Page 67 of The Heartbreaker Next Door

Hearing him say those words caused my stomach to drop.

A lull hovered, the kind that made you think of all the things you should say and none of the things you actually would. Then, it just became too much. “You know, if you’re regretting getting involved… you can say so. I know it’s a lot and wouldn’t blame you.”

That made him flinch, almost imperceptibly. “I don’t regret it.”

“Really?” Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe it was the weight of two straight weeks of sleepless nights, tossing and turning, but the words tumbled out before I could catch them. “You act like every time you’re around me you’re doing me a favor you’d rather not be doing.”

A long silence followed, and I regretted saying too much, but there was no way to take it back. He looked down at the ground and I braced myself for the reality that he might just walk out the door and never come back. From experience, men didn’t appreciate being nagged at, and we weren’t even in a real relationship.

When he finally looked back up at me, I could see pain in his eyes. “I don't know what I'm allowed to want here.”

“What do you want?” I managed to ask, despite not feeling like I could breathe.

Before he could respond, Dean’s phone rang so loud I nearly jumped out of my skin. He didn’t look at the screen—just answered it with a barked, “Yeah,” like whoever was on the other end was an inconvenience he’d quickly get rid of. When I heard Selma’s voice coming through, muffled but insistent, I knew our conversation was over, for now.

“Where are you?” she demanded. “Where is Felicity? Are you picking her up or is she meeting you?”

“I’m here picking her up, we’re waiting for Maverick to get home,” he said, and I knew by the slight tightening of his jaw that this update was not well-received.

“When is he expected back?” Selma followed up.

“He was supposed to be back at two.”

“At two?” Dean repeated, his demeanor changing. “Have you tried to call him?”

I nodded. “He wasn’t answering, and now it’s going straight to voicemail.”

“No, that’s not okay,” Selma clipped.

“He does this sometimes.” All the time. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

“Where were they going?” Dean asked.

“They were supposed to go to the beach,” I explained.

“Okay, I’m calling your brothers.”

The line disconnected.

“She doesn’t have to do that.”

Dean didn’t acknowledge me, he just scrolled his phone and then called someone.

“Are you calling her back?”

“No,” he said, and then I heard a man’s voice on the line.

“Lockhart, what’s up?”

“Felicity’s ex had her son today and he was supposed to back at two. She tried calling, but it’s going straight to voicemail.”

Who was he talking to? Selma said she’d call his brothers, I had no clue who else he could possibly call.

“Does she have custody?”

“Full physical custody, they share legal,” Dean responded.

We’d talked about my custody arrangement over a month ago, I was surprised he remembered.