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A small grumble filled my throat. “Can you just promise me you won’t be making out all the time in front of me? Dad and Melinda are worse than kids my age.”

“Ew.”

“I know,” I replied.

“Gage and I will keep it PG, I promise,” she said.

I nodded, feeling wrung out and hung to dry.

“How did you find out about Gage?” she asked.

I shook my head, thinking of the text. Seeing them together had felt like a slap to the face. “Alyssa sent me an article she saw on Dallas Deets.”

Mom let out a sigh, and she sounded so much like herself it hurt. I missed her. But I was fourteen. I wasn’t supposed to miss my parents. Or admit it, at least.

“You promise you’ll always be there for us?” I gritted out. “You won’t ship us off to Dad’s when you move in with Gage?”

“I promise. A million times I promise.”

“Good.” I looked over the water, thinking about the days we still had left on this vacation and wishing I could be home again. “You should probably tell the younger two, though. Before Dad sees it and says something stupid.”

“Good idea,” she said. “Gosh, you’re growing up so fast. You’ll be grown and gone before I know it.”

I shook my head. “I’m not like Dad. You won’t get rid of me so easily.”

“You have the biggest heart, Levi. And I hope this talking thing keeps happening. I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I admitted, even though I was too old for it. “I’ll call you when I’m back at the hotel so you can talk to the younger two. I went for a walk, so it won’t be right away.”

“Sounds good. Love you, honey.”

“Love you too,” I mumbled and hung up.

I blew out a shaky breath and lay back on the sand, staring at the cloudless blue sky. Maybe I was still a little worried, but I knew I could trust her. I just hoped she’d chosen a better man this time, one who wouldn’t break her heart.

45

Gage

I felt like Farrah and I were on better footing when she left to The Retreat for her workday. But I still couldn’t get her worry and disappointment out of my mind. I didn’t want us going public to be the thing that tore us apart. Especially since living in the public eye was such a big part of my life, whether I liked to admit it or not. It came with the territory.

A knock sounded on my glass door, and I glanced up to see Mia standing beside Jason Romero. Despite his smooth, doll-like features and placid smile, I could sense his anger in the set of his shoulders, the tightness of his eyes.

I waved my hand for Mia to bring him in, and she held the door open. He completely ignored her, stepping into my office. “We need to talk, Griffen.”

I directed my words toward Mia. “Thank you for bringing him back. I’ll have a green tea. Would you like anything, Jason?”

His features slipped for a moment, long enough for me to catch his scowl. “Nothing.”

“Very well,” I replied, sitting back in a chair at my conference table, giving off the appearance that everything was fine and dandy. “What brings you in today?”

He yanked out the chair opposite and sat down, leaning forward. The act probably intimidated other people, but not me. “You know very well why I’m here. You and the broad you’re banging brought down my approval rating fourteen points!” he hissed.

I narrowed my eyes, leaning forward. “Her name is Farrah, and if you refer to her as anything other than her name, we’ll have more to talk about than your temper tantrum.”

His skin purpled, and a vein bulged from his forehead. His eyelid was probably seconds from twitching. “I don’t think you realize that this deal isn’t all that profitable for Romero Corp. In fact, you’ll fare far better than I will for several years to come. You should take this more seriously.”

“What I don’t take seriously is the reaction of voters after a big news item. You know just as well as I do that Farrah and I will be old news by next week. Some celebrity will get pregnant or the president will do something stupid, and this blip will be long forgotten.”