“Silly?” Jack asked before nodding. “Yeah, I know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You mean, an excuse to be close to Emma seemed like a good idea,” Amanda corrected. “And now you’re dating her for real. Wow. That’s great, Jack.”
He sucked in another deep breath. One confession down, one more to go. “Amanda, there’s something else.”
She met his gaze and seemed to wait.
“Sam has been asking a lot of questions. He’s quite the investigator.”
“What kind of questions?” she asked.
“About you. He searched your boyfriend’s social media and saw that you weren’t with him.” Jack left out the detail about the other woman in case Amanda didn’t know. “He knows you two aren’t on a vacation together.”
Amanda’s expression pinched. “What?”
“He’s acted out just a little bit, and he’s demanded answers from me a couple times.”
“What did you say?” Amanda asked, looking increasingly worried.
Jack massaged a hand over his face. “I didn’t have much of a choice, Amanda.”
“What do you mean?” she snapped. “You told him where I was? You promised, Jack.”
Jack held up a hand. “Slow down. I only told him you were at an addiction facility working on some things that would help you.”
“Jack.” Amanda shot up from her seat. “I trusted you. I didn’t want Sam to know that his mom was here. I didn’t want him to worry about me—”
“He was already worrying about you, Amanda. He was already angry that he’d been lied to. He needed the truth.”
“Then you should have told me first so I could tell him.” Amanda put her hands on her hips.
Jack paused, giving the conversation some breathing room. They both needed to take a moment. “I told him as little as I could. I told Sam that the rest will have to come from you, when you’re ready. I’m sorry, Amanda. I really am.” But he also didn’t think he’d do things any differently if given a chance. Sam needed answers last night. He couldn’t wait.
Tears brimmed in Amanda’s eyes as she stood there in front of Jack. “I just…I never wanted my son to see me this way.”
Jack stood and walked over to her. “To see you which way? Strong? Determined? Completely kickass? Because that’s the way I see you.”
Amanda shook her head and covered her face with her hands. Jack reached out and pulled her into a hug, willing to take the risk that she might use the right hook he’d taught her and completely take him out. She didn’t.
After several minutes, she stepped back and swiped at her tears. “Well, I guess I better tell him everything.”
“When you’re ready,” Jack said. “He knows enough right now. And he’s happy, Amanda. He just wants you to be happy too.”
Amanda looked up at Jack. “Working on it.”
“Take your time,” Jack reiterated. “He can stay with me as long as you need him to.”
“I do feel better knowing you have Emma by your side. Two is better than one, and you’ve always been a better version of yourself when she is around. More patient. More relaxed. She’s good for you, Jack.”
Jack thought so too. He probably should’ve contacted Emma by now. He’d wanted to first thing this morning and then again as he drove up to see Amanda. But fear had stopped him every time his finger hovered over Emma’s contact. They’d crossed a line last night that couldn’t be uncrossed. He wouldn’t change a thing even if he could, but how was Emma feeling today?
At the end of his visit, Jack walked out of the facility. His fears about being locked inside were ridiculous. Hopefully the same was true about his fear of Emma having second thoughts about last night. And about him.
Chapter Seventeen
The morning-after was officially over. It was now noon, and Emma hadn’t heard a word from Jack.
She tried not to dwell on that as she pulled up the website for Jenny’s Wellness Walk for Women. It was up to two hundred fifteen participants today. That was far more than she’d ever thought possible for its first year.
Her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it quickly, hoping it was Jack. Instead, Paris Montgomery’s name popped on her screen. “Hi, Paris,” she answered.
“Hey, Emma. I have the graphic ready. I just shot you an email with the design to see what you think.”
“Thank you so much. I know it was kind of last-minute. I really can’t believe how easily this event has come together.”