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“You impregnated me when I was her age. It was more than your hands on me. She’s an adult. She has sex, Declan. Accept it.”
“I will do no such thing. He’s a lowlife. I know guys like him. Iwashim.”
“Is it Collin? Carter’s friend?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“I suspected.”
“She’s a fool for falling for his bullshit lines.”
“Jade is a lot of things, but a fool isn’t one of them. Because of us, she’s never let a man in before. Now she finally has, and you throw the poor kid through a glass wall. Are you insane?”
“He’s no kid. He’s nearly forty. He’s more age appropriate for you than her.”
I see headlights shine in my driveway. It’s Jade’s car. “She’s pulling in now.”
“I’m on my way.”
“No. Don’t even think about it. She’ll want to sleep here with me tonight. Come by in the morning after she’s calmed down and had time to think. Don’t come tonight, Declan. I mean it.”
“But—”
I hear Melissa in the background. “Listen to Amanda. She’s her mother. She knows what’s best. We’ll go by first thing in the morning.”
She’s so level-headed. I don’t know how she puts up with him.
He sighs. “Fine. If anything changes, call me.”
“I will.”
I end the call just as Jade walks in the door. I hold my arms open for her. She collapses into me. “You heard?”
“Yes, Melissa called me. She figured you were on your way here.”
She stands back to her full height. “Are you two besties now?”
“No, but we both love you and care about you. It sounds like we’re not the only ones.”
Her face drops. “She told you about that?”
“Yes. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We were supposed to be casual.”
“Well, him professing his love for you in front of everyone doesn’t sound very casual to me. Why did you leave?”
She hangs her head. “It was too intense.”
I cross my arms. For a smart woman, she’s not very smart about certain things. “He told you he loves you and you walked away?”
She shouts, “Yes, I’m fucked up. You know this about me. That’s why you’ve had me in therapy since I was eight.”
She doesn’t get it. “I had you in therapy to deal with the anger you had for your father. You wouldn’t talk to me, so I hoped you’d talk to her. Jade, you could have stopped at any point. Certainly, once you became an adult. Whether you admit it or not, you want to get past whatever ails you. Whatever has held you back from being in a real relationship all these years. Do you love him?”
She’s silent for a bit before she croaks out, “I might. But what if he leaves me?”
This is my fault. She fears all men will leave because that’s all she saw from me.
