I snort. “Really? I didn’t realize,” I say sarcastically.
He sighs again. “Please, don’t make this difficult.”
I stop dead in the sidewalk and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Fine,” I mutter through clenched teeth.
“They want to take us all to dinner while they’re here.”
I try to repress my gag reflux. The last thing I want to do is have dinner with Owen’s parents. They’re the worst of the worst. “Can Jace come?” I ask. I won’t go if he doesn’t. I know I won’t make it out alive without him.
“Sure,” he replies.
“I’ll see you this weekend,” I say and hang up before he can respond.
I stuff my phone into my pocket and enjoy the rest of the walk in silence.
I step into the record store, the bell chiming loudly. Brenda, who owns the shop with her husband Paul, comes out of the back, expecting a customer.
“Oh, hi, Nova,” she greets with a pleasant smile.
“Hey,” I reply, heading for the back room to clock in and put my bag away.
“Are you okay?” she asks, following me to the back. “You look upset about something.” Her bangles on her wrist clang together as she waves her hand while she speaks. Brenda can’t speak unless her hands are moving.
“Just peachy,” I reply, stuffing my bag in my locker and shutting it.
She smiles like a kind mother looking after her child. “Now I know you’re upset.”
I sigh, turning back to her and gathering my long, dark hair up into a ponytail. “It’s my stupid ex and his douchebag parents.” I shiver, the thought of having to sit at a table and share a meal making me cringe. “They’re … awful, and they’re going to be here this weekend and I have to have dinner with them. I want to be rid of them. It’s not like Owen and I are together anymore.”
They forced me to give up my son so Owen’s dad could further his political career. Who does that?
Brenda’s gray eyebrows rise high up her forehead. “Wow, I can see why you’re upset.”
I shrug. “It’s really not a big deal.”
She frowns, giving me a sympathetic look. “Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”
I mutter under my breath, “Both.”
I turn away from Brenda and clock in. Turning back with my hands on my hips I say, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop talking about this and get to work.”
“Of course, sweetie.” She moves aside so I can pass her and enter the store.
I do my best to empty my mind and focus on reorganizing the records. It’s summer vacation time now which means the high school kids like to come in and put everything in the wrong place.
Today, I welcome the monotony, though, where under normal circumstances I might be cursing under my breath.
What can I say? I’ve learned a thing or two from Jace.
When my day ends I fix my hair where little pieces had escaped, grab my bag, and get out of there.
W.T.F., the restaurant Jace works at, is a block down from the record store, I head there since I know he’s working and I’m starving.
I breeze through the door and head straight for the bar.
Jace has his back to me as I slide into a chair. I grin and say in as much of a sexy voice as I can muster, “Hey, hottie, I like your tattoos. Maybe we could sneak a quickie in the bathroom.”