Page 118 of The Plus One Pact

"But still leather and oak?"

He nods yes.

"How old were you when you moved here?" I ask.

"He was fifteen," he says. "I was thirteen."

"Was it strange, having all that money, all of a sudden?"

"We didn't have as much as you'd think," he says. "Once we paid off the mortgage and put aside enough for school and property taxes, we had the house and that was it. But it was still strange. Like I was visiting a world I'd only dreamed about."

He looks to the door as footsteps move down the hall. Cynthia and Daniel, from the sound of it. They're moving fast but not in a rushed, frantic way.

They seem more at ease right now.

Or maybe I don't have a good gauge on this at all.

"We don't have to play Mom's game," Romeo says. "But we can. If you want."

"Do you have something to confess?" There's a playfulness to my voice. I don't expect it. I suppose it's easier, letting my tone get flirty, rather than consider the actual implications of the question.

"It's a hard question to answer, isn't it? Is there something I should tell you that I haven't? It's the sort of thing you could answer, but only after I told you."

"Like a paradox?" I ask.

He nods.

"Or maybe that means you're not hiding anything."

"Or I'm too used to hiding things."

"It would make sense. Given the nature of your work."

He chuckles. "Go on, Doctor Vaughn."

"Sorry. Bad habit." I press my hands together. Shift my weight on the bed. We're across from each other, but that almost feels more intimate. Like we're teenagers hanging out at our parents' house, like we're used to sharing things casually.

I can say this.

It's not a big deal.

Really, I should be honest.

I take a deep breath and let out a steady exhale. "I should tell you something. Probably."

"Oh." He raises a brow and motions for me to go on.

"I am telling people about you," I say. Strangers, who listen to my podcast. No. I can't share that with his family so close. If they don't like my divorce, what will they think of that? "Colleagues. I'm talking about this experience we're having. I'm not expressing it as, I, Doctor Vaughn, hired this professional, but I am talking about it, and a lot of people are hearing about it, and I guess I just… wanted to make sure that's okay."

He doesn't hesitate for a minute. "Go for it."

"What if your family finds out?" I ask.

"From your colleagues?"

Or a listener, who puts the pieces together. "You never know," I say.

"Do you use my name?" he asks.