Page 53 of The Best of Us

“I don’t know, maybe five years.”

Ah, the last time you shopped is the last time I’ve been on a date.Thank God my overtired brain didn’t let that slip out.Also, note to self, do not drink alcohol around this man.One drink, and I’d truly go with the flow. I’d word vomit my deepest thoughts. Buttwodrinks, and my control might snap. Who knows what?—

“Why don’t you go to your room and get some rest?” Constantine suggested, interrupting my spiraling thoughts that had no business being in my head. “None of us have slept.” He casually checked his watch. “It’s already after zero eight hundred.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “Civilian time, man.”

I was impressed by Constantine’s ability to not fight fire with fire when it came to our son, which wasn’t always easy to do with teenagers.

He let that “man” slide and translated, “It’s after eight o’clock.” He had to have known Colin was well aware of the time, but he was polite to respond to our son’s attitude anyway. “Your bedroom is upstairs next to the game room.” He pointed toward the hall where he’d set down our belongings.

“Games up there, too?” Colin asked, eyes lighting up like he’d won the lottery.

“Pool table. Poker. Sure.”

Colin grimaced. “Not what I was talking about.” He went over to his bag and picked it up. “I’m going to be bored here. Can you add a PlayStation to that list with the milk? Oh, andCall of Duty.Fortnite,too.”

I was about to shut down the idea of buying him anything, but Constantine took charge. “Do you really think you deserve a PlayStation after sneaking out while grounded, going to a rave, and lying to your mother?”

I shouldn’t have found him being all parent-y sexy, but I did.

“Come on. Give me a break.” Colin’s shoulders slumped. “You have a lot of birthdays to make up for, don’t you?”

Oh, that was a low blow, and I came to his defense without hesitation. “It’s not his fault he missed out on anything.”

“We’ll talk about everything I missed when the time is right. For now, sleep.” He angled his head, eyes tight on Colin as a sign not to protest, and much to my shock and awe, Colin obeyed.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped about the PlayStation,” he said once it was only the two of us.

“It was the perfect amount of steps.” I smiled. “It gets exhausting always the one disciplining. From the sounds of it, I haven't done the best job if he was sneaking out and lying about a girlfriend.”

“You did an incredible job with him. He made his own choices, and you can’t blame yourself for them any more than you can for the fact that I”—he coughed into his fist—“wasn’t in his life.”

I desperately wanted to absolve him of the guilt he shouldn’t feel, but I doubted I’d get him to that place today. “Since we’re holding off on discussing what happened for now, could you at least help ease my concerns, so I have a shot at sleeping?”

He strode closer but remained outside of my reach. “I can try.”

“How worried should I be about what happened at the rave?” I cut straight to it. “Is this gang situation more like a group of young kids getting into trouble? Or are we talking mob stuff?”

He stroked his jaw, eyes on the floor instead of on me, which wasn’t that reassuring. “I believe it’s a low-level thing, but everything will be okay.” He lifted his gaze and added, “I’ll handle it.”

Something told me he honestly would, which was why I wasn’t panicking.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room. Just two doors down from mine.” He picked up my purse and offered it to me before going for my suitcase next.

I quietly followed him down a different hall than Colin had taken, passing closed doors and empty walls. It felt sad and lonely, and something about that fact hurt my heart for him.

Areyousad and lonely?

He stopped outside one of the doors, and I nearly collided with him. “Sorry.” I lifted my hands in apology at our near crash.

His gaze dropped over my blue scrubs before returning to my face.

I looked down and back up again. “What?”

“Nothing.” He smirked, lightly shaking his head, then opened the guest room door, waiting for me to enter before joining me.

I was pleased to see that someone who enjoyed color had decorated this room. Soft hues of orange and tanzanite brightened up the space. I set my eyes on the statement piece in the room—a beautiful canopy bed that looked like it’d come from the pages of a travel magazine, beckoning a visit to Bali or . . . well,Aruba.

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