AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I like him. A lot. He’s very good to me.”
She nodded, her eyes shifting with her thoughts. “It’s a shame he doesn’t want any more children. Can you imagine what your child would look like? Are you okay with that?”
I huffed out an impatient laugh. More upset with myself for entertaining her dreams without her assistance. “We’re not even at the stage where we’d be talking about that, mom.”
“Ah, but you will be! I can’t wait for the wedding!”
“Mom!” I shook her hands off and took them in mine. “Slow down. We’ve only officially been together for a couple of weeks. It’s very new.”
She pressed her lips together then pulled an imaginary zipper. “Right. Of course. Can’t scare him off!”
In the car on the way home, Ares was quiet.
“Are you okay?”
“Tired,” he sighed. “So damn tired.”
“Does socializing always make you tired?”
“Only when I’m worried I’ll put my foot in my mouth.”
I barked out a laugh. “Well, as you can see, everyone lets it all hang out. You can be yourself. That’s one good thing about my family. They’re very open and accepting.”
“That’s a pretty big thing,” he murmured.
Realizing my goof, I opened my mouth to apologize but he cut me off.
“My father called.”
My pulse jumped. “Oh, yeah? How did that go?”
“He wants to see me. Meet Sia. He’s coming over on the 26th.”
“Okay. Is he staying for dinner? Do you want me to make something special? What can I do?”
He cracked his neck. “I, uh, don’t want you there.”
What?
Of course. I had no place there.
My mind churned.
“Don’t want me to meet him or him to meet me?”
I felt his eyes on me. “It’s not you I’m ashamed of.”
“It’s not your shame.”
He pulled into the driveway, effectively ending the conversation. Inside, we transferred two sleepy girls into their beds, Brayleigh’s being a toddler bed Ares bought and set up in Sia’s room.
Climbing into bed, he pulled me across his chest and tunneled his fingers into my hair. His breathing eventually evened out and his hold loosened.
It was a long time before I slept.
It’s Not You
Hope
