Page 51 of The Moment I Knew

“Huh,” Cole said.

I was surprised by how easily he accepted it. He lapsed back into silence for a few steps.

Then he said, “So who is it really that you’re meeting up with?”

I looked at him in disbelief. “I just told you.”

“Yeah, and I’m not buying a word of that,” he said. “So come on. Seriously. I’m gonna keep guessing secret lover until you admit it.”

“I don’t have a secret lover,” I snapped. “And can we stop using that word? If anything, it’d be a secret boyfriend.”

“Well, clearly he’s not a boyfriend if you’re going on dates with other guys,” he said.

He ran a hand through his hair, stretching a little as he did, and I tried very hard not to notice the way his shirt rode up, exposing a narrow strip of skin at his waist.

Definitely not looking.

“So,” he continued, “if it’s not a secret lover⁠—”

“Boyfriend,” I corrected.

“—then who is it?” he said. “Because I don’t believe the friend thing for a second. Unless it’s, like, a really, really bad-influence friend.” His eyes widened. “Is it your drug dealer?” he whispered.

I laughed despite myself. “Yep. You caught me. Imogen Novak. Total drughead.”

He grinned. “Come on. Tell me.”

I sighed. The answer had been sitting heavy in my chest for months. The fact that I was meeting my dad in secret, that no one knew except me—and Lavender, who very clearly didn’t support it. I wondered what Cole would think if he knew the whole story. If he’d see my side of it. Or if he’d look at me the way my siblings did, like I was stupid for not cutting him out completely.

I swallowed and dropped my gaze. “My dad.”

“What was that?” he asked, leaning in and cupping a hand over his ear.

I sighed again, louder this time. “I’m meeting up with my dad.”

Cole stopped short. “Your dad? You have to meet up with your dad in a parking lot?”

“Uh-huh.”

I didn’t stop with him, both because I wanted to get home after this awful night and because I knew that if I stopped and put any thought into this, I would know it was a bad idea. Cole was the last person in the world I should be telling about my messy home life. Heaven only knew what he would do with the information once he knew. But I was so tired of holding it in for so long, for having nobody to confide in. Sure, Lavender knew what I was up to and tried to act neutral about it, but I’d have to be blind not to see that she disapproved. What would it be like to tell someone so disconnected from my world? Someone who had no preconceived notions, who might understand my point of view?

Unless he didn’t want to know.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” I said hastily, since he hadn’t responded in a while. I turned back to look at him, where he was still a few paces back, looking at me curiously. He hurried forward to catch up with me, matching me step for step again.

“Why would you need to meet up with him so secretly?”

Now would be the time to tell him a sugar-coated version of the truth. To say that my parents were recently divorced and the rest of my family wasn’t ready to see him again. It wasn’t really a lie and it would answer his question enough.

Instead, the full truth came tumbling out all at once. “Because he cheated on my mom, moved in with his mistress, and none of my siblings will talk to him.” Saying it so plainly felt strange—almost wrong—but also easier than I expected. “I’m trying to convince him to come back,” I added. “I mean, I need him to break up with Hilary first, but⁠—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Cole interrupted. “He cheated on your mom, and you’re trying to get them back together?”

“Yes,” I said, glaring at him.

“Why?” he asked, genuinely stunned.

I stared back. “If your parents weren’t together, wouldn’t you do everything you could to fix it? To make sure they could have a good marriage again?”