than someone.
Mom’s eyes widened. “Then why didn’t you tell us? Why lie about it?”
Dad laid his hand on her arm, and she fell silent. Dad stared at him. “I take it you felt we wouldn’t approve. Why would we mind if you’ve gotten yourself a boyfriend? Your mom would be over the moon. She already thought you and this Ben were dating.” He narrowed his gaze. “So what’s so bad about this boyfriend that you can’t tell us? Why can’t we meet him?”
“You’ve already met him,” Robin blurted out. “Mom hasn’t… well, not since… not since he taught Ryan in high school.”
There. It was out.
Dad’s breathing caught. “Mr. Quentin?”
“Dean,” Robin corrected. “His name’s Dean.”
“I don’t give a damn what his first name is. What concerns me is why he thinks it’s okay to carry on a relationship with my son.” Dad’s eyes went wide. “You spent the weekend with him. You’re not going to lie to me and tell me you were in separate rooms, are you?”
“We stayed in one room.” There seemed little point in hiding it now.
Dad’s face darkened. “How old is he? Thirty-five? Older?”
“He’s thirty-two. And we haven’t done anything wrong,” Robin protested.
“He’s a grown man. He should know better.”
Robin was on his feet in a heartbeat. “And I’m a man too. At least, that’s what you keep telling me. But I guess you think I’m not old enough to know my own mind.”
“How long has this been going on for?”
Robin forced himself to breathe. “I met him when he came to the boatyard to order his canoe. And I’m the one who did all the running. I wore him down.”
“Well, you may have started it, but I’m finishing it,” Dad declared. “This ends now.”
Robin gaped at him. “Just like that? You haven’t even asked me how I feel about him. How serious we are.”
“And how serious are you?” Mom’s voice was so quiet. Dad flashed her a warning glance, but she glared at him. “He’s right. You haven’t given him a chance to tell his side of things.”
“That’s because I don’t need to hear it! The guy’s a teacher, for Christ’s sake.”
“But he’s not Robin’s teacher,” she said in that same quiet voice. “He never was.” Her gaze met Robin’s. “How do you feel about him?”
“I love him. And he loves me.” Robin felt sick to his stomach.
“You’re eighteen!” Dad hollered. “What do you know about love? And no eighteen-year-old son of mine is going to… carry on with a guy his age.” His eyes hardened. “Like I said, this ends now. You’re not going to see him again. So you’d better call him and let him know.”
“I don’t get a say in this?” In all his darkest moments when he’d worried about their reaction, he’d never once imagined his dad would be so… hard. So unfeeling.
“Robin, why don’t you go to your room for a while?” Mom said in a soothing tone.
In other words, his dad needed to calm the fuck down.
He nodded, his throat tight. Robin picked up his bag, left the room, and headed for his bedroom. Once inside, he closed the door and got out his phone.
“Missed me already?” Dean asked when the call connected.
“They know,” Robin said simply. “It’s all such a fucking mess. Dad says I can’t see you anymore, that it’s over. He went on about your age, and how I don’t know a fucking thing about love, because how could I? I’m only eighteen. I—”
“Robin. Robin!”
He shuddered out a sob. “Yeah?”
“Okay. Take a breath and tell me exactly what happened.”
Robin tried to breathe as he related the scene in the living room, his stomach clenched and his chest constricted. When he got to the end, he fell silent, exhausted.
“Okay.”
“Okay? How is any of this okay?”
“Right now your dad is all worked up. So you need to give him time to calm down.” A pause. “We knew it might go like this, right?”
“Wait—you’re not saying we’re gonna do what he says, are you? You’re gonna roll over and say, ‘Okay, Mr. Davis, you win. I’ll forget I’m in love with Robin’?”
“Right now I’m thinking of your relationship with your dad. You work with him. You live under their roof.”
“Then I’ll leave. I’ll…” Shit, this was such a mess.
“Give it time,” Dean said quietly. “Maybe in a few days I’ll come over, and we can talk to him together. Maybe if he sees us as a couple, he’ll start to realize he’s being unreasonable.” Another pause. “I don’t want your