Page 68 of Good Time Boyfriend
“Well, I just wanted to let you know that we’re in town for a bit.”
I ignored my mother and glared at my father. “Is there anything else you wanted?”
“You were always so ungrateful. I took care of you, you know. When you were sick, and we spent all that money to make you better. And when August was so clingy because you were sick and he wasn’t. We spent money on him, too. And Luca…well, we always did so much for him andher. Then Greer? She had everything she wanted. I made sure you were good men. Strong. Not sissies.”
“That’s enough,” I said as I gestured towards the door. “If you’re going to be fucking bigots, you can leave.”
My father looked wide-eyed over at Noah and Ford. “That’s not what I meant.”
Noah smirked and Ford didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to, with the look of death and anger on his face.
“It’s fine. We know what you meant.”
We all did.
“Thanks for showing us that you guys are together again; let us know when the next divorce hits you on your asses,” August growled, and my parents shook their heads.
“So ungrateful. Don’t you know that we showed you what love was? That it was hard. But you could always find a way.”
They kept talking, but I ignored them as August pushed them out. I stood silent next to Devney.
Because there was nothing else to say.
My parents were fucking ridiculous. They were the example of what we shouldn’t do in relationships.
I only had fling after fling, one-night stand after one-night stand. I was barely holding this family together as it was. And from the way it looked as if we were all ready to bolt, I wasn’t doing a good job.
Luca said something, and Greer let out a hollow laugh before Noah and Ford mentioned that they needed to get home.
I just stood there next to Devney, and I knew what I needed to do.
Devney needed someone that knew what he was doing. That actually had a future. That didn’t have the craziness of his parents in his past. I really wished I knew how to fix that. How to be good enough for her.
Because I wasn’t.
“Heath?” she finally spoke into the darkness, her voice soft.
I couldn’t look at her, not with the taint of what just happened still on me. “Meet the Cassidys. Well, you always knew we were fun. Now you see where we get it from.”
Luca was gone already, and I didn’t even see him go. I nodded at August and we left before dessert was even served.
Devney didn’t have anything to say. She just held my hand, trying to comfort me.
There was nothing to comfort. That was just where I came from. There was no fixing it. But I could at least fix something.
Before I broke it in the first place.
Chapter 16
Devney
Iadded garlic to the already hot pan with my onions wilting, and hoped I wasn’t going to burn them today. I burned garlic fifty percent of the time, even though it was my favorite thing in the world. Tonight was just my version of a quick dinner, some onions and garlic, add some champagne baby tomatoes, and then put it over pasta. Maybe I’d add another vegetable if I was in the mood, but tomatoes counted. Okay, they were a fruit, but they counted.
I hummed along to the music, shaking my ass in my short shorts and tank top. I was hot, exhausted, and had had a full workday that lasted until 7:00 p.m. and Istillhad things to do. I knew Paisley was running around doing a hundred things as well. I loved my job. I loved dealing with clients and trying to find the best ways to get the word out there. What I hated was when one client decided to go off script and then we had to fire them. Sometimes there was no saving the situation, there was only trying to ease some of the hurt caused. But I wasn’t going to focus on that, I was going to eat real food, not just a granola bar, and use up some of the produce in my refrigerator before it went bad. Because I had been spending so much time with Heath, I hadn’t spent enough time at home to have groceries.
I quickly stirred the pasta to make sure it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pot, and then went back to sautéing the garlic and onions.
Dinner a couple of nights ago had been awkward. At first, it was wonderful. As if I had fit in, and this was my future. My everything.
