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“Hey.”
My eyes snap to him, and seeing his outstretched hand, I take it, giving a tiny squeeze as I do.
“You’re not your mom, Leigh. However Abuelita reacts, whatever she might say, she loves you. You’ll find your way through. But the longer you go without telling her, the worse it’ll be. Maia got through it with her mom. My relationship with my dad has always been complicated, but I know he loves me. That love is what will get you through it.”
“Again, I ask, how did you get so wise?”
“Because I was a raging asshole, crashed my truck into a tree, and you’re all still here. You might be angry, but you’re all still supporting me. Loving me. If everyone can do that for me, you and Abuelita will be fine.”
The door swings open as Nick walks back in.
“Tell her,” Braden whispers. Then he leans back like nothing happened. I muster all my strength and put my mask back on, smiling at him like we just shared a joke.
“Everything okay?” I ask, looking at Nick, who is still staring at his phone.
Not nearly as good at hiding things as I am, he thinly veils the look of pain on his face. “Yeah, just a weird call with my dad.”
Braden and I exchange a glance, and he gives me a slight nod.
“Well, why don’t you tell me about it in the car?”
Nick looks from me to Braden. “That okay? I know we didn’t get to hang out much.”
“It’s fine. Maia will be here soon with Harper, anyway.”
“Okay. Well, text me if you get bored later.”
“Will do. Have a good night.”
“Night,” Nick says.
I walk over and give Braden a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper. Then I turn and walk over to Nick, sliding my arm around his outstretched elbow.
I want to find out what’s going on with him, but I also need to talk to Abuelita. I’m tired of this hanging over me.I can do this.
I glance at Nick, taking in his chiseled jawline dotted with dark brown stubble. My eyes trail down to his hand, fingers locked tightly around mine.
Wecan do this.
I roll my fingers through Nick’s hair, attempting to comfort him. I should’ve driven. He keeps pulling one hand off the steering wheel, cracking his knuckles, then doing the same thing with the other hand.
“Are you upset they had that conversation without you?” I ask. I know the subject of his biological mother’s death is tricky. He was so young that he doesn’t really remember her, but it set off a chain of events that changed his life. I didn’t realize that neither he nor Vince knew the extent of what happened that day. Now, I guess, Vince does.
His eyes snap to me for a second before going back to the road. He taps his thumb against the steering wheel several times. “No. Not exactly. I mean—I never felt that was something I needed to know. If Vince did, that’s fine. But now I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t know and even though I don’t want to know, I feel like I should.” He swipes his hand over his brow. “I sound ridiculous.”
“No. Not at all. It’s a complicated subject with deep trigger points for you. I think you need to clear your mind about who knows what and focus on what you want to know, how knowing would affect the way you look at the situation. You don’t need to decide anything right now.”
He glances at me again, this time a smile pulls at his lips. He drops his hand off the steering wheel again, but instead of cracking his knuckles, he grabs my hand and threads his fingers through mine, lifting our hands and kissing the back of mine.
“Thank you. You always know the right thing to say when I’m spiraling.”
“You do the same for me, baby.” I take a big inhale. I know I’m going to need that. “Not to add more to your mind right now, but… I want to tell Abuelita. When we get home.”
His eyes widen dramatically, but stay on the road. When we stop at a red light, he turns to look at me. “What the hell did Braden say to you while I was gone?”
My lips pull into a flat line. “Nothing specific. He’s just… the same way I give him tough love, he gives me tough love.”
An eyebrow raises, and he shakes his head as the car moves forward again. “Braden’s in a position to give tough love?”
