Chapter Twenty-One

Rio

The kid lifted his eyes from Bryn to look at me. “Are you staying over again?” he asked.

I felt an unfamiliar emotion tighten my throat, watching them. This wasn’t something meant for me to see, and I was afraid of how it would affect me now that I had. My goal in stopping by had been to tell Bryn it was all handled. They were safe. Then, I was going to leave and get ready for a date. The getting laid and getting Bryn out of my head was my plan. I’d even called Vanessa and asked her out, knowing she was a no-strings-attached kind of girl.

Before Bryn could respond, I nodded my head. “Yeah, I thought we could order pizza and let you pick out a movie for us to watch.” The words came out before I could think them through.

Seeing the bouncer here had flipped some damn switch in me I couldn’t control. There was what my head was telling me I wanted, which was Vanessa and a good fuck. Then, there was the rest of my damn body, demanding I stay here. With Bryn and Cullen.

The memories of my life with my mother weren’t good ones, and the time I had known Bryn were the worst. I had gone without food, a parent, electricity most of the time, and in the end, I’d found my mother dead. Keeping my distance from Bryn and the world I had left behind was what I needed to do.

They were safe now, and I didn’t need to be mixed up with any part of their lives. I was done. I had paid the money Tory owed, and that debt was covered.

“We always make our pizza. We like to do that,” Cullen told me, turning his gaze from me back to Bryn.

But I couldn’t let the kid down now. I’d spoken without thinking.

She nodded, then stood up. “Of course we can. We need to go to the store and buy the supplies. Why don’t you go use the bathroom, brush your hair, and put on some shoes?”

He spun around and hurried down the hallway.

Bryn turned to look at me then. Her arms folded across her chest. “What’s wrong? Are we in danger?” she asked me quietly.

The concern in her eyes was clear. She thought I was staying because of something Tory had done. I considered being vague and making her think she needed me. Bryn had lived in enough fear. I wasn’t going to lie to her to cover up my stupid offer to stay for pizza and a movie. I would cover that up another way.

“Nothing’s wrong, and you’re not in danger. She owes no one. And no one will be coming here. She was dating the brother of the guy who owned the meth lab, but it was new. They had just met. All three are in prison.”

There was no reason to tell her that Tory had owed a three-thousand-dollar debt. She’d want to pay it, and I wasn’t going to let her go work extra hours at the fucking strip club to pay me back.

Her arms fell to her sides, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank God,” she whispered. Then, she frowned and tilted her head slightly to the left as she studied me. “So, why the pizza and movie?”

What was my lie going to be? This was not a date. I didn’t want her to think I wanted more. This was an ending. Closure. Real closure this time.

“I don’t have to stay. I just offered to give you some peace of mind. Reassure you that no one was going to show up. Plus, Cullen seemed excited to see me, but I don’t have to stay, and you can make up an excuse as to why I left if you think my being here will confuse him.” I stopped there, thinking it was a pretty damn good excuse to me.

The look in her eyes was wary, and I knew she didn’t trust easily, if at all. She must still think they were in some danger.

She dropped her gaze to the floor and visibly sighed. “He isn’t used to having a man around,” she finally said as she lifted her head and looked at me. “He likes you. I can’t let him get attached, but I guess one evening won’t hurt.”

Why the hell was I relieved? I wasn’t going to get laid now, and I had a date to break. I should be upset that she wasn’t letting me out of this.

“Don’t confuse Cullen. He needs to understand you’re not going to be coming around again,” she added.

I understood what she meant, and I agreed. I didn’t want the kid to get hurt or attached. I was not the man for him to get attached to.

“Just this one time,” I agreed.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

It looked like she was going to say more when Cullen walked back into the room. He had changed into a Spider-Man T-shirt and put on a pair of tennis shoes with Velcro straps. The sides lit up as he walked.

Bryn glanced back at me after looking at him. “You going with us to the store?” she asked.

Somehow, it felt more like a challenge. I could see in her eyes that she expected me to say no. She knew if I was seen with them at the grocery store, that people would talk. She also had no clue how little I cared about that shit.

“You ever ridden in a Jeep?” I asked Cullen.

His eyes went wide. “No,” he replied.

“Well then, I guess I have to go. I’m driving,” I replied, then winked at him before turning to look back at Bryn.

She looked as if she might argue, but one glance at Cullen stopped her. “Okay, but I need to get his booster seat out of the car.”

“I’m really gonna ride in a Jeep?” Cullen asked excitedly and hurried for the door.

“The top’s off too,” I told him.

“This is the best day ever,” he exclaimed as he reached the door.

I followed him, checking to make sure Bryn was coming. She was frowning as she studied the back of his head and shifted her gaze to mine.

“Don’t make him like you too much,” she added.

I didn’t have a response for that. I wasn’t sure what the proper reaction to that request should be. Cullen walked outside and then stopped and turned to look for Bryn. When he found her walking behind us, he went to her and reached up to grab her hand.

It was just one more night. He wasn’t going to get attached to me that quickly.

“Let’s go,” he said, grinning up at her.

She returned the smile, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Trusting someone else with Cullen—even just with a Jeep ride, pizza, and a movie—worried her. That led me to wonder about her personal life.

Had she not dated anyone since Cullen’s birth? Had they always lived together? Had her life recently changed by moving here with Tory and Cullen?

As I walked to the Jeep, more questions began to pile up in my head, and I fought to push them aside. This wasn’t my business, and I wasn’t going to make it my business. But it was impossible to believe Bryn hadn’t dated or brought a guy around since Cullen’s birth.

“I need to get the booster seat,” Bryn said.

I stopped as she unlocked her car, and then I moved to take the seat before she could.

“I got it,” I told her.

Again, the flash of worry was in her eyes.

“It’s one evening. Stop looking so damn scared,” I whispered for her ears only.