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He was my best friend’s dad.
I stood up, adrenaline hitting me all at once. I was still naked, standing there staring at Rome, fire in his eyes, both of us like volcanoes about to blow.
“Justin is going to fucking kill me,” I said.
6
ROME
I pinned Casey with my gaze. “Justin isn’t going to kill you, because he’snevergoing to find out.”
I caught myself glancing back at the Christmas tree again, my eyes landing on the ornament that had changed the entire course of my evening. Hell, the entire course of mylife.
From now on, this night would be a part of my past. The night I’d fooled around with my son’s best friend under his Christmas tree. I turned away, looking at Casey’s blue couch, at the rug, at anything other than the goddamn ornament again. Everything felt surreal, like I was watching someone else’s life unfold, instead of my own.
Because I wouldn’t do something like this. And yet I’d already done it.
“I can’t keep a secret from him,” Casey said. “I tell him everything. Literally everything. He remembers more about my past hookups than I do.”
“Well, Idon’ttell him everything, because he’s my son. It’s not going to happen,” I said sternly.
“Fuck,” Casey hissed. “Fine. Okay. Yes. I won’t tell Justin, and it’ll be the only secret I ever keep from him.”
“Good.”
“Notgood,” he snapped back. “I want to be honest with him.”
I turned back to him, feeling like each and every emotional wall inside me was starting to crumble.
“Can you please put some clothes on, Casey?” I asked. I didn’t bother trying to hide the pleading tone from my voice.
Luckily, he obliged. It was easier to look at him with clothes on—not because I hadn’t enjoyed seeing him naked. I’d enjoyed ittoomuch. And now it just felt like a slap in the face to be confronted with the raw desire I’d had for someone I never should have been involved with at all.
He pulled in a long breath, running his fingers through his hair.
“Just come with me into the kitchen for a minute,” he said. “Do you want something to drink?”
“I don’t know if I want a neat gallon of whiskey right now or if I should never consume alcohol in your presence again,” I said, only slightly joking. “Maybe one shot of whiskey, and then some water, too.”
“I can do that for you,” Casey said with a nod. “Come on.”
He led me around the corner of the room into the kitchen I’d already heard so much about. It very much looked like it was under construction, with wood panels stacked against one wall, portions of the countertops covered in plastic, and various contractor’s tools in one corner.
I felt like I was walking through a surreal dream as I looked around, now.
How had I gotten here?
How the fuck was he Justin’s best friend?
He reached up into a cabinet, procuring a bottle of whiskey and pouring small amounts for each of us into two small ceramic coffee mugs. One mug had a small picture of a Great Dane on it, and the other had a picture of a Chihuahua.
“Forgive the lack of glasses,” Casey said, handing me the Chihuahua mug. “I haven’t exactly gotten around to getting all the new stuff I need for this house yet.”
I stared at the picture on my mug, grateful to think about anything else. The dog may have looked like a tiny rat, but a very cute rat, nonetheless. “Do you know these dogs, or did you somehow acquire two random mugs with the biggest and smallest dogs on them?”
“They’re my grandparents’ dogs. A Chihuahua named Cheeky and a Great Dane named Boat.”
“They named their dogBoat?”
