Page 164 of Delicate Storm

“I’ll think about it.”

“At least call Easton. Don’t cut him off like you did with me.”

Jesus. I can’t deal with that guilt right now. I hang up and rush to the door, my heart seizing as I call out.

“Mom?” I open the door, barely holding myself together. “You’re here?”

She takes one look at me and springs forward, grabbing my face to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“No.” I shake my head as more tears threaten to fall. “I’m not okay. I messed up.”

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

“I—”

My phone buzzes with a message, and when I see that it’s Christian’s mom, I freeze, a tension knotting my stomach. I can’t look at it, but I also can’t let it go.

“Paige, what’s going on?”

I open the message and gasp. It’s a photo of me and Isaac playing in the park. It’s innocent enough—you can barely see Isaac’s face—but the words accompanying it are anything but.

Jill Mikkleson: Drop your little investigation and the images go away

She knows.

Another image comes through and I struggle to breathe. This one’s not at all grainy like the rest and shows Easton and me fucking during my dad’s fundraiser speech.

They’ve been following me.

And I’ve been so goddamn stupid.

“I’ve really messed up,” I cry, letting my phone drop to the floor. The photos may not show Easton’s face, but it wouldn’t take much to figure out that it’s him. There are plenty of photosfrom the official photographer during the night. “I’ve ruined Easton’s life.”

“Oh, Paige. Come here.” Mom links our fingers and walks me through the apartment until she finds the couch, sitting down to pull me into her lap, like she did when I was a kid. After wiping more tears from my face and brushing the hair behind my ears, she strokes my back while I fall apart, finally letting years of bottled-up emotion flood me.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

“How? I’ve ruined everything for him. He’s going to lose his son. His ex is going to use this—”

“You don’t know that. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it. Tell me what’s going on. We want to help.”

“Who?” I hold my breath, half expecting her to mention Christian’s dad.

“Your dad and me.”

I release a sigh and shake my head. “I don’t think this is fixable.” My words come out in a whisper as I think about what Dad said.Don’t cut him out like you did with me.

I don’t want to do that. I love him. But that might be why I have to.

“Please, tell me what happened. Let us try.”

Spinning around, I sit up straight and stare at my mom. And I mean, really stare at her, focusing on the warmth and sincerity in her eyes as she whispers, “Please, Paige.”

“Okay.”

With a shaky breath, I fill her in on everything that happened with Christian and the Mikklesons, including my complicated sex life and the photos they have of me and Easton. I tell her about Macy and Isaac. And while she smiles at the obvious love I have for them both, for the most part, she doesn’t give her feelings away.

When I’m done, I jump up, unsure if I can handle her response. “I need to call Easton,” I say to change the subject, wiping my eyes as I go in search of my phone. “He needs to hear it from me before the other images hit the media.”

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