Cathy still wasn’t sure she believed in the whole ‘fated mate’ thing. But regardless of whether soulmates were real or not, Cuan certainly looked at Tamsin as though she’d hung the moon and stars. Cathy had never seen her oldest friend so happy.
“It’s complicated,” she finished lamely. “But I think it’s serious. He’s moved in with Tamsin, anyway.”
Kevin wrinkled his nose. “But she’s old.”
“She’s barely in her forties, Kevin. Only a few years older than me.”
Her son treated her to an expressive look.
“Anyway,” Cathy soldiered on, as every bone in her body spontaneously crumbled into dust, “If she does bring him round, I want you to be polite and say hi rather than ignoring him. You never know, you might actually have fun. He’s, um, not from around here, and he’s very interested in learning about our culture. You could show him your video games.”
Kevin’s eye-roll eloquently conveyed what he thought of that suggestion. “Where are you going tonight, anyway?”
“I’ve told you, Kevin. At least three times. I’m going out with Daisy.”
He looked her up and down. “Dressed like that?”
Cathy tugged self-consciously at the neckline of her green dress. It was hardly club wear, but it was a big step up from her usual mom jeans and baggy tops. From Kevin’s tone, though, she might as well have strutted out in thigh-high latex boots and a catsuit.
“We’re going to an, um, event,” she said. “At a nice bar. It’s kind of like a party, where you dress up and meet new people.”
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of people?”
Cathy could feel her face heating. “Just… people.”
“Are some of these people men?”
“Er… about half, I expect. Look, Tamsin will be here any minute, so—”
“Single men?”
Cathy gave up. “All right, Sherlock, you got me. Yes, it’s a speed dating event. But it’s not what you think. I’m only doing it for Daisy. She didn’t want to go alone, and badgered me into agreeing to accompany her.”
“Oh.” Kevin considered this for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m out of snacks. Get more on the way back.”
“I’m not getting anything without a ‘please.’ And anyway, you’ve already had half your body weight in sugar today.” Cathy hesitated. “Listen, do you want to talk about this? Me going to the dating event, that is.”
He flopped onto the couch, scooping up his controller. “What’s there to talk about?”
“Well…” Cathy sat down next to him, wincing at the rustle of empty candy wrappers. “I haven’t done anything like this before. It’s been just the two of us for a long time. Not that I’m actually intending to date anyone, but… I just wanted to reassure you that your feelings matter to me. If you’re worried, or unhappy about anything, you just have to tell me, okay?”
Kevin’s attention was fixed on the game again. “Whatever.”
“I mean it.” God, she wanted to give him a hug, but she knew he’d only push her away. “No matter what, you’ll always be the most important person in my life. You know that, right?”
“Of course I do.” In the harsh, flickering light of the TV, his childish features looked older, and oddly unfamiliar. “I’ll always be the only person in your life. It’s not like anyone’s going to fall in love with you.”
The sharp, biting words caught her by surprise, slicing across her throat. It took every ounce of her willpower not to show how badly he’d hurt her. She stared at Kevin, trying to convince herself that he hadn’t spoken out of malice. He was just a child, innocent and self-centered, sometimes thoughtless but never cruel…
His gaze slid toward her, sly and mocking. And she knew that he had meant it. Every word.
She looked at him, her son, the person that she’d created from her own body, and thought: I don’t know you.
Cathy shot to her feet, stumbling for the door. Behind her, underneath the sounds of explosions and screams, she heard a soft, childish laugh.
Safely out of sight in the hallway, Cathy collapsed against the wall. She pressed her palms against her eyesockets, hard, trying to blot out that sense of wrongness.
No. No. This can’t be happening. Not now. Not again.