whatever she needs.”
“It’s not just about her,” I admitted slowly, then grimaced.
“Nah, I get it. Don’t open a vein.” He waved me off. “But count me in for the classes. I want to know. We better tell Arch, too.”
I laughed. “If we all knew something he didn’t, he’d kill us.”
“Nah.” Jake laughed. “He’d pay someone to kill us.”
“Justifiable.”
“Yep.”
After a beat though, Jake cut a look at me, and I’d seen the same look on Coop’s face when he brought it all up in the first place. “Ask.”
“Just…how did you know? Don’t get me wrong, the books intrigue me and there’s…a lot of temptation there. But how did you know it was your thing?”
“Same way I knew she was.”
And the best part of all.
Jake got that.
Jake
With Archie taking Frankie to her internship and picking her up, the meeting with her mother done, and Reed and any other idiots entertaining similarly stupid ideas where Frankie was concerned put in their place, Friday should have been a cake walk.
And was, for the most part, until I got home to find Mom waiting for me. The girls were conspicuously absent, and Mom had texted me three times to make sure I was coming. As soon as I was inside, she frowned.
“You’ve been fighting again.”
“A fight,” I admitted. “Singular. No big deal. We just had some things to settle.”
At her aggrieved sigh, I held up my hands.
“Seriously, Mom. It’s all good.”
“Jacob Elijah Benton, do not tell me it’s all good and just dismiss my concerns. How many times have you nearly been arrested? You have gotten off light, but sooner or later, they are not going to be so forgiving.”
“I know,” I told her, and since she was already pissed off, I kept a firm grasp on my temper. “I promise I do know.” I kissed her cheek on my way past to grab a drink. “And this wasn’t like the last set of fights. We were just boxing at the gym.”
Which was all true.
Her harsh exhale held so much relief, I frowned and glanced at her as I got the soda from the fridge. “Do you want anything while I’m in here?”
“I want you to come sit down and talk to me.”
With the way this week had been going, she probably wanted to tell me Dad wanted to come to my graduation or he and Klara wanted the girls for the summer. I popped open the drink and followed her out to the living room. The fidgeting as she sat and clasped her hands wasn’t her, and it put my teeth on edge.
“What’d he do now?” I didn’t mean to snap it out like that, but I couldn’t help it. Every single time she talked to Dad, she got like this. Dad spoke to the girls weekly, but I’d made a habit of not being around for it, and I thought she had mastered it, too.
“This isn’t about your father,” she said with a wave. “As far as I know, he is very happy where he is. Or as happy as he can be.” She gave a pained shrug and then waved me off. “No, I need to talk to you about Frankie.”
“What about her? I know you’ve been wanting her to come back over for dinner, but it’s just been really busy and she has that internship—”
“It’s not about dinner,” Mom said. “Jake, is she dating all of your friends as well as you?”
Lowering the soda, I met Mom’s gaze. Her eyes were a deeper gray with a faint hint of blue, depending on the light. Right now, they were storm clouds. “Not sure how that’s any of your business.”
“That’s a non-answer answer, the kind you use when you don’t want to confirm or deny anything.”
“It’s also the kind you use when you’re trying to be polite about telling your mother that your girlfriend and her life are none of her business.”
Mom pursed her lips. “I had coffee with Sara earlier this week. Then a very interesting conversation with Carly.”
“Okay.” I put the drink on the table and kept my gaze on hers.
“Jake, they both believe she’s dating their sons.”
I shrugged. “Mom…I’m not going to have this conversation with you.” I’d thought about it. What I’d do if she asked. But the simple truth was, I didn’t want to discuss Frankie with her. “I get that you’re upset, and I even get why. Things with Dad and—”
“Don’t,” Mom cut me off. “Don’t do that. Don’t dismiss my concerns. This isn’t about her or