the porch and pulls me in for a quick embrace. “Don’t worry about your mother and me. We’re both exactly where we want to be in life. She’s happy, and I’m happy, too. I don’t need a plus one in my life to be content.” He pulls back with his eyes glassy with tears. “We’re all going to make this work. In fact, I’m meeting up with her and Bradley next week for drinks.”
“What?”
“Relax, we just want to discuss a few things before they make it official.”
“Such as?” My chest wallops as if a baseball bat were striking against it. “Does he know? Are the two of you going to tell him?” All I can think about is how livid Scarlett will be once she finds out she was right about my mother. She’ll think she’s a snake in the grass, a gold digger, and that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
“That’s on her. I’m just heading over to discuss the kids, holidays. In truth, I want to have at least one sit-down with the man who’s about to become a second father to my children.”
I shake my head, our eyes latching one more time. “There’s not a man on the planet who will ever replace you.” I pull him in hard and hold him like that. My chest bucks as I fight back tears.
No sooner do Trix and Dad take off than my phone buzzes, and I fish it out of my jeans.
It’s a text from Owen. I’m at the movies. I need a date, sweetheart. Death Blow Five starts in an hour. You in, pussy?
I text right back. I’m in.
I hit the shower and drive off to the Hollow Brook Cineplex.
Death blow is exactly what’s happened to my family. Ironically, the movie will be just the respite I need to step outside the drama of life if only for a moment.
The first death blow of the evening is spotting Owen and Cade with Piper and Cassidy. I try to piece together how I’ll break it to them that I’m suddenly not up to seeing the movie as I make my way in their direction. Obviously, Piper wants to spend the evening with Owen. And they most likely just ran into Cassidy and Cade, so it makes the perfect double date. There’s no way I’m tagging along on this quad rigged for romance.
“What’s up?” I slap Owen five before the first excuse has a chance to burp from my lips then I see her, and the pieces of this devious dating puzzle fall right into place.
Scarlett stops short with a tub full of popcorn in her hand. Her hair sits in a wild mess on top of her head, her low-cut lace top does its best to showcase the girls, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say she looked sexy as hell. Her lips are stained a ruby shade of red that makes my mouth water just looking at them, natural no doubt. If Scarlett is anything, she’s a natural beauty. That heated kiss runs through my mind, and my dick twitches in my boxers at the memory. In my entire mouth puckering history, I don’t think I’ve ever had a kiss that didn’t involve my greedy tongue, and, yet, that chaste closed-mouth kiss was hotter than anything else I’ve ever partaken in. I’ve been with girls. I’ve done outright embarrassing things, outlandish, physically challenging things with girls that should only be relegated to gymnasts and acrobats, but that kiss by far surpassed them all as the most erotic, dick-wagging event of my lifetime. If that’s what a wholesome kiss with Scarlett feels like, then a wild night beneath the sheets might just have the power to kill me.
“What the hell is this?” Scarlett struts over and hugs that tub of popcorn in her arms as if protecting it from my deadly clutches.
Cassidy’s shoulders rise to her ears. “I think we just figured out those seating arrangements you were so worried about!”
The four of them head off to the ticket counter, and I shake my head at the feisty fireball in front of me. “Come on, I won’t bite.” I help myself to her popcorn, and she growls at me. “We’ll shore up a few logistics about tomorrow night, and then we can ignore each other for the next two hours.”
I purchase our tickets, and we head on in without a single word. Both Owen and Cade are seated in different sections with their girlfriends. Scarlett heads to