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I spin on my heel, my heart pounding in my chest as I see Matteo standing there with his little hands tucked in his front pockets. “Oh,caro. You scared me.”

“Sorry, mom.”

“It’s okay.” I force a smile onto my lips as I wave him over. “I’m going to see if I can find somewhere for us to stay for now.”

“Why can’t we stay with Dad? He has a house, doesn’t he?”

I nod and roll my lips between my teeth. “Well, yes, but I don’t know if we are able to stay there right now or not.”

“You could ask him.”

My heart splinters as I stare at my little guy. He’s right, I could ask Carson, but I don’t want to bother him. I don’t want to ask him for any help. “Why don’t you go get your things packed and I’ll see what I can do.”

After Matteo leaves the room, I direct my attention back to my phone. I need to find somewhere for Matteo and me to stay here in Aston. I won’t let him and Carson lose out on any additional time together.

Andi

We can meet you.

Carson

Nonsense. I’ll pick you guys up to make things easier.

Andi

I appreciate the offer, but we’ll meet you there.

It isn’t but five seconds after the message is delivered that my phone starts to ring and Carson’s name shows up on the screen. Damn him.

“Hello?” I say as I answer the call and hold the phone up to my ear.

“What is Andi short for?”

My eyebrows pull together in confusion. “Andalina.”

“Thank you. That’s a beautiful name,” he murmurs in approval. “Why the hell are you being difficult, Andalina?”

I purse my lips and my forehead creases as I switch the call to speakerphone so I can start looking at hotels. “I’m not. It’s just going to be easier for me to meet you.”

“I disagree, but I’d love to hear your reasoning.”

Frustration overwhelms me and the words tumble from my lips before I get the chance to wrangle them. “Because we can’t stay at the house right now and I’m not sure where we’re going to be staying yet.”

Carson is quiet for two heartbeats. “What are you talking about? Why can’t you stay there?”

A sigh escapes me, deflating my lungs. “They found mold.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” I say in a defeated tone as I scroll through a list of shitty motels outside of Aston. “The remediation company can’t get to us in two weeks and they’re estimating two more weeks after that until it’s done. It isn’t safe to stay here, so I’m trying to find a hotel or somewhere for now.”

“Come stay with me.”

My heart stalls in my chest. “What? No, we can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” There’s a rustling sound that comes through the speaker and I’m not sure what he’s doing. “I have two guest rooms that you both can use.”

The thought of staying with him has my stomach doing somersaults. My heart kicks into overdrive, thumping againstmy ribcage. “I appreciate it, Carson, but we can’t impose on your life.”