Page 21 of Mixed Motives

Wolfe chuckles. “Oh?”

“And I matched with someone.”

He sits up straighter. “And you’ve met this person?”

“A guy. Yeah. And we hit it off really well. Wolfey, I really like him. I mean really, really like him.” My voice almost cracks. “There are a few problems, though.”

To Wolfe’s credit, he doesn’t interrupt me. He just lets me get this out.

“Besides the fact that he’s twenty years younger than me, his last boyfriend was my son.”

Wolfe’s jaw legitimately drops. “No way.”

“Yeah. Henry Carter. Turns out, we’re super compatible. I mean, he steals the blankets, but other than that …”

He holds up a hand. “TMI.”

“Fair. Anyhow, we agreed to tell Kerrigan after we’d been dating for a month—make sure it was serious, y’know—but Kerrigan walked in this morning when we were making coffee.”

“And he thought there was something nefarious about you two being together?”

“Which he has absolutely no right to do. He cheated on Henry, which was why Henry was single to begin with.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Henry did initially come on to me for revenge—and I turned him down. Even though I’ve always thought he was sweet. But when we got set up by the app, it seemed, I don’t know, like maybe we should give it a try. Just because we knew each other didn’t mean that there was anything wrong with the computer matching us up. Only now I’m questioning whether we’re together for good reasons. Like, what if part of his interest in me does have something to do with revenge? Don’t get me wrong—I know Henry likes me. But there’s something about that first interaction that… taints it, maybe? And I also feel guilty that I didn’t tell my son sooner.”

Wolfey studies me. “Have you ever heard of a thing called mixed motive? I studied about it in an intro to employment law class. It means that even if you had an illegal reason for doing something, if you also had a good reason, that’s enough to make it okay.”

I wrinkle my nose. “So, because participating in revenge against my son is a bad reason but our genuine attraction is a good reason, you’re calling our motives for being together mixed?”

“Right. It’s real life. Things are complicated. Multiple reasons can exist simultaneously, some more noble than others. We know you didn’t want to hurt Kerrigan?—”

“I don’t, although I’m not opposed to him being taught a lesson. And I’ve denied myself everything I want for such a long time.”

“Your son didn’t need to give you permission to date Henry. Sure, it would’ve helped avoid some awkward moments, but Kerrigan doesn’t get to decide how you live your life, Keane. You do.”

“Yeah. I know that.”

“So go talk with Kerrigan. And then enjoy being with a good guy who makes you happy.”

Kerrigan comes storming into the winery on Monday, and I stop him. “Can we talk?”

He gives me a derisive snort but follows me into my office and sits in his usual spot.

After I take a seat at my desk, he explodes. “What the actual fuck, Dad? Henry? You’re fucking Henry?”

“Don’t say it like that,” I warn. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh? What is it like?”

Kerrigan deserves the truth. “Henry told me he caught you with another man. An Ian?”

While Kerrigan’s face remains blank, I know his expressions well enough to see that his eyes register recognition.

“Right after he found you, Henry came over to my house to try to seduce me. He wanted you to feel bad.”

“I can’t believe you’d?—”

“Let me finish,” I say. “I turned him down. I told him I wasn’t going to help him exact revenge on you, no matter how much he was hurting and no matter how poorly you’d treated him.”

Kerrigan now looks slightly uncomfortable. “Oh?”

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