Page 78 of Single Mom's Guide to Love

Fuck, how did this happen? And how did I not wreck my car when those words came out of his mouth?

Without blinking, and maybe without breathing, I pull the SUV to a stop. I hear Jayce unbuckle his seatbelt and let himself out. I hear the engine rumbling beneath me as I stay seated in silence. Well, not silence, my ears are ringing and my head is pounding because what the actual fuck just happened?

I’m only knocked out of my daze by a light tapping on my window. I look over and see a concerned Logan, standing next to a confused Jayce.

“You okay?” Logan asks, opening my door.

“I told her I heard you two were married and then she quit talking,” Jayce says. “Can we go play SpaceCraft now?”

“Oh.” Logan blinks so much at Jayce’s words he might fly away. “Um…how about you go inside and get the game ready while I help your mum?”

I hear Jayce’s little victorious “Yes!” as he runs back inside.

I, on the other hand, might just live in my car for the rest of my life.

Apparently I can’t live in a car in my new husband’s driveway.

Though I think I could’ve. I’m a resourceful woman.

But I knew I needed to come inside, breathe, take a few shots of whiskey, and figure out how the hell my six-year-old found out about my shotgun, not really real marriage.

Turns out the first-grade gossip line is stronger than the Banks’ family group chat. From what I could follow—because holy hell, it was a winding road with a first-grade narrator— Corban heard his mom talking about it, and then told Maddox. Maddox told Addison, who’s Rosie’s best friend. She said she’d know because Jayce is her boyfriend and that Addison was a liar. Rosie asked Jayce, and all Jayce said was that Logan was his best friend and he’s been to his house, which apparently is confirmation for six-year-olds that people are married.

In all the ways I thought about telling my son, that for sure wasn’t it. It also reminded me that I need to send his teacher a large bottle of wine. And I need to find Corban’s mom and tell her to keep her mouth shut.

But now, with the elephant out of the room and I’ve had a chance to think, it’s time for me to sit down with Jayce. And what better time than right before bed?

“Teeth brushed?” I ask him as I hear the faucet running from his bathroom. He had his own at our house, but this one is connected to his room, and he thinks that’s the absolutely coolest thing. Well, that and the SpaceCraft posters Logan at some point put up today for him. To make things less confusing for him, I’m sleeping across the hall. And far away from Logan’s bedroom.

“Yup!” He comes bopping out, footy pajamas on, as he hops into the bed, making sure his trusty blanket is tucked under his arm. “Is it story time?”

I shake my head. “Not yet. I thought we could talk about you, me, and Logan.”

He climbs into bed and under his covers. “I like him.”

That makes me smile. “I know you do.”

“He’s nice. And funny. And he plays games with me.”

“That’s awesome, buddy, but?—”

“I like staying here better than being at Daddy’s.”

Well that makes my heart stop. “Really? Why do you say that?”

He shrugs. “Daddy and I always have fun. But I don’t like Mommy Viv. She doesn’t like my games.”

“Mommy Viv?”

“She told me to call her that. But she’s not my mommy.”

Damn fucking right she’s not.

“Does she do anything with you? Or say anything?”

He shakes his head. “She doesn’t doanything. She just plays on her phone. She needs a screen time limit.”

I hold in a snicker. “Is that it?”

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