Page 130 of Just One Kiss

“What’s wrong?”

“What?” Carly had absent-mindedly put the car in Park and now stared out the window. “Oh, nothing.”

“You seem distracted,” Jaden said.

Carly waved him off. “You know how I feel about Sunday dinner.”

Jaden rubbed his stomach. “I feel hungry.” He grinned. “I’m going to eat everything.” He exited the car, leaving her sitting alone, conflicted feelings racing through her mind.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her messages, found the last one she’d gotten from Josh—something about Jaden—and started typing.

Josh, I know things aren’t great between us, but I’m still here if you need to talk.

She sent it, then looked to see the message had been delivered.

She waited a few seconds, then typed:Don’t go to your mom and dad’s.

He didn’t respond, and she didn’t expect him to, but that didn’t stop her from worrying. Just the way he’d reacted to seeing his parents at the hospital had been enough to prove Josh struggled with being back here.

She closed her eyes and prayed for the man who’d infuriated her and broken her heart. “God, I don’t pretend to know what he’s been through, but keep him from doing anything stupid today.”

The knock on the window startled her. She turned and found Quinn standing on the opposite side of the window, holding a pie. Carly opened the door and got out.

“What are you doing out here?” Quinn asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just pulled up.”

She followed her sister inside, where they found Gus, Beverly, Judge and Calvin standing in the dining room around a beautifully set table. Hellos were exchanged, questions about Jaden’s health were answered, and she did her best to ignore the nagging thoughts about Josh and his parents.

After dinner, Quinn fetched the apple pie she’d made and Beverly added her famous frosted brownies to the table. Everyone heaped desserts onto their plates, oohing and aahing and discussing the sugar content, the calories and how none of that mattered at Sunday dinner.

“You’re quiet, Carly,” Beverly said warmly. “You’ve been through so much.” She looked at Jaden. “We’ve missed you.”

Sometimes Carly wondered if Beverly said all the things their father didn’t say, as if she could parent them by proxy, as if she could lead by example. But if that was true, Gus had never picked up on any of her cues.

“It’s good to be back,” Carly said, telling herself it wasn’t a lie. The food was good. Did it matter if her insides were spinning?

“You and Josh get things worked out?” Gus stuck a bite of pie in his mouth and peered at Carly down the table.

What has he heard?

Her stomach dropped with a thud. She didn’t want to discuss Josh—not with him. He had strong opinions on Jaden’s father, and it had taken her a long time to convince him to keep them to himself—for the sake of his grandson.

The image of her body tangled with Josh’s the night before raced through her mind and she forcibly removed it.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she said. “Everything’s fine.”

Jaden had stopped chewing. “Dad wanted to come today, but he had other plans.”

“Mm-hmm.” Gus shoved another bite in his mouth, and Beverly placed a calming hand on his arm.

Carly pushed a brownie around her plate with her fork.

“I’m sure he’s got lots of people to see while he’s here,” Quinn said, obviously trying to keep things from turning awkward, though Carly thought it might be a little late for that.

Carly looked up and caught the confused expression on Jaden’s face. Was her dad really going to put her son through this? Was it too much to ask for him to keep his opinions of Josh to himself?

“And just how long is he going to be here?” Gus gave Carly a pointed look.

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