Page 21 of Make You Mine

“Are you sure about that?”

“I—no, I’m not. But I don’t want to make this get any uglier than it already is, and I really don’t want him to sue me or whatever else he can do.”

“I think you should talk to Paige.”

Her lips quirked at the corner. “So, you’re telling me you’re in favor of making this ugly?”

“I’m in favor of whatever or whoever helps you stand up for yourself. I’m not trying to push you into anything, but Paige will keep your best interests in mind.”

“Paige will lose her mind. And that’s not what I want. She’s been through enough lately. I can take care of this myself.”

“Okay. I wasn’t trying to imply you couldn’t?—”

She met my eyes. “I know enough about you to know that. Don’t worry, Ren. I just don’t get why he’s pushing so hard for me to forgive Dana. He has to know that’s never going to happen.”

“I think you’re amazing. He probably does too. He has to know how badly he fucked up.” Afraid I’d revealed too much, I looked away from her gorgeous eyes, shifting my focus back to Smog, who I swear could read my mind by how he looked at me right before he stood and darted out of the room. Yeah, buddy, wanting to be near Piper was entirely too easy.

“Thank you.” She breathed, her cheeks turning pink. “I still feel like a fool, though. That’s why I didn’t mention the lunch thing before.”

“I don’t blame you for trying to keep the peace. Do I believe he’s trying to manipulate you? Yes. You love Cody, and he’s taking advantage of that. The issue isn't you; it’s him. But you’re nobody’s fool, and you can take care of yourself. Just don’t try to handle this alone.”

“I won’t. I don’t even want to. I just want things to go back to the way they were. I mean, I don’t want to get back together with Richard. But I could do without this newfound determination of his to have us all be friends or whatever.”

“Honestly? Things can’t go back to how they were. But that doesn’t mean it can’t turn out okay.”

“You’re right,” she murmured, looking at me through her lashes. “Enough about Richard. I’m sick of him. Let’s change the topic. Are we really doing this?”

I let out a nervous laugh as liquid heat spread through my chest. “I—yeah. I think we can help each other out.”

“Who are we telling? Of course, Paige knows it’s fake; it was her idea, but what about Jake? And Violet is my best friend. I can’t imagine keeping this from her. And I have three more nosy sisters. And don’t even get me started on my mother. God, and my grandparents?—”

“We probably shouldn’t tell anyone. Can Paige keep a secret?”

“Yes. We keep all of each other’s secrets. I’ll just avoid the topic with everyone else. Say it’s casual, or like you told Richard, we’re seeing where things go. It could work. I don’t like lying, but the more people who know, the greater chance that we’ll get busted.”

“That sounds good to me. And remember, this is supposed to make our lives easier. Say the word if it starts feeling too complicated, and we will reevaluate the situation. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“Good. Now, when is Cody’s vet appointment?”

“Why?” She eyed me suspiciously.

“So I can make sure to be home when you get back to keep an eye on things.”

“I’ll be okay,” she finally replied. “I know I wasn't okay earlier, but I am now. I swear. You don’t need to protect me. This isn’t part of the deal.”

“You’re right. It’s not part of the deal?—”

“Are you sure you don’t have a rescue kink? She interrupted. “I promise I can handle this myself. I’ll be okay.”

I paused, considering her words. “Rescue kink? No. Wanting to make life easier, safer, and better for women in every way I can? Absolutely. I’m a protective guy. I admit it. But I won’t apologize for it.”

Her head snapped back, and her eyes widened. “Okay. Wow.”

“I know you can handle him on your own, but why should you have to?”

“Well then. Okay. Thank you, Ren.”

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