Page 94 of The Offside Rule
Cole leaned back. “Your mother’s right.”
“Mark the calendar,” Holland said.
Cole gave her a look. “I say you’re right all the time.”
“No, you say, ‘I hear you,’ which is husband for I disagree but value my life.”
“Amen,” I muttered.
“You use that term too?” Holland asked me.
“I have a mother and a woman I was married to for one night. I’ve used every survival phrase.”
The second I said the words woman and married, I regretted it. Not because it hurt the way it used to. Because Catherine went quiet beside me.
Holland’s expression softened. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to dig around in old bruises.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her.
Cole looked at me. “You handled that whole thing with more class than I would’ve.”
I shrugged, even though there had been nothing classy about how it felt at the time. “Didn’t feel like it.”
“Betrayal never does,” Holland said.
Catherine’s knee brushed mine under the table. This time, I knew it was intentional. A touch that said she was there for me. My chest tightened hard enough to hurt. Cole looked between us, and I shifted my leg away.
“So,” Holland said, either not noticing or choosing mercy, “what would you tell Catherine? Since you’ve been through it.”
Catherine’s head snapped up. “Mom.”
“What? Hunter understands. Better than most.”
That was the problem. I did understand. I understood too much. I set my fork down and tried to answer like a man giving advice to a friend’s daughter. Not like a man who had tasted the inside of her thigh less than two hours ago.
“I’d tell her not to rush,” I said.
Catherine looked at me. I kept my gaze on Holland because looking at Catherine would give me away.
“And not to let one person’s betrayal become the voice she hears every time someone new tries to get close.”
Holland’s expression softened. Cole nodded once. Catherine was very still beside me.
I swallowed. “The hard part isn’t dating again. It’s trusting yourself to know the difference between someone who wants access and someone who wants to earn a place.”
The table fell quiet. I felt Catherine’s gaze on the side of my face. If I was smart, I would’ve stopped there. I didn’t.
“Whoever she dates next should understand what a privilege that is.”
Holland’s eyes got suspiciously shiny. Cole looked at me like I had just said something he wanted to approve of and investigate at the same time. Catherine looked down at her lap.
Fuck. Too much. Way too much.
I reached for my water and then remembered what had happened last time I tried drinking sparkling water during a crisis. I put it back down.
“That was a good answer,” Holland said.
“Yeah,” Cole said slowly. “It was.”
