Bitter Sweet Heart (Lies, Hearts & Truths #2)(92)

I sigh. “What?”

“I don’t know if this relationship is good for you or not. I do know that I love you. What do you know about this ex of hers, other than he’s been making it hard on her by not signing the divorce papers? And how does he know about your relationship?”

“I gotta assume he’s been keeping tabs on her, or me, or both of us.” I run my fingers through my hair, really wishing like hell I could call Clover and find out what’s going on. “We’ve been careful because of her position.”

“Because she knows she shouldn’t be sleeping with her twenty-one-year-old student,” Mom grumbles.

“Uncle Darren is almost a decade older than Aunt Charlene, and no one seems to think he’s too old for her.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Why? Because the roles are reversed? Because she’s the older one? You’re perpetuating a stereotype. I get that you think I’m young, but how many twenty-one-year-olds have the kind of responsibilities I do? I’m a full-time student. I play varsity hockey seven days a week. I teach self-defense classes two days a week at the gym. I’ve been a summer hockey coach for kids since I was fifteen. I run a house, and I make sure my brother and sister are dealing with life okay. I think I’m beyond dating college girls whose biggest worry is how many views their fucking video got on TikTok. I’m not the first twenty-one-year-old in the history of the world who’s dated an older woman.”

“Who’s married to a lunatic!”

“Vi, I know you’re upset, but can we focus on the more important detail here, which is the fact that this woman’s husband sought her out in a very public place and then came after our son?” He turns back to me. “I’m worried about your safety.”

“And I’m worried about Clover’s.”

“Clover?” Mom parrots.

“Yeah. Her name is Clover.”

“Is that a nickname?”

“You named me Maverick.”

“Vi, please.” My dad holds up his hand, and Mom flops back in her seat with a huff.

“What else has happened with this guy? Do you need me to call in a favor with the Chicago PD?”

There are good and bad sides to having a dad who was basically famous, not just for his illustrious hockey career, but also his brief stint in sportscasting and his time as a coach for the NHL, not to mention the condom ads, among other endorsements. The bad side is that because I look like my dad, people also expect me to be exactly like him. The good side is that there are a lot of guys on the force who have sons who play hockey. So my dad can call in favors when he needs them.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” I tell him. “At the beginning, he was sending her gift baskets and stuff. That was back in late October or early November, but it’s escalated since then.”

Mom’s head appears between us. “I thought you said you weren’t sleeping with her when you were her student.”

“I wasn’t. It wasn’t like that at first. I wrote this paper . . . and I wanted to talk to her about it.”

“A paper about what?” Dad asks.

“Does it matter?”

“Based on the way your leg is going a million miles a minute, I’d say yes, it does,” Mom points out.

“It was about childhood memories. I wrote about the carnival.” I keep my eyes on the dash and avoid looking at either of my parents. “Anyway, that’s not the point. We started talking.”

“About what happened to Lavender?” Dad asks.

I nod. “Yeah, but you’re missing the point. Clover was very clear about the lines. We had a history and chemistry, and she was my professor, so at first, I mostly kept my distance.” I don’t feel the need to go into the details of the sauna incident, or the drunk assholes who scared the crap out of her, or the self-defense lessons. “One day I was running by, and her ex was in the driveway. He seemed nice enough at the time, I guess. But when I think back on it, it was clear that Clover was uncomfortable with him being there. They weren’t married long before things went south. He was controlling, and he’s a manipulator, and from what I’ve seen, that hasn’t changed. He’s making it impossible for her to move on with her life.”

“Are you sure she’s being honest with you? She could be playing both of you.”

I shake my head. “She’s not.”

“How can you know for sure?”

“Because I sleep beside her almost every night.” I rub the space between my eyes. “Look, this is the realest thing I’ve ever had. And you saw my midterm grades this term. They were solid, and my finals are going to be just as good because she’s a positive influence on me, not a bad one. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I graduate, but I do know that I care about her. A lot. She’s important to me. Just please try not to judge her before you even give her a chance, okay?”

“Okay, son.” My dad drums his fingers on the center console. “I feel like it might be a good idea to take this to the police, though.”

“What are we going to tell them? That my girlfriend’s ex approached me in a parking lot and told me to stop sleeping with his wife? He didn’t throw a punch, and he didn’t threaten me. The only thing he did was allude to having done some research, which wouldn’t be all that difficult because I have a famous parent.” Although he is supposed to be going through her lawyer to speak to her, so that might be something. “I don’t want to draw more attention to Clover than I need to. It’s bad enough that it was in a public place.” I look over my shoulder and give my mom a look. “I can feel your judgment. You need to find some chill, Mom.”