Rebound (Seattle Steelheads #1)(66)

Christ, always more money. “Email how much you need for everything and I’ll see what I can do. Driver’s ed might have to wait depending on how much the music boosters want. Have you looked into any of their fundraisers yet?”

He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, but they’re stupid. Everyone in school is doing the same ones and everything is overpriced, so nobody’s buying anything.”

“They’re better than nothing,” I said.

“Yeah. Not by much.”

“I could help,” Asher said.

My head snapped toward him. “Huh?”

He shrugged. “I remember those school fundraisers. They’re a pain in the ass and raise about twenty-five cents because everyone’s trying to sell it to everyone else who’s also trying to sell shit.” Beat. “Stuff. Trying to sell stuff.”

“Yeah.” David huffed. “You’d think they wouldn’t give us all the same crap at the same time.”

Asher nodded. “Totally. If you want, I can take your order thing to the team. If it’s any kind of food, they’ll buy it by the truckload.”

My son’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Sure. And if they don’t buy enough to meet your goal, or if the fundraiser doesn’t cover it, let me know.” Asher smiled. “I’m happy to help fill in the gap.”

The relief on David’s face made my heart sink. God. No. Not this again. Not with another boyfriend.

But what was I going to do? Reject Asher’s offer now that my kid already knew about it? It wasn’t like I had the money to pick up the slack.

Fuck. I hated this sense of déjà vu. I knew Asher was nothing like Marcus, and that he meant well, but hadn’t I “known” all that about Marcus too?

Damn it. Apparently we needed to have an awkward conversation, and soon.





Chapter 18


Asher



The kids had to get back to their mom’s and get started on their homework, so after an amazing dinner, we said goodbye to them and headed back to my car.

“They’re okay on their own?” I asked. “Even driving downtown?”

“Yeah, they’re fine.” Geoff smiled faintly. “Claire’s a competent driver.” He gestured up ahead at my Ferrari. “Don’t know that I’d turn her loose in something like this, though.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because it looks like it’s going fast while it’s sitting still. She can’t afford to pay for any tickets and neither can I.”

“Fair enough.”

The conversation died away. That was weird. In fact, I realized now he hadn’t said a whole lot at the restaurant. The kids had all but begged me to regale them with hockey stories, and I’d thought Geoff was just sitting back and listening to us talk hockey. But he was still quiet now. Unusually quiet.

As I got into the driver’s seat, I glanced at him. “Everything okay? You got kind of quiet during dinner.”

More silence, which did nothing to reassure me that everything was okay. Pressing his elbow against the window, he gnawed his thumbnail.

I started the engine but didn’t put the car in gear yet. As much as I wanted to gently nudge him, I had visions of him snapping at me. He never had, but my ex had done it enough times that it didn’t take much for my brain to put together a film reel of Geoff doing the same thing. This silence was going to drive me insane, though.

Somehow, I worked up enough nerve to quietly say, “Geoff?”

He exhaled, lowering his hand to his lap. “It’s…about what you said before dinner. About my son’s fundraiser.”

I had no idea how to respond. That was what had upset him? So it was something I’d done, but…that?

“Listen.” He took a breath, and when he looked at me, his eyes were gentle but serious. “I know you mean well. And don’t get me wrong—I appreciate it. But…please, don’t offer to pay for stuff in front of my kids.”

I blinked. My stomach somersaulted with panic. Had I fucked up? And how bad? Was he about to cut me loose because I’d overstepped? Mouth dry, I managed to croak, “Uh. Okay. I… I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. I know.” Geoff broke eye contact. “The thing is, I can’t say no if they’ve already heard you offer. And—I mean, like I said, I do appreciate it, but I have to be able to say no.”

“So, you don’t want me to pay for something? I just… He needed some things for school, and I could help. That’s all.”

“I know. I know. But this…” He chewed his lip before he finally sighed and faced me again. “Don’t think for a second that I’m saying you’re anything like my ex. You’re not. But this is how it started with him.” Geoff slipped his hand into mine and squeezed gently. “I need to keep us and money separate. At least where my kids are concerned.”

“Oh. Okay. Sure.” That panic wasn’t receding at all. There was nothing in Geoff’s voice or body language to suggest he was going to flip out at me over it or that he was going to walk because it was a deal-breaker, but that jittery electric feeling wouldn’t back down. Quietly, hoping I didn’t sound too pathetic, I said, “I didn’t mean to overstep anything. I just wanted to help.”