She’s about to snap, but I’m not afraid. We’ve been at odds ever since we moved here. First she tried to get me to stay away from Aiden, and now it’s only gotten worse since she decided we should move. I thought we were on the right track when she let me go to the beach house with everyone, but now that this thing with Brian is out in the open, we’ve been going back and forth arguing with each other more than we get along.

Brian puts his hand on my mom’s arm. “It’s all right, Caroline. I should get going anyway.”

She frowns but kisses him, and I audibly gag. They pull apart and Mom glares at me as she hands Brian his keys.

“We really do appreciate your discretion about this whole situation, Amelia. Aiden’s as well. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to handle this. I don’t want to hurt Mason, but I can’t stop seeing your mother. It’s not just an affair . . .”

I don’t care for his excuses and I don’t want his words to sink in. He cares about Mom? It’s more than an affair? What is he saying? That they’re in love? I can’t even think about that right now. All I can think about is Mason’s face—how disappointed he’ll be when he finds out, how he’ll hate that I knew before him and didn’t say anything.

Instead of replying, I open the door and gesture outside, effectively kicking him out.

“Until next time.” He steps out the door and onto the porch.

“There shouldn’t be a next tim—”

Annalisa is walking up the driveway and I snap my mouth shut. Mom spots her too. Her eyes widen, and she quickly turns to run up the stairs.

Brian notices Annalisa when it’s too late. There’s a hitch in his step but he recovers quickly, continuing his walk and pretending that this is all normal. Like, Just another normal day. Totally not cheating on my unsuspecting wife and fooling my son. Yup, just a normal day. I’m not a complete douche bag. No ma’am, not me.

“Hi, Anna.” He greets her as they pass each other, then continues down the street.

She looks at him with her eyebrows drawn, confused, then back at me as she walks up the porch steps.

I practically hold my breath when she stops and meets me on the porch. She holds up a key. “You forgot your house key again. I brought it since I figured you’d be locked out of your house, but I guess you got in okay.”

I stare at it like I’ve never seen it before in my life. I must’ve been so focused on getting out of there with the file that I forgot it on the coffee table.

“Oh. Yeah, I came in through the garage. Thanks.”

She drops her arm and looks back at where Brian disappeared into the distance. “Mason told me his dad left on a business trip this morning. Why would he—”