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But my princess understanding who and what she is and what she’s worth is important, even if I lose her.
Because if she wants me, she should choose me, not be forced into it.
“Thanks, Vic,” I say, getting up. I face Sidney’s mom. “I fucked up with her. I said I did something to keep her safe, but really it’s not better than anything you did. Just a different cage.”
“What did you do? Cheat? She needs a quiet man—”
“Shut up, please,” I say. “Sidney doesn’t need that. She doesn’t need a damn thing but to work out what she needs and wants. And first, that means space. Not you. Not me. But you got the fuckin’ advantage.”
I can feel Sidney drilling into me with her gaze, but I don’t dare turn.
“What’s that?” her mother asks.
“You. You’re her mother. You’ll always have that bond. No matter what.”
“She needs to stop embarrassing me.”
Oh, fucking hell, this woman. She’s not actually evil, not like the pieces of shits that Dakota’s family is, or what I suspect Sarah’s ex is like, but she’s a self-entitled creature whose life must be so empty that she needs to control her daughter’s under the pretense of doing the right thing, or whatever her real reasons are.
It doesn’t matter.
It all comes down to the same thing.
Sidney’s right. The woman wants to cage her like I did by accident.
“You’re so wrong,” I say. “Sidney’s not an embarrassment. She’s a flame, a shining light. She’s something that can’t be pinned down. She’s a wildfire.”
Applause explodes behind me.
“Well done, Mack,” Vic says. “Maybe I’ll get a tattoo in your honor.”
Mrs. Novak looks scandalized. “Mother.”
“Shut up, dear.”
“Well.” Sidney’s mom flounces to the door, stops, and looks at her daughter. I look too. Sidney doesn’t say a thing. “Well. Just wait until your father hears about this.”
And she flounces off.
“Don’t worry about it,” Vic says. “Your dad won’t care. And she’ll get over it.”
I clear my throat. “Guess I should get your car.”
“I’ll wait outside for you kids.” Vic shoos us to the door.
We go down, and Vic stays behind as we walk to Danny’s. I’m trying to find the words because I think I’ve gone and fallen a little in love with Sidney.
Maybe it’s a lot, but it’s hard to tell. This whole thing is like purple people eating cats from outer space that have developed pink and sparkly spots. Crazy. Surreal.
The closer we get, the more the ground is like quicksand, sucking at my feet.
“Sidney,” I say. “I’m sorry. I guess I do that a lot around you. But I haven’t met someone like you before. You just keep making everything new and unexpected. And I screw up. But maybe you’re right. Maybe I was trying to cage you without meaning to.
She doesn’t speak, and my chest gets tight.
“I just . . . I’m not the fuckin’ kind of guy to let things lie. I protect. I’m laid back except where it counts, and where it counts are all the areas you have a problem with.” I pause. A lot in love? I think I’m completely in love with her. “And you’re just passing through, right?”
“Right.”
