Page 53 of Dating the DILF
She snorts out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m familiar with that piece of shit.”
Jeremy’s face drops and I have to bite back my first sincere laugh since I stepped foot in this studio.
“Uh, well, we’re here filming the reunion show and we have your mother here who is expressing her concern about your relationship with Miles.”
“I bet she is.” She scoffs. “Miles, are you there?”
“Yeah,” I force myself to answer. “I’m here, Chicago.”
There’s complete silence in the studio as we all listen, waiting to hear what she’ll say next.
Instead, all we get is a dial tone when she ends the call.
My hand stills on the doorknob and I take a deep fortifying breath before I open it. I’ve spent the entire trip home trying to get in touch with Charlie, but she has rejected every one of my calls. She sent me one quick message that contained two words.Lulu’s fine.
I spent the four-hour flight home reliving the afternoon, choking on my regret and wondering when I’m going to stop making such shitty life choices.
It feels like so much longer than twelve hours since I last saw her and I need to get my hands on her more than I need my next breath.
The house is silent when I enter, and I check my watch seeing it’s just after nine. After a quick sweep of the lower level, I find no one, so I make my way upstairs and head straight for Lulu’s room.
The door is slightly ajar, and I peer in, seeing Lulu curled up in bed. She’s fast asleep, clutching Pongo, her stuffed penguin, her gentle snores filling the room.
I push the door open farther and find Charlie asleep on the floor, a pillow under her head and the ratty open-weaved blanket my mom crocheted for me when I was a kid, covering her.
I take a moment to enjoy the view. The connection they have developed these last few months surprised me, but I think it shocked Charlie even more. I still remember the look of horror on her face when I mentioned I had a kid. She tried to hide it, but it was painfully obvious she had one foot out the door the second it came up.
Fast-forward to this morning when the two of them practically kicked me out of the house so they could start their “girl’s day.” If I’ve messed this up, I’ll never forgive myself.
Moving quietly through the room, I kneel down next to Charlie and gently shake her awake. Her eyes pop open with fright, her body taut, but she relaxes the moment she realizes it’s me.
Without a word, she gets up and walks out of the room.
Sighing, I move to the bed and lean down to place a kiss on Lulu’s head. She rolls over and mumbles something about fudging firecrackers and I hold my breath, praying she won’t wake up.
When she burrows back into her pillow and her breathing evens out, I turn and follow Charlie downstairs.
I find her pacing between the kitchen and living room.
“How was your conference?” she snaps.
“I’m sorry.” I slump against the island bench.
“You lied to me.” Her chin wobbles and her eyes shine with unshed tears.
“I was trying to protect yo—”
“I don’t need you to protect me, Miles. We’re supposed to be a team. I’msofucking mad at you right now.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” I hate how defensive I sound. “Harvey wasn’t going to back off until I agreed to do it, so why keep fighting it?”
She stops pacing and turns to me. “And how exactly did that turn out for you?”
“I fucked up, okay?” I fold my arms across my chest. “I was trying to fix everything. I don’t want to lose you because my life is a joke and that rubs off on you. How long would you stick around if being with me causes your life to come crashing down.”
Her mouth drops and she’s practically vibrating with rage.
“Who the hell do you think you are, Miles Kent? Do you really think I’m that shallow? Or that I’m not completelyinthis?” She storms toward me and the look on her face warns me not to interrupt her.
