“Yep.” He lifts the bottle up and out toward me. “And you might want to hang with me. I just saw Matthew, and he’s here with someone.” His gaze slides to Dayton. “Or maybe not, since it looks like you brought someone of your own.”

“Dayton, this is my brother Jacob. Jacob, this is Dayton. He works for the district attorney. We just met a few minutes ago.”

“You move fast, sis.” He smiles, jerking up his chin in a silent hello to the man next to me.

“You’re an idiot.” I roll my eyes at him and head toward the door.

“Let me know if you want me to kick Matthew’s ass,” he calls out as the TV turns on.

Ignoring him, I open the door and come face-to-face with my mom, who looks wide-eyed and panicked.

“There you are.” She grabs my hands in hers and starts shoving me back into the room, causing me to bump into Dayton, who is right behind me. “I heard you arrived and have been looking everywhere for you.”

“Sorry, I had to use the restroom.”

“It’s fine. That’s fine. Why don’t you just stay in here with me for a while, and we can⁠—”

“Mom,” I cut her off while squeezing her hands. “I already know that Matthew is here with someone. It’s okay.”

“Oh, honey, you saw them together?” Her face falls, and she wraps her arms around me. “I’m so sorry. If I had known he’d show up tonight with a date, I wouldn’t have invited him.”

“We’re divorced. You knew this was bound to happen at some point.” I sigh, forcing her to let me go. It’s difficult with the way she’s latched onto me.

“How can you be okay with this? You just signed your divorce papers.”

“We’ve been separated for months,” I remind her gently.

“He said you’re the love of his life and told his mom he wants you back!” she cries, wrenching up the drama.

Even if that last part were true, it’s never happening.

“Mom, take a breath,” I urge, then wait until she does. “Now, listen to me. It’s okay. I’m okay. I don’t care that he’s here with someone.” I shake my head. “Actually, I’m glad he has a date.”

“Glad?” she gasps. “How can you say that? You two were meant to be, Francisca. You were born to be with him.”

Oh my God, here we go.

“Mom, he and I are never getting back together.”

“Like ever!” Jacob sings out from the couch, and I close my eyes, noticing only then that Dayton is still right behind me, with his hand at the small of my back. Something else I notice is his hand spans almost the entire width of my waist. It’s so big.