Austin shakes his head. “Me neither.”
“Dad, we wanna stay with you. Mom is always so mean.” My tough little dude tears up, and I squeeze him tighter.
“Boys, you don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to, okay? I’m gonna talk to my lawyer and see what we can work out.” Seeing Amber freak out like that in public makes me wonder. I always assumed she was only like that with me. “Does your mom ever yell like that when you’re with her?”
Gabriel finally gives up trying to be strong, and tears stream down his face. “She always yells at us. She hates us. I don’t know why she wants us to come over at all. She tells us to shut up and that we’re annoying.”
Fuck. My throat tightens up, and I pull him in for a hug. “I’m sorry, son. I had no idea. But like I said, you’re not going anywhere.”
Paige touches my shoulder. “I’m going to give y’all some time to talk.”
I grab her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Her eyes get watery, and she points to the kitchen. “I’m going to get dinner started.”
I let her go. For now.
After I set Austin down next to me, I wrap my arms around my boys’ shoulders. “How was the gym? Did you learn anything?”
Gabriel immediately perks up. “Paige said I did a great roundoff.”
“What about you, Austin?”
“I did cartwheels.”
“Awesome, boys. Are y’all enjoying that?”
Gabe smiles so wide, I can see all his teeth. “We love it.” He leans close like he needs to tell me a secret. “Paige is awesome. Can we keep her?”
Austin nods. “Yeah. Awesome.”
I chuckle. “I’m gonna do my best to get her to stay.”
Turning, I watch my wife rush around the kitchen, and I realize that if she leaves for Boston, she’s gonna take my heart with her.
I don’t know who I was fooling with a fake marriage, ’cause my feelings for Paige are as real as it gets.
31
PAIGE
The family chattersaround me as we eat dinner, but I’m still stuck on that screaming match at Dunkers this afternoon. I knew Amber didn’t like me, but I never expected that she’d hate me. For what? She’s the one who cheated on Rhett. She gave up on their marriage. I had nothing to do with them falling apart.
“Baby, you gonna eat?” Rhett whispers.
I look down at the slice of pizza I’ve been nibbling on. “I’m not really hungry. My stomach’s been kind of upset.” Nothing like public humiliation to make you want to hurl.
Under the table, his hand slides across my thigh. “Can I get you something carbonated to drink? Maybe that will help.”
“That would be nice.”
Jace shoves half a slice into his mouth. “This pizza is great, Paige.”
“It’s just a box recipe.”
“Tastes homemade to me.”
I love cooking for this family. Everyone is so appreciative. Irma always acted like the food I made was barely tolerable. The best part is I get to do the fun stuff, and the guys always clean up afterward.
