No matter how much that’ll give my own mother indigestion and a heart attack and probably an aneurysm too.
Bash pulls away from Emma. “I go pway side!” He takes off for a swing set between the edge of the patio and the forest behind the house, and Zen and Lucky—Ithinkthat’s Lucky—close ranks to follow him.
The back door slams again. “Oh. You’re here. Hi. I’m—”
“Decker,” the real Decker answers for him. I read that report right, didn’t I?
“Decker,” the real Jack echoes.
“Would you three knock it off?” Emma whispers.
“No,” two of them reply together.
A large spatula slaps my chest.
“Time to learn, Hollywood,” Theo says.
It is.
But not how to grill.
I need to learn how to be a father.
18
Emma
I have never,ever, ever felt more awkward in my entire life.
Ever.
And yes, that includes the hours that I spent having total strangers stare and whisper at me when I didn’t realize everyone on the planet with a smart phone or internet connection had seen me jilt my groom when I was supposed to be saying my wedding vows.
“This was a bad idea,” I whisper to Laney and Sabrina when we duck inside to grab the rest of the food. Theo’s holding Jonas captive at the grill. Bash is under the watchful eyes of Zen and the triplets at the swing set. Grey and my dad have re-started their ridiculous conversation about if it’s possible to taxidermy a bee, which is what they always do when they want to make people uncomfortable.
They did it the first time Chandler tried to talk to me in public after our breakup.
That was funny.
This is possibly not.
“This was the best idea,” Sabrina replies.
“The triplets might’ve been overkill,” Laney says, “but even though I know you could’ve handled introducing Bash to Jonas all on your own, I’m glad we’re able to be here for you.”
Sabrina snorts. “I would’ve found a way to spy no matter what, so I’m glad you invited us.”
I hug them both. “I don’t think I could do this without you.”
“Yes, you could,” Laney says.
But Sabrina makes a face.
Abadface.
You wouldn’t know it was a bad face if you didn’t know her as well as I do, but I know that face.
She knows something.
