Page 63 of Fall With Me
Finn shakes his head. “I still want to go. I want to see the giraffes.”
Phew. I didn’t step into a pile full of dung after all. “Sounds like we have a date.”
Dawson opens his mouth to respond but stops when his cell rings. I don’t mean to pry, but he placed his phone screen side up, so it’s almost like hewantsme to know his business. A photo of Willow holding a younger-looking Finn pops up.
And now I wish I’d kept my eyes to myself.
My stomach rolls. Dawson’s ex is gorgeous. The quick glance I sneak at the picture is all I need to see her long brown beach-wavy hair. Her skin is flawless, and her smile shows off her perfectly straight, extra-white teeth. She’s wearing a tan wide-brim fedora hat and a plaid scarf. The trees in the background are full of red, orange, and yellow leaves. It’s picture perfect. If all I had was this photo, and not Dawson’s side of the story to go off of, I’d fully believe this was a woman who adored her son above anything else.
“He’s right here,” Dawson says, passing the phone to Finn. “Take the call in your room, please.”
Why in the heck does Dawson still have this image saved as her contact photo? If not a monster photo for the sake of Finn, at least a blank gray circle. Why this award-winning picture? As Finn scoots his chair back, my blood boils, knowing Finn is talking to the person whodestroyed Dawson and Finn’s life. If I could reach through the phone and smack some sense into her, I would.
I take it back. If I did that, I wouldn’t be here with the man across the table from me. I’d still like to smack her, but not knock any sense into her. With stiff, forceful movements, I clean up the game.
Dawson puts his hand on mine, halting my angry packing job. “Hey, we can keep playing when he’s done talking to Willow.”
I shake my head, my lips scowling. “She ruined my mood.”
“Come here.” Dawson pulls me into him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
I sigh, trying to release some of these big feelings and emotions with my expelled breath.
“She will always be a part of my life, whether I like it or not. She’s Finn’s mom, and I won’t deny her time with her son.”
He’s sweet. And a good father for setting aside his issues with his ex for the sake of their son. But it also brings up an insecurity of mine.
I’m glad Dawson can’t see my face when I ask, “If she comes to you in a few months or a few years, asking to get her family back together, would you do it? For Finn’s sake?”Would you leave me for her?
This time it’s Dawson who sighs. “No, I wouldn’t take her back. She broke my trust more often than not. For my emotional well-being, and Finn’s, I can’t go through it again.”
“Okay.”
It’s all I needed to hear.
Chapter 29
Dawson
Sitting at my parents’ kitchen table for Sunday night dinner, everyone’s passing serving platters around, filling our plates.
Finn blurts, “Dad had a sleepover with a girl last night.”
I drop the spoon in my hand. It clatters against my dinner plate, gravy flying everywhere. The temperature of the seven degrees of hell engulfs me. Did he really tell my entire family about Chloe?
I squeeze my eyes shut. If I can’t see anyone, no one can see me and then I won’t have to explain myself.
The room is uncharacteristically quiet. Even my nieces and nephews are silent. Cracking an eye open, I take in each person sitting around the table. The kids are eyeing the adults, brows pulling together in confusion. Each adult is staring at me with mouths gaping open.
I force out a chuckle. “Yeah… Funny thing…” I run a hand through my hair. “My friend came over last night to watch a movie and we ended up falling asleep on the couch together. Nothing happened. It was all innocent, I assure you.”
“Ha!” my sister Lucy scoffs. “Sure it was.”
Lucy looks just like Dad, but in female form. Their light-brown hair, square jaw, and hazel eyes are easy to pick out. It’s the mannerisms they both have, like being left-handed, staying up late, and biting their fingernails, that really cement the carbon-copy factor.
“Lucy,” Mom scolds. “If Dawson says nothing happened, then nothing happened.”
I flash Mom a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
