Page 30 of One Night with the Werewolf
“What? With who?”
Harry and Becks both suck in a breath. Jason looks at them, then back at me, his brows lowering.
“With who, Em?” he repeats.
Not that it’s any of his business, but I want this to be over. He needs to know exactly where he stands with me.
I clench my fists as I say, “With your dad.”
Nobody in the bar says a single word. Jason searches my face like he’s waiting for the joke, but then he doesn’t see it. No, his eyes widen and his mouth falls open.
“And you’re drinking water because…”
I shrug. “Do I have to spell it out?”
He jerks back as if he’s been hit with a whip. I could almost laugh at the look on his face, horrified and bewildered all at once.
“That party where you never showed up,” I say, taking a step toward him. He takes a matching one back. “Guess who was there for me? Who supported me when you were fucking around with other people?”
“No way.” He shakes his head furiously. “You’remygirlfriend. What the fuck?”
“I’m not your girlfriend.” I scoot my chair back in, waving a hand at him. “Are you done yet?”
“Of course I’m not done!” Jason bellows. Martin runs out from behind the bar, poised to act as Jason’s voice rises. “You’re fucking mydad! And what, having his kid, too? This can’t be my life.” He stumbles back, rubbing his hand over his face. “I can’t fucking believe you. You disgust me, both of you.”
“You need to leave,” Martin says, approaching him calmly. “Right now.”
Jason looks ready to punch him. “Fine,” he snaps. “I’ll go. I don’t care about this stupid fucking bar anyway.”
Then he storms out.
Shit. That is not at all how I intended this to go. I hope Roscoe doesn’t change his mind about me when I tell him what I said here.
Becks and Harry slap me on the back as they take their seats, too.
“Didn’t think you had that in you,” Harry says proudly.
“Me, neither.” I’m aghast and ashamed of myself, but strangely… it feels good. Like I did something I’ve needed to do for a long time.
That night, I tell Roscoe exactly what happened, word for word. He sighs as I talk, and I’m sure that he’s deeply disapproving of how I handled the situation.
“I’m sorry,” I say at the end. “I know I should have been the adult, but?—”
“You had every right to do what you did. I’m glad you put him in his place.” He shaved recently, which is an interestingdevelopment. It shows off his chiseled jaw even more. “It’ll make our next family get-together a little… interesting, but it had to come out one way or another.”
He pulls my chair closer and slings his arm across my shoulders, kissing my cheek.
“You’re not mad?” I ask.
“At you? No. At him? Absolutely. Grabbing you in a bar is inexcusable. I’m glad you taught him a lesson that I clearly didn’t.”
“Hey, don’t blame yourself. Jason is his own person.” I take Roscoe’s hand and guide it down to my belly. “Just like this will be a person someday with their own thoughts and feelings. But you have to love them anyway, and you love Jason, don’t you?”
Roscoe exhales. “Yeah. I do. I love that damned kid.”
“I know.”
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