AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh my gosh, Sloane,” Jamie says with a squeal before launching herself at me. “What a surprise!”
A surprise?
What the hell, Dempsey?
“I, uh, I…” I trail off, feeling stupid as she hugs me.
“I invited them, Mom,” Dempsey calls out from inside. “I knew you’d be happy.”
Jamie pulls back and stares at me as though she can’t believe I’m here. I come here sometimes. Okay, so maybe only on special occasions or when the Parks have trouble they need help with. But still, it’s not that much of a shock.
“And who is this guy?” Jamie asks, turning her attention to Kaden. “He looks like you when we first met.”
“I’m her nephew, Kaden.” He offers her his hand, standing tall and smiling wide. “Nice to meet you.”
Kaden is a good kid, but this is different. It’s then I realize he thinks Jamie is hot. Ugh, boys are so weird sometimes.
After Jamie introduces herself, she ushers us inside. Kaden’s crush on Jamie is squashed the second he sees Gemma.
“Oh shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Oh shit.”
I glance down at my panicked nephew. “Don’t say shit and what’s wrong?”
His face turns beet red and he stares unabashedly at Gemma. “It’s Gemma.”
“You know her?”
I mean, it’s possible he knew her from school maybe. Except, I’m pretty sure he’s in middle school which means they wouldn’t have seen each other. Actually, I don’t even know what grade Kaden is in. Crap, another thing to figure out before school starts back up in the fall.
“GemmaParkLovesUx2.”
I wait for him to elaborate, staring at him in confusion.
“She’s an influencer,” he hisses. “She legit has almost a million followers.”
Ahhh.
I still don’t know exactly what an influencer is, but apparently, Kaden does. And it’s a big deal to a thirteen-year-old.
“So basically a celebrity?” I ask, clarifying before I put my foot in my mouth.
“Yes. Oh my God, she’s so pretty in real life.”
Gemma, face buried in her phone, finally realizes she has guests. When she sees us, she grins happily. Kaden withers where he stands, clearly at a loss for what to do.
“This is my nephew, Kaden, and he’s a huge fan,” I tell her, motioning at him. “He’s in shock.”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Kaden glowers at me, humiliation turning his cheeks even redder. I’ve seen the same look on his mother’s face a time or two. Well, crap. I really am sucky at this kid stuff.
Dempsey swoops in and saves the day, thankfully.
“Want to see my pool table?” he asks Kaden, ignoring his sister and my faux pas altogether. “We have a mini fridge in the game room and like a million different kinds of snacks.”
Kaden practically bolts out of the room on Dempsey’s heels. Gemma chews thoughtfully on her bottom lip while Jamie runs her fingers through her daughter’s long, dark hair.
“He’s adorable, Sloane. Is he visiting for the summer?”
I like that answer. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s a lot better than his mother abandoned him and he needed rescuing.
