“Is it a date?”
“What did I say about changing the subject?” I asked, completely aware that I wasn’t doing a very good job keeping him on track.
“Did you and Georgia date before?”
Letting out a slow exhale through my nose, I stood. “I’m going to get ready for dinner,” I said. “You take some time to think about your grades, and we’ll discuss them again in the morning.”
He made an incoherent noise.
“I’m sure you would like to have your gaming time back. That won’t happen unless you apply yourself in school.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled.
Leaving his room, I rubbed the aching spot between my eyes. This obstinate behavior was new. Until several months ago, Sebastián had been the model child. His whole life, he’d been calm and happy, always easygoing.
Not knowing what had gotten into him was driving me crazy.
Resolving to put the matter aside for the time being, I went to my quarters and hopped in the shower. Luckily, I had other things to think about.
I’d spent a good hour that morning debating where to take Georgia to dinner, and another thirty minutes researching her online.
To my pleasant surprise, she’d done well for herself. Her newscaster position in Baltimore wasn’t just any old job. Her station was the top one in the area, with a whole page of awards.
Though her social-media pages were active, there wasn’t much about her personal life. It was impossible to decipher whether she was currently in a relationship.
Not that it mattered, I reminded myself. Tonight’s dinner was friendly, not romantic.
A rekindled romance would have been insane, anyway. No—impossible.
After the way I cut her loose, it was a wonder Georgia hadn’t called security on me when I showed up in her hospital room. I was just praying she wouldn’t ask about that night, wouldn’t try to unearth old bones, because I didn’t have any answers for her.
Finished showering, I dressed in a two-piece suit and headed back downstairs, where the delicious smell of baking banana bread filled the kitchen.
“I talked to him,” I announced. “He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Melba, sitting at the table doing a sudoku, didn’t look surprised. “Something is bothering him.”
“I know.” I grimaced at my reflection in the window. “But he won’t talk to me. He won’t talk to you. He won’t talk to his school counselor. This is a phase, right? Tell me this is a phase.”
She shook her head. “Nuh-uh. It is not a phase.”
I cursed under my breath.
“You look handsome.” She cocked her head and studied me. “That is a good suit to wear for your first date in a year.”
“It hasn’t been a year.”
Wait. Had it been a year?
“And it’s not a date,” I added.
“Does Georgia know that?”
“Georgia is the last person who wants this to be a date.” I helped myself to some of the lukewarm coffee in the pot.
“She is very pretty. When did you know her?”
I’d expected this inquisition. With most people, I would have avoided answering directly. With Melba, it was different. She’d been with me for years, helping me get through the early days with Sebastián, when I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.