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That sounded way too permanent for his liking.
“I love you, too, Zoey.”
Behind her, Mary threw her arms up in the air and clutched her hair. Yeah, the timing wasn’t ideal. But he had to say it. He cleared his throat.
“You told me you love me. You need to know I love you, too. We can figure this out.”
Zoey shook her head, waving her hand weakly at him.
“I can’t do this right now. My daughter needs me.”
She hurried past him, wiping moisture from her cheeks and pulling herself tall. She was going into warrior mode to protect her family.
He wanted to cry outI need you, too!But that would be an asshole move. He wasn’t the teenager here. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of what he’d told Logan and Father Joe. It wasn’t abouthisneeds. If he really loved her, he’d give her whatsheneeded.
And right now, she needed him gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I’MGOINGTOgo live with Dad. Forever.”
Hazel’s voice was hard as diamonds. At least the sobbing had stopped. When Zoey first walked into the kitchen an hour ago, her daughter was purple faced with fury and soaked in tears. She’d railed at the top of her lungs against her mother, and Mike, and anyone else she could think of. Now she was settling into a quiet, cold rage. Zoey wasn’t sure which was worse.
She’d poured herself a mug of coffee, resisting the temptation to drink it straight from the pot. She let Hazel get everything off her chest, nodding and making small sounds of sympathy and regret. Talking would have been pointless while Hazel was raging. Besides, Zoey was still in shock from the whiplash of laughing with Mike one moment, proclaiming her love for him...and then seeing Hazel’s face when she opened the door. Mike had been swinging his shorts over his head like a cowboy swinging a lasso, stark naked in the middle of the morning. Whileshecheered him on, naked in bed. She dropped her head into her hands, muttering her words through her fingers.
“Your dad is on his honeymoon this week, so you’re stuck with me.”
She didn’t even want to think aboutthatconversation. Chris would be angry, which was understandable. She shuddered...would he use it to try to change the custody arrangement? He’d never been that kind of guy, but with Hazel so determined to live with him, he could take advantage. Hopefully things would cool down by the time he got back.
“I’ll go to Sienna’s then.” Hazel’s voice was firm. “I am not staying here.”
Zoey raised her head, taking in Hazel’s defiant stance, her arms folded tightly, chin high, eyes puffy and red. Hazel was trying to assert some control into the situation. Zoey understood, but she had to be the mom. Maybe a bad one, but she was still the mom.
“Youarestaying here. This is your home.”
“Won’t I be in the way of all your naked games with Mike? No wonder you defended Sienna’s mom so much—you were doing the same exact thing, sneaking around without telling me. You probably have more fun when I’m not around anyway, so why—”
“Stop it!” Zoey stood, waving her forefinger. “Don’t youeverthink I don’t want you here. Iloveyou. You’re angry. I deserve it. I screwed up. But what happened with Mike and me hasnothingto do with my love for you, and does not change the fact that this is your home. I promise you that.”
“Yeah, right. Just like this ismyyear. You promised me that, too, remember?” Her voice was mocking. “And the whole time, you and Mike McKinnon were slinking around and humping each other...” Her face screwed up in disgust. “Sogross. Why should I ever believe you again?”
Zoey closed her eyes, her chest pressing on her heart like a vise. This was everything she’d feared and then some. She’d broken her daughter’s trust.
“I’ve already explained why I didn’t tell you. I had no idea if Mike and I were going anywhere as an actual couple. I didn’t want to upset you if it turned out not to be serious.” They’d becomeveryserious. Inloveserious. But that was all on hold now.
She walked over to Hazel, brushing her hair away from her face and staring straight into her eyes. Hazel’s body was as taut as an overstretched guitar string, ready to snap at any moment. But she held her ground.
“Sometimes,” Zoey said softly, “we can think we’re doing the right thing and be completely wrong. I wanted to protect you, and I ended up hurting you. I know it probably won’t happen today, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Hazel’s mouth was a thin, tight line. She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor.
“I don’t even know who youare, Mom. All that talk about honesty when you were...” She took a ragged breath. “You’re no better than Sienna’s mom.” She held up her hand between them. “I can’t look at you right now. I’m going to my room.”
Hazel started to turn away, then stopped, giving Zoey a hard look.
“As soon as Dad and Genna are back, Iamgoing to move in with them.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Zoey replied. There was no way it was going to happen, but Hazel was in no mood to hear it. She left Zoey standing in the kitchen, feeling like a complete failure in every way possible.
