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“Can you answer it? It’s probably just Molly, coming for her painting. I only brought a few of the small ones over to show her after I met with Aiden. I had the rest on my phone and she chose the large one I did of Silver Lake Harbor.”
“Molly bought your painting, sight unseen?” he asked.
I only nodded.
“Marin, that’s amazing.”
“Really? You don’t think she’s just being nice?”
He shook his head. “No, she doesn’t just put anything up in that inn. It’s her family legacy. I think you should consider that a huge compliment.”
I felt both embarrassed and proud at the same time. “Well, go answer the door so I can get paid,” I suggested.
He slapped my butt before I could get away and was rewarded with a giddy yelp.
I heard him chuckle as I fled down the hallway.
Just as I rounded the corner to the bedroom, the sound of that creaky door opened, and I heard a very familiar voice.
But it wasn’t Molly.
It was my mother.
Oh shit.
* * *
I threw on a pair of shorts and a shirt as quickly as humanly possible, but I highly doubted it took a rocket scientist to figure out what Macon and I had been up to.
Early morning, wet hair, and mismatched clothing.
Why, yes, Mom and Dad…we did just have sex. Come on in, won’t you?
“Hi, Mama,” I said, racing out of the bedroom, haphazardly trying to fix my hair. “Hi, Papa.”
“Liebling,” my dad said. No hello. No hug. Justliebling.
God, I felt like I was sixteen all over again, coming in late from curfew.
Macon cleared his throat and then awkwardly said, “I think I’m going to give you three some alone time.”
When his eyes found mine, I felt my heart plummet.
He tried to hide it, but I saw it. The flash of hurt in his eyes.
Just last night, I’d told him he wasn’t some dirty secret, and here were my parents, not twelve hours later, showing up at my doorstep, completely unaware of his existence.
Like I was ashamed of him and everything that had happened between us.
I’d told my parents about my breakup with Curtis, but I’d left out the most important detail—that I’d met someone else.
Someone incredible and kind. Someone I’d fallen in love with.
The realization hit me with a jolt.
Oh God, I really did love him.
And I’d failed him because, like Elena had said, I was scared of others’ reactions.
