I never understood the expression “he drank me in” until this moment. That was exactly what he was doing ... I felt myself pour into his body.
“Piper invited me, so I couldn’t say no.”
I nodded. “And the phone? You couldn’t say no to that either?”
“Let me explain,” Aston said, coming close.
“You don’t have to. No worries, seriously. Plus, I need to finish this salad.”
The closer he got to me, the more I felt myself caving. I wanted him to hold me. I needed him to tell me everything was fine. Better than fine. Good or great.
My heart beat furiously at the idea of the two of us really being together.
“Are you starving, Pipe?” he asked.
“Piper,” I said, correcting him.
“Pipe’s okay, Mom.”
When did I lose control?
“Um, I have homework. ’Bye,” she said, slipping out of the kitchen.
I turned toward Aston and gave him an accusing look. “You two are in collusion.”
“We are. Why? Because my daughter is smart, and she knows what’s best. I want to be with her mother, and she wants that too.”
“Aston,” I said, unable to come up with a better response.
“Don’t. I’ve given you space, and now it’s time to let me back in,” he said while his finger traced its way up my arm, stopping to tap over my heart. “In here.”
“You’ve always been there. You never left,” I said, having a weak moment.
“I know. We were meant to be together, and now we are. We will be.”
“What about your dad?”
“Fuck him. I’m done with him.”
“You can’t just say that. You did whatever he wanted for years.”
“I did. My mom told me to, and I jumped. It was wrong of me. I should’ve made you the priority.”
“Whatever. I can’t have this same discussion again. It happened.”
“Know this, Peter’s out of our lives. We’ll keep in touch with Nan, though, if that’s okay?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She just saved your behind. Of course.”
“Exactly, and here I am. I want to start over, but with all these feelings. Let them grow.”
“Well, there are a lot of kids between us ...”
“Pretty sure Mara and Little A are happy about us getting together. They love your kids, and they’re down to one visit per month with Cass. It’s all she wanted, and it hurts them a lot.”
“What?” I felt the blood drain out of my face. “What kind of mother does that?”
“Cass. And Tyler is part of the gang. He’s dealing with Seth moving on, so we’re an island for him.”
