I’m about to sayhe’ll have me,when Cole answers for me.
“I won’t,” he says. “See you later.”
He steps onto the porch, and Jordan greets him with a smile. “Hey,bud.” She holds out her fist, and Cole bumps it with his own, a small grin sneaking onto his mouth. “You ready for a fun weekend?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess.” He turns to me. “Can I bring one of my gaming systems? Grandma said I have to ask you.”
I can feel Cece’s eyes on me, like she purposefully set this up to see how I’d respond. “How about we grab one on the way home? That way you don’t have to haul it back and forth when you come to my place.”
I glance at Jordan, who’s smiling, then back at Cece. She’s frowning and shaking her head.
Shit.Guess I failed that one.
“Cool,” Cole says, voice perking up. “Should I go get my games then?”
I know what she’s thinking—that I’ll let him game all weekend. That I’ll spoil him. That I won’t spend quality time with him. Only one of those is true.
“Nah,” I reply. “We’ll grab whatever you need.” My eyes flick to Cece’s disapproving stare. “But we’ve got fun plans for the weekend, too. So maybe just an hour a day, alright?” I pause. “And Sunday we’re going over to Jensen and Alley’s.”
“Awesome,” he says, grinning.
He looks back at his grandma one more time, then brushes past us and heads straight for the car, climbing into the backseat without another word.
Cece’s stare hardens into a glare. She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Be patient with him,” she says, like she’s suddenly an expert after spending a total of three weeks with him. “He’s been moody and emotional.”
“Makes sense, since his dad just died.” It comes out more sarcastic than I mean it to.
Cece doesn’t flinch. “He cries when he’s alone in his room. He thinks I don’t know. But I do.” She pauses. “I’m just letting you know.”
I stare at her for a beat, letting the weight of that sink in. And it cracks something open in my chest.
“Thanks for telling us,” I say quietly. And I mean it. I’m thankfulfor the honesty. For the peace offering. For her caring enough about him to sidestep however she feels about me.
Her expression shifts, an eyebrow lifting. “I also know what you’re doing.”
My jaw tightens.
“With the whole marriage thing.” Her eyes drop to Jordan’s hand tangled in mine, to the diamond on her finger. “How convenient for you to show up to the funeral suddenly married.” Her gaze shifts to Jordan. “I hope you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into,” she says flatly. “Matthew has always done what benefits him first.” She gives Jordan a once-over. “I can see how this arrangement would be very beneficial for him.”
My blood heats, ready to snap back, but Jordan speaks first.
“I’ve known Matt my whole life, Cece,” she says calmly. “And he’s the least selfish person I know.” Her grip tightens around my hand. “We’re married because we love each other. We have for a long time. We also love Cole, and if bumping up our ceremony by a year, and wanting Cole to have a stable, loving family, makes us bad people—then I guess that’s what we are.” She huffs out a breath. “Thanks for having Cole ready. We’ll be here Sunday at five to drop him off.”
With that, she turns and walks to the car, leaving me to scrape my jaw off the front porch.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
MATT
I knockon Cole’s bedroom door before pushing it open. “Alright, buddy. Time for bed.”
He’s stretched out on the bed, controller in hand. “But it’s Friday.”
“Yeah,” I say. “And it’s ten-thirty.”
He sighs, dramatic. “My dad always let me stay up till midnight.”
