His happy grin would’ve been worth ten dollars in quarters. As he fed the machine and twisted the lever, Mae glanced across the dining area of the pub. Her heart skipped when she saw Merit at the bar talking to the redhead. She should feel better that neither of them looked happy, but she didn’t. Not one damn bit.
He frowned as he turned away. His gaze darted toward the bathrooms, and his expression stiffened when he saw her watching him. She didn’t look away.
Yeah, buddy, you’re busted.
The back of her eyelids burned. It was too early to be this invested in the man, and yet here she was, battling the pain trying to rip her heart to shreds. She had wanted so badly for him to be different—for him to not be that guy.
Merit returned to their booth to toss some bills on the table, then made his way over to her and Ian, his expression grim.
“Merit, look at what I got!”
He shifted his gaze from her to her son and gave him a genuine smile while taking one of the super balls in his hand to look at it closer. “These are awesome.”
“Can you believe they have Scooby Doo on them?”
“And Shaggy, too.”
Ian grinned.
Merit handed the ball back. “You both ready to go?”
“Yep!”
Mae was ready to go home, but when Merit’s cautious gaze met hers, she simply gave him a stiff nod. Much as she wanted the night to be over, it was Ian’s birthday, too, and he was expecting miniatur
e golf and ice cream. No way she’d take that away from him, so somehow, she had to figure out how to get through the next couple of hours.
Merit moved ahead of them to get the door. “All right then, let’s go play short sticks.”
“What does that mean?” Ian asked.
As they walked out to the vehicle, Merit explained that in golf, short stick was a slang term for putter, and miniature golf was also called putt-putt, so…short sticks.
“I get it.” Her smart little guy grinned as Merit unlocked his vehicle and opened the back door for him. “Let’s play short sticks.”
“You got it, but is it okay if I talk to your mom for a minute?”
“Yep.”
Mae narrowed her gaze at him when he closed the door. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear his excuses right now, but he didn’t appear to be giving her a choice as he grasped her elbow to guide her to the back of the vehicle. She pulled away and swung around to face him as he said, “It’s not what you think.”
“How do you know what I think?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
She crossed her arms and shifted her weight back, away from him. “Then tell me, Merit, what exactly is it?”
“Her name is Carly.”
She fought to keep from wrinkling her nose at the name.
“We went out twice before I met you.” He winced. “Well, kind of before I met you.”
Already he was shifting his story. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“We went out the night before my dad’s election, and then again the weekend after the election.”
They’d first met the night of his father’s election. The night she’d gone along with Honor’s little joke to let him think Ian was her significant other, not her son.