Page 53 of Riptide

Hudson freezes mid-bite. “Did she just—?”

“Sherolled,” I say, eyes wide.

“No. Shut up. Did I just witness my daughter’s first roll?!”

I wince. “Technically, yes. Officially? I think we both know what we have to do.”

Hudson takes a second to realize what I’m not saying, then lets out a whine. “She’s going toknow,” he mutters. “Daphne knows everything. She’s gonna take one look at me and know that I’m keeping something from her.”

“Yeah, well…distract her with something else,” I say, leaning down to adjust Rosie on the mat like I didn’t just commit to a lifetime of deceit, “we take this one to the grave.”

“She’s gonna interrogate me. I’m a terrible liar.”

“I know.”

He shakes his head, eyebrows pinched. “I crack under pressure, Finn.”

“Iknow.”

Rosie flails her arms with all the glee of someone who has no idea that we’re going to have to lie to her mother for eternity.

“I’m not emotionally prepared for this,” he mumbles.

I sit back on my elbows, watching Rosie like she’s some kind of tiny god of mischief. “She waited till you were here. That counts for something.”

He peeks at her from between his fingers. “She’s gonna be trouble.”

“She’s already trouble.”

“God, I love her.”

“Same.”

Hudson sits up and nudges me with his knee. “You deserve something good, Finn. You know that, right?”

I nod, throat a little tight. “I’m starting to believe it.”

Chapter twenty-three

Foxx

Mymindhasbeenelsewhere, ever since Finn left me in my apartment a few nights ago. I haven’t heard from him, which isn’t unusual, and we’ve set no rules, made no commitments, but he’s been at the forefront.

It’s stupid, really. We haven’t even slept together yet. But the space he takes up is disproportionate to what we are—or what we’re not. He’s still technically my student, and things could turn south real fast…but the fact it doesn’t faze me like it should just digs that proverbial knife in deeper and tells me maybe he’s exactly what I need right now.

He’s only twenty, but he’s mature in a way that’s disarming, and it’s one of the things I like most about him. He took the news better than I imagined of my divorce—not everyone finds that to be a fact they can overlook, and that’s on them, but Finn took it in his stride. Which is why I wanted to press more on the surfing, because I saw something when he talked and I wanted more from him, to know him, to see him. It wasn’t lost on me how he clammed up. I knew then it wasn’t the right time to push, butI’m hoping he’ll come around. I could probably find out from a quick internet search, but I want to hear him talk about it again. There’s a story there; I could see it in his eyes, the way it still stings. And yeah, maybe I want to be the one who rewrites that ending for him, who turns whatever broke him into something that doesn’t ache anymore.

A knock sounds on the door, and I glance up to find a familiar face. Daphne leans into the doorway with one hand braced on the frame and a smile that’s so similar to her brother’s.

“Hi, I know you’ve got a schedule,” she says, stepping in without waiting, “but this won’t take long.”

I gesture to the chair across from my desk, still surprised to see her. “Go ahead. I’ve got exactly eleven minutes until the next first-year comes in asking if calculus is ‘optional.’”

She smirks and takes the seat. “I’m not here about math.”

Of course she’s not. I begin to sweat a little, and I silently hope that Finn was right about his sister being trustworthy.

“Alright. What can I do for you Miss James?”