Page 84 of One Night with Number Nineteen

His expression tells me he believes that approximately…zero percent.

Fair.

Because that’s how much I believe it too.

I’m good, I’m fucking great. Lainey and Ollie are perfect and amazing and everything I’ve been wanting for-fucking-ever.

And my mom is waiting on the sidelines again.

Ready to send it all crumbling to pieces.

I exhale. “Fine,” I mutter. “I’m not good. But I’ve got it covered.”

I’ll deal with my mom.

I always do.

And I’ll figure out some way to manage her and her needs without hurting Ollie and Lainey.

Because I have to.

Because if I can’t do that, then I’ll have to let them go.

I don’t have another choice.

Because if anyone is going to get hurt…

It has to be me.

Twenty-Four

Lainey

I open my mouth.

Close it.

Then open it again.

Then close it, pace away.

Pace back, lips parting⁠—

Faye’s head comes up, her eyes locking with mine, and she points to the back door. “Outside, Lanes. I mean it.”

“But—”

“This is good,” she says, pointing at the screen of my laptop. “Really good.” Amusement edges into her expression. “But it’s impossible to read it with you hovering over my shoulder. Shoo,” she orders. “I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

I nibble at my bottom lip.

Then force my feet to move, taking myself—and my wine and a slice of Faye’s banana bread—outside.

Ollie is upstairs asleep and since Gray is on the road trip with the Grizzlies (and Sawyer), we decided to have a girls’ night.

But Bri is off working at the youth shelter and Reese didn’t sleep well and some of Kailey’s former coworkers from the Breakers are in town so she ended up hosting them, and Harper is eight-million years pregnant, so it ended up just being me and Faye.

And, as it often does, it turned to work.