“Oh, look who decided to join us.” Bridget strolls past me and Easton, but then she pauses and glances back. Her eyes dart between the two of us.
I’m breathing too hard, and my cheeks feel flushed. Easton turns to pull his jacket off the barstool, but tension ripples through his arms and back.
“Eva,” Bridget says, gaze narrowing on me. “You slept in awfully late.”
Easton falters halfway through slipping an arm into his jacket.
“Yeah.” I swallow. “I’m sorry I missed your coffee. I had trouble sleeping.”
“Hmm. So much trouble you didn’t think to shut your bedroom door?”
My palms sweat, and I glance toward Easton in shock.Shit.How stupid do I have to be to leave my door open? One peek is all it would have taken for her to know I wasn’t there.
“Very unlike you.”
I open my mouth. “I—I—”
“The latch on my door has been a pain lately,” Easton says, pulling his hoodie over his head. He looks at his mom before he grabs his backpack. “Wouldn’t be surprised if hers needs to be looked at too.”
Bridget’s brows knit. “Is that the case, Eva?”
I nod stiffly.
“Easton.” She keeps her attention on me. “Give me your phone, please.”
He pauses mid-step, looks over his shoulder at Bridget. “What?”
“I believe I was clear the first time.”
Easton runs his teeth along his lower lip, but after a second, he zips open his backpack, grabs the phone, and tosses it to her.
I watch her scroll through his phone with unease in my stomach. Glancing at Easton, I silently beg him to give me something,anything. Some clue as to what the hell’s going on. But his focus remains on Bridget. He really is a pro at ignoring me when he wants to.
I force my gaze back to Bridget to see her set the phone on the island countertop. Then, aring, ring, ring,blares through the speaker.
Easton’s throat moves up and down, lips pressing together.
He’snervous.
Shit.
“Hey.”
I place the voice at the same moment Bridget says, “Hello, Whitney. This is Easton’s mother.”
Easton’s jaw tick, tick, ticks.
My heart thuds against my rib cage.
“Oh. Um, good morning, Mrs. Rutherford.”
“Good morning. I apologize for the unexpected call, but Easton tells me you stayed over last night.” She pauses, looks at me, and the silence bleeds through my ears.
“What?”
Bridget’s brows rise, and my heart beats faster. “You stayed over, did you not?”
Whitney’s brief pause feels like an eternity. “Oh, right. I’m ... I’m sorry I missed you. I slipped out early to shower and change.”
