Andrew“Raven,” I gasped. “Don’t say that you’re not meant to have a mother.”“Why not?” she countered with a steely look. “It’s how I feel.”“Okay,” I nodded, wanting to diffuse the situation before it escalated into a fight. “That’s understandable. I don’t think anyone is ‘not meant’ to have something that’s supposed to be good, though. We’re not cursed or anything.”The dubious look on her face said otherwise.“Really,” I pushed. “What happened to Mom was an accident. Nothing more. She didn’t deserve it, and we didn’t deserve it.”My heart tightened, and I looked down at my lap. We didn’t speak about Danica much. Raven had some therapy after her passing a decade before, but as for me, maybe I’d moved on too fast. I hadn’t predicted the ways Danica’s absence would affect Raven in the years to come. I’d focused on what the little girl Raven had lost, not what the teenager and young woman Raven would need.“Yeah,” she said. “I know it wasn’t our fault.”“Really?”“Yes. Don’t worry, Da

LanieMom’s noise-making abruptly stopped, and she turned to look at me.Dad cocked his head. “What do you mean?” he barked. “We met him already?”Just say it, I told myself. The sooner you let it out, the sooner it will be over with.“He’s Andrew Marx,” I spilled, talking faster than usual. “I met him because his daughter, Raven, goes to my school. Weeks ago. We met weeks ago.”The tension in the room was unprecedented, my breathing all I could hear at first. Dad’s eyes were wide, his jowls rapidly turning red.“Andrew Marx?” he repeated.“Yes,” I peeped, feeling like I was shrinking inside my sweater.Dad licked his lips. Looked away. Ran his palm over his mouth. “How? When? Damn it, Lanie.”I flinched at his harsh tone. My father had only cussed at me a few times before, and only when I did something really, really bad—like sneak out of the house in the middle of the night or clog the toilet with all of Mom’s lipsticks after we fought.The disappointment and anger in his voice had

AndrewLanie’s hand fell on my knee as she looked earnestly into my eyes. She seemed unaware that she was touching me, but the shivers of pleasure running through my leg took up all of my attention.I licked my lips and got my brain working again. “Maybe you should take that kid from the coffee shop home. They’d probably like him.”“Oh my god,” she groaned. “Was that a joke?”“Maybe.” I made a pained face. “Humor was never my forte.”A chuckle slipped from her. “It was decent. For someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”“Gee, thanks.”“Sorry,” she said, laughing.“I’m just glad to see you not crying,” I softly said, trailing my fingers down her cheek.Lanie sharply inhaled, and the sound made goosebumps rise on my arms.“Are we doing the right thing?” she delicately asked.I had to swallow before answering. Her hand was still on my leg, and my arm around her waist. In that moment, the “right thing” was happening. We were together, and it seemed nothing else mattered.“What do yo

LanieGently climbing off me, Andrew pulled me against him and tossed a blanket over the both of us. Nestled in the crook of his arm, I sighed happily.“This is …” He paused. “Good,” he simply finished.I laughed. “Yeah, it is.”“I was worried we would never have this again.”Emotion clogged my throat. I was happy he couldn’t see my face because I was afraid of what could be showing there.“I’m sorry about all this,” I whispered.Andrew squeezed my shoulder and pressed his face into the side of my head. “Lanie, don’t do that. None of this is your fault.”“I just wish you didn’t have to go through this.”“I’m more worried about you.” He lightly stroked the arm I’d tossed across his shoulder.“What do you mean?”Andrew sighed. “I can’t ruin your relationship with your parents.”“Don’t worry about that. I’ll figure it out.”“I’m going to talk to Bob.”In the blink of an eye, I was sitting up and looking at him.Andrew put a finger up. “Don’t protest.”“I—”“Uh-uh.”I tried to stop the sm

AndrewDamn, he was relentless. “I don’t want to call it off. I haven’t met a woman as special as Lanie since Danica.”The confession was hard to make, on account of it being so true, but if I wanted to win this argument, I needed to pull out all the stops.“I know you, Andrew.” Bob spread his hands. “And you don’t get out much. You’re not exactly pursuing dates on the regular. The only reason you found Lanie was because of convenience. She works at the school your daughter goes to. Let me guess. You went into a function or a parent-teacher conference, and that’s how you met.”My skin turned hot and itchy. “Just because we met at school doesn’t mean she’s any less special than someone I would meet at a speed dating event.”I could have taken it further, demanding to know if Bob thought Lanie wasn’t special, but that would be a low blow and not even practical. I knew Bob thought the world of his family, and I hadn’t come to the club to fight. It was time to make amends.“I don’t have t