireplace, and ordered our pizza. It felt so good, so relaxed, to be 100 percent myself because no one else was with us.

It was weird how you could spend a lot of time with someone, but if it wasn’t one-on-one, it wasn’t the same. It felt like it’d beenagessince I’d hung out with my mom, even though I spent time with her every single night.

Because Scott was always there.

He didn’tdoanything wrong when he came over, but his presence changed the vibe so much that it was unrecognizable.

I’d missed this so much.

I knew it was melodramatic, but I felt like I could breathe around my mom for the first time in so long.

“Did your dad tell you he’s moving?” she asked.

“What?”I hadn’t meant to say it so loudly, but I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was moving?

I looked at my mom, and her expression said it all. He was moving and just hadn’t gotten around to telling me yet. I wasn’t sure what was more depressing—the fact that I might never go into my childhood home again, or the fact that my father hadn’t even thought to tell me.

“He sold the house and is moving to an apartment in the city—you seriously didn’t know?”

I shook my head and felt numb as I pictured the living room where Santa had left my Barbie house when I was six and where my parents had laughed hysterically—together—as I screamed with joy. “No.”

“I thought he would’ve told you right away,” she said, looking concerned. “When was the last time you talked to him?”

“Um, like, a few months ago…?”

“What?”She looked instantly worried and leaned a little closer. “Did you two have a disagreement or something? How come it’s been so long?”

“No argument,” I said, trying to act like I wasn’t freaking out inside. “I just, um, I was always the one calling him first, so Idecided to let him take the lead. You know, I figured I’d wait until he called.”

“And he hasn’t called in months? Oh, honey.” My mom came around the table, sat down in the chair beside me, and gave me a side hug. “What the hell is the matter with him?”

I shrugged and didn’t know what to say, but telling her somehow made his absence better. Less painful. She was part of our trio, so she knew him, knewus, which made it feel like she knew exactly how bad it felt.

“Surprise!”

Gahhh!I put my hand on my chest, startled, and looked away from my mom’s understanding gaze to see Scott, grinning at us like it’d been years since he’d seen us. He was wearing a suit and tie, all dressed up, and it felt clownish because he’d interrupted something important.

What in the ever-loving hell?

I gritted my teeth, overcome with bitterness that he was there. The most we’d been able to enjoy was a few random hours before Scott was back in our lives.

My mom let go of me and squealed, also like she hadn’t seenhimin an age, and she excitedly asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted some pizza,” he said, still with the huge smile.

“Oh my gosh—sit down,” she said, so happy to see him. “There’s plenty of room.”

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