Page 62 of Something Like That

Em’s lips turned down in a frown that morphed into a pout. “But, Mom…” And there was the whine, the one that grated on her nerves, like rubbing velvet against the grain. Em seemed to realize her mistake, shifting tactics on the fly. “If I go with Keisha, you and Nick could go out for a nice, romantic dinner.”

The way she emphasized romantic was awfully cute, but Alex refused to be swayed. She lifted an eyebrow.

“Please, Mom?” Em batted her eyelashes. Alex softened. This girl knew exactly how to wrap her around her cute, little pinky finger.

She sighed. Em grinned, knowing she’d won. She did have the sense to wipe the grin off her face pretty quickly though. There was only so much flaunting Alex would take before she was pushed a touch too far.

“Fine.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go. But this just means I’m adding an extra day onto the end of your punishment.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Em leaned in and planted a kiss on Alex’s cheek. “You’re to best.”

Em pulled back, and Alex wagged her finger in her daughter’s face. “And,” she said. “Be home by ten.”

“Got it.” Em nodded. “Have fun with Nick.” She wagged her eyebrows, or at least she tried. And failed miserably. Was she the cutest daughter ever, or what?

Em spun and headed toward the corridor that led to the dressing rooms. After a couple of steps, she stopped and turned back around. “Oh, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” The sing-songy tease echoed through the lobby.

Alex’s cheeks prickled. No doubt she was all splotchy. Em hurried off, disappearing into the crowd. The bright sound of her laughter lingered even after the door swung closed behind her.

That girl. What was she going to do with her? Except for love the crap out of her.

Nick walked over, stuffing his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. The ones that sat low on his hips and cupped his butt perfectly. Not that she’s been looking… much.

“Where’s Em?” He glanced around the lobby.

“She’s going out with the team.” She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. Why was she so nervous? Oh, maybe because they’d made out like horny teenagers in her car. “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight.”

He shoved his hands in his coat pockets. “Actually, the call I just got was from a friend of mine who happens to be in town tonight…” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his feet.

A weird pang of defeat bounced through her. Yeah, she might be nervous or anxious or whatever, but she’d been looking forward to… more. And even if nothing happened in the sex department, she still liked hanging out with him.

“Okay.” She tried hard to keep the misery out of her voice. She wasn’t sure how well she managed. It still sounded pretty pathetic to her own ears. “Well, have a good time. I guess I’ll see you Monday.”

She spun around, hoping he hadn’t seen her disappointment. Which wasn’t likely. She was pretty sure she was forecasting all of her emotions. The news about the clinic yesterday had really thrown her. She’d been hoping to use going out with Em and Nick tonight as a distraction. Looked like she’d be spending the evening at home.

Alone.

Again.

An emotion she refused to acknowledge as sadness, welled up in her. She tried to swallow it down, but the medicine-ball-sized lump in her throat refused to budge. Just get to the car. Once she was safely tucked away, she could cry or scream or whatever it was her body wanted to do to process all of her wayward feelings.

She hurried around the people lingering in the lobby and out the door. The sun was shining today, bright and cheery. It should have made her feel better, but it didn’t. She just felt defeated. Beat down. Sad.

Someone grabbed her arm.

“Hold on a minute.” The concern in Nick’s voice made her chest ache in that way that always happened right before she burst into tears. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing, pushing, pushing her emotions down. Forcing them away to deal with later.

She stopped but refused to turn around. It was all just too hard. Too much. She swallowed again. This time, the lump cooperated, sliding painfully down her throat to sit in her stomach like a big ball of lead.

He used his hold on her elbow to hustle her around the side of the building, out of the view of everyone. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and he had the fiercest frown on his face. “Where are you going?”

“Home?” It came out as more of a question, mainly because she’d thought it was pretty obvious.

He sighed, the sound full of exasperation. “We really need to work on our communication skills.”

She gave him what she hoped was the stink-eye. It must have worked because he shoved his hand through his hair and glanced away for a second. “Okay, so I need to work on my communication skills.” He gave a partial shrug and sighed.

It was super cute and a bit of the tension inside her—well, it didn’t ease, but it shifted, felt a little less pressing, a little less suffocating. She felt like she could maybe breathe.