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Her bottom lip trembles, but she manages to lift her chin and nod. “Yeah. I think it will be.”
“Hey, you should come for dinner,” I blurt out before I really get a chance to think about it, and it surprises us both. But I stick with it. “I moved out of my mom’s. So did the girls, but we’re staying with the Bateses.”
“Wait. You moved?”
I nod, my expression going grim. “Mary ended up hurt. Elliot...” My hands clench at my sides. “The fucker pushed her and bruised her head when I wasn’t there. We left. Adam and I—we took the girls to his parents, and they’re taking care of them for a little while until I can get everything settled.”
“Is Mary okay?” she asks with sincere concern.
I smile now and nod. “Yeah, she’s okay. She’s happier than I’ve ever seen her. She really loves Adam’s mom.”
That makes Chloe smile. “Yeah, she seems really nice.”
“She is,” I confirm. “Anyway, I’m staying with Adam in the world’s ugliest camper while he builds his house out there. You should come over for dinner tonight.”
“Um...” She looks conflicted and nervous. I can’t really blame her. But she needs a friend, and that’s what I should have been to her all this time. “I need to pick up my sister.”
I nod, understanding all too well what it’s like being responsible for a sibling. “Is your mom working tonight?”
She shakes her head. “No. She had the day shift, but I need to get my sister and wait until Mom gets home around seven.”
I squeeze her shoulder gently. “Come over. Okay?”
She studies me closely and a tear slides down her cheek. “Why are you being so nice to me? I was horrible to you.”
“I deserved it and more, Chloe. I don’t blame you at all for being mad.”
She sniffles and wipes at her face. “I’m sorry. I know what I had in you, Zach, and I was so upset I lost it.”
“You didn’t lose me,” I say firmly, and I mean it. “We just...” I sigh loudly. “We didn’t fit. But you don’t need anyone to take care of you Chloe. And you know I’ll be your friend.”
She smiles brightly at that, which reminds me of the girl she was before we started dating and things went south. “Okay. I’ll be there.”
And I should maybe regret that, but I only feel lighter as I walk to my truck to go tell my boyfriend I invited my ex to dinner.
THIRTY-TWO
ADAM
Finally. He’s home. And yes, I’m totally becoming that guy who waits for his man to get home. And no, I do not care at all.
Zach walks through the door, and I immediately light up as I climb off the bed and walk over to him, grasping his face and welcoming him home with a passionate kiss. My hands roam over him, and we get lost in it before his move to my chest. “I need to tell you something.”
I pull back, hearing the worry in his tone instantly. “What’s the matter?”
“Um, nothing?” His voice pitches high, and I don’t know if I should laugh or be worried.
“What did you do?” I go on instinct and can’t fight the grin.
“I may have invited Chloe to dinner tonight?” He says it like a question, and this time I do laugh, but it’s almost a disturbed sound.
“Chloe? Your ex-girlfriend, Chloe? The one who hates you and has made your life hell for a year? That one?”
He steps back from me a little, but his thumbs hook in my belt loops. “She had every right to hate me.” I open my mouth to argue with him, but he lifts one of his hands, placing two fingers over my mouth to silence me. “She did, and she needs a friend.”
He lowers his hand again and puts his thumb back through my belt loop. “A friend.
“She grew up like me, Adam. Her mom is a single mom, trying to make it and is hardly ever home. She takes care of her little sister. She needs a friend.”
