Page 47 of The Handy Men
"Congratulations," she whispered, feeling cold dread fill over her.
"Paige, Jack and I have been talking."
No. Please. No.
Paige forced herself to nod.
"We should take a break for this week."
"Just this week?" she asked. Her parents and Fred always had to ruin everything. They needed to butt the hell out of her life. Unfortunately until she paid off the loan, her parents would continue to stick their noses in her business.
"We could meet in secret?" Dean said.
Her heart shattered and Paige closed her eyes in pain. Damn it. "No. I'm not somebody's dirty little secret and neither are you two."
Dean's jaw clenched and Jack looked miserable.
"This is temporary."
Paige forced a nod. "Sure."
"The scandal could wreck the inn," Dean spoke up. "You need guests and you need to convince your parents that you're towing their line."
"Even if you're not," Jack added.
"Especially, if you're not," Dean said. "We can't let anything make your parents call in the loan."
This sucked so bad. It was worse because he was right.
"Not to mention that we want joint custody of Brendon. The court might not give it to us if we don't prove we're a committed couple," Jack said.
Dean glared at him.
Ouch. She hid a wince. There was the real reason. And she couldn't blame them. It was going to be hard enough as a gay couple to get joint custody—especially if Stephanie decided to be a bitch about things. And once again, Paige was the odd ball out. They had a family waiting for them. A little boy and a woman that they had cared for, maybe even loved once upon a time. They were being so sweet about this, trying to let her down easy. But she saw it for what it was.
"I understand." It felt like the ocean was roaring in her head. She wanted to sit down, but she didn't think she'd be able to get back up again.
"Paige," Dean said. "It's just until things get sorted out with Brendon and your parents go home."
How long would that be? Weeks? Months? Never?
She nodded. "I get it. This situation is complicated. It's for the best. I need to concentrate on the inn. You need to concentrate on Brendon. Everyone is against us. Everyone can take away something important to us if we keep seeing each other" Her voice trailed off into a sigh. "I just thought…" She stopped herself from finishing the sentence.
I just thought things would be different this time.
But as usual she was on her own.
She forced a smile. "There's no reason we still can't be friends. No one should have a problem with that. You and Stephanie should bring Brendon by once things settle down. I'll make my lasagna."
Jack frowned. "Wait. What's going on?"
"I've got to get back to the inn." Paige brushed by them.
"Call us later," Dean said.
"Any time," Jack said, "We'll be up."
Paige got on her bike and waved in acknowledgment. She didn't trust herself to speak or to look back. It took all she had to keep from crying on the ride home. This wasn't a time for tears. She had to figure out a way to get her parents out of her business and her love life.
