Page 73 of An Unexpected Turn
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said honestly. That was the closest I’d gotten to a compliment from my son in a while, so I’d gladly take it—especially tonight.
“Can I ask you a question?” Mike asked with a deep furrow on his brow.
“You can ask me anything. You know that.”
“Where do you go on the weekends? Do you hang out with Keith?”
“Sometimes,” I lied, as I hadn’t been at Keith’s house in a long time. I wanted nothing more than to come clean to him about Peyton and me, but each time I’d try, the universe didn’t want to cooperate. Whenever I’d suggested dropping by, either Keith had a late shift thanks to the new surge in carjacking up and down the thruway, or someone in the house was sick and Keith couldn’t leave or have visitors. The frustration was wearing on both Peyton and me, and these covert meetings and missions were ridiculous but, unfortunately, necessary at the moment.
“Sometimes I meet up with a couple of friends of mine for a drink, nothing too exciting. Why?”
“No reason. You just always seem to be in a rush to get to wherever you’re going.” His eyes stayed on mine as he sipped his water.
Fuck.I didn’t want to lie to my son, and now that he was picking up on something, I couldn’t keep doing it for much longer.
“Hey, I guess you guys wanted a burger too.”
Peyton grinned as she approached our table, sliding her gaze to me for a moment before facing Mike. Her dark hair was down, falling in chestnut waves over her shoulders, and she wore a snug hoodie over leggings. I had to fight to keep my eyes on hers and not sweep up and down the mouthwatering curves I’d memorized with my hands and mouth.
“Oh hey, Ms. Miller.” Mike shifted in his seat.
“I was shopping in town and felt like getting a burger to go. I haven’t been to Salma’s yet but hear they’re the best.”
“They are. I always get the one with fried mushrooms,” Mike told her without any prompting. “We usually order takeout, but Dad wanted to eat here instead.”
“More of my bad parenting. I tried to have a meal and conversation with my kid.” I tapped his foot with mine under the table.
Peyton’s smile widened, and I hated not being able to pull her in for a hello kiss. Tonight was about baby steps, not rushing in.
“You could join us if you want,” I said, attempting to sound casual while studying my son.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything. Is that okay with you, Mike?”
“No, it’s fine,” he said, scooting his chair over so Peyton could take the seat next to him. “I need to use the bathroom. Can you order for me if the waitress gets here?”
“No problem,” I said as he pushed off the chair.
Peyton shook her head as she picked up a menu.
“What?”
She peered at me over the top of the menu.
“I’m thrilled to have dinner with you and Mike tonight, but as my freshman students say, this is a little cringey. And forced. Granted, this town doesn’t have many amenities, but how many times can I bump into both of you accidentally on purpose?”
“This is the last time I’ll try to make it look unintentional, I promise. Mike is already suspicious, so I don’t think we can hide out in plain sight when it comes to him for much longer anyway.”
“Did he say something?” Peyton whispered, darting her eyes back and forth from Mike’s path to the bathroom to me.
“He asked me where I go on weekends and why I always seem to be in such a rush to get there. I hate lying to my son, but with all the change he’s had this year, I wanted to ease him in, even if he’s probably about to figure it all out anyway.”
“You guys ready?” The waitress approached our table just as Peyton’s brow furrowed. I knew most of the staff since I’d done some work here a few months ago, but this waitress was young and new enough not to try to poke for any details about the woman sitting across from me.
“We are,” I said. “Two deluxe burgers with fried mushrooms, medium.”
“Make that three, please.” Peyton smiled as she handed back the menu.
“Where does he think you’re going?” Peyton asked when the waitress was out of earshot.
