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“I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but the last thing I wanted to admit then was that he was right, especially because I truly thought Justin had wanted a second chance with me.” Turns out, all he wanted was to get laid on prom night, and I was stupid enough to think he had changed. Thankfully, I told him off later that evening and didn’t give him the satisfaction of getting his way.

Valerie’s gaze softens as she drops her arms. “I see. Well, there’s no time like the present to heal old wounds, right? Especially since you two are married and living together now…”

Staring down at my stomach, I rub my hand over the baby growing inside of me as I process everything Valerie just revealed.

I can’t believe this.

Easton showed up at my house to ask me to prom?

He didn’t just want us all to ride together?

But if he wanted to go with me, why didn’t he just ask me before then?

God, that’s why he was so pissed. Because he thinks I chose Justin over him.

How was I supposed to choose him if I didn’t know he was an option, though?

More importantly, would I have said yes back then?

Or would I have let my fear stand in the way as it had up until that point?

“Yeah, I guess,” I reply because I don’t know what else to say.

Valerie rounds the island and stops beside me. I crane my neck to meet her gaze as she cups my cheek, smiling down at me. “Lennon, that boy would go to the ends of the earth for you—back then and now, no matter what’s happened between the two of you. And trust me, I know because he does it for me and his brother.”

“You only have yourself to thank for that, though, Valerie. You raised him.”

“I did, but I’m not the only woman that has been an influence in his life.”

“What do you mean?”

She gives me a knowing look. “Do you know how much I heard about Lennon Riley while you two were growing up?”

“Well, we were friends…”

“Not just any friends, honey. You two were firefly friends.” I don’t get a chance to ask her to elaborate before Valerie glances out the window and I follow her lead, catching Easton and Owen tossing bales of hay over the fence for the horses. Watching them laughing at each other, I think back to how long I’ve known the man standing outside, but how much I still don’t really know about the version of him I just married.

“That boy has wanted to be more than your friend for a long time, honey. The question is, do you want that too?”

Chapter 18

Easton

Why Can’t Moms Just Mind Their Own Business?

“So, have you two thought about a date for the baby shower yet?”

Lennon is too busy chewing, so I take the liberty of doing it for her. “Not yet, Mom. We don’t even know the baby’s sex. Plus, we’ve both been really busy and Lennon just started feeling better in her second trimester, so…” I glance at Lennon and wait for her to look at me, but she’s avoided my gaze since Owen and I came inside.

Part of me wonders whether Mom said something to her that freaked her out, or she’s not feeling well again. She studied a lot this week, so I know she must be tired. But she’s eating without looking queasy, so it doesn’t seem like nausea. That seems to have subsided over the past few weeks anyway.

“I think once they find out the sex, it will be easier to start planning, Mom,” Owen says, glancing at Lennon before looking back at me with raised brows, his face asking what the hell is going on with her.

Dude, I have no fucking clue, I communicate back with a shrug.

“Lennon?” I place my hand on her thigh under the table and give it a gentle squeeze.

Her head finally lifts, and our eyes meet. Hers are darker, filled with a curiosity that takes me by surprise. “Yeah?”