Playing dirty, kid. “Only if that’s okay with your mother, since you did sneak out while grounded.”

“Oh, um.” She met my eyes, a curious expression there. “If you’re sure, then it’s okay with me.”

I wasn’t sure about a damn thing. I don’t want to lose you both, that’s all I’m sure about. “It’s fine with me.” I looked over at our son. “Consider it a downpayment on one of the birthdays I owe you.”

“You did miss a lot of them, including the big sixteen this past February.” Colin reached out to slap my shoulder this time, patting twice.

Oh, this kid.

“I’ll go order one with your credit card. You haven’t canceled it yet, right?”

Well played. “I forgot, so yeah, go ahead.”

He was already on the move before I had a chance to process what in the hell just happened.

Once I was alone with Juliette, she gave me an awkward smile, which was so much more than I deserved.

“Maybe I should go talk to him? I haven’t, um, had a minute alone with him since we got here.”

“Sure.” I had to text Izzy anyway to fill her in on the rest of Colin’s story. But for whatever reason, I found myself calling out, “Wait.” Yeah, I had nothing after that.

I approached her and placed my hand on the wall by her shoulder. I didn’t mean to continuously trap her with my body. It somehow kept happening.

“I owe you an apology.”

She rolled her lips inward, looking so damn innocent and sweet. “No, you don’t.”

“I do.” For so many things, but I’d start with the only one I could explain. “I’m not great at saying I’m sorry, so you’ll have to give me a second to figure out how to do this,” I admitted. “I can understand your reservations about me and this situation, and I was wrong not to acknowledge them earlier.”

“No.” She set her hand on my chest, and I dropped my gaze to her touch. She had no clue what she was doing to me whenever she put so much as a finger on me. “I shouldn’t have jumped the gun and accused you of wanting to be with me because of that.”

“It’s a genuine concern. I get it,” I lied, knowing damn well that what I was feeling wasn’t obligation. Not even close.

“Well then.” Why was her lip trembling? “I think it’s safe to say our apologies cancel each other’s out, right?”

“If you say so, sure.” I forced a smile.

“You said something about wanting to see photos, didn’t you? How about after I check in on Colin, we have a look together?”