Dirty Bad Boys Box Set: Forbidden Romance Collection

“I have lost you,” I sob. “I got caught up in it all... the whole—”

“Romance.”

“Romance...” I repeat quietly. “I’m not sure it was all romance, though.”

“Bad romance. The best kind.” She finally smiles, motioning for me to sit on her lap like I’d always done as a kid.

I position myself on her lap and rest my head on top of hers, hugging her real tight. Her familiar scent is home, comforting me at this very moment. It’s exactly what I need and with that feeling, I allow myself to cry in her embrace.

“As a romance writer what’s your take on this?” I ask as the tears subside enough to talk. “Tell me what your characters would do right now?”

She thinks for a moment, resting her head against my chest. “Well, they always need that time apart to re-evaluate what’s important and what they’re willing to give up.”

“Go on…”

“Then they meet. Somewhere unexpected, but of meaning. A place close to their hearts. It makes the moment even more romantic.”

“Like at Tiffany’s?” I joke softly, smiling through my dried-up tears.

“Or, like the field on Benson’s Corner.”

It takes a moment for the penny to drop.

Benson’s Corner is the biggest field in Green Meadows. Ash and Logan would play there every day, sometimes twice a day, for as long as I could remember. I remembered telling Dad one day to build me a cubby house in the big oak tree because we practically lived there.

“That’s Ash and Logan’s field.”

She nods.

“What are you trying to say, Mom?”

“I’m trying to tell you that I’m sure you’ll find an equally devastated man on that field kicking the ball around aimlessly.”

I shuffle on her lap, anxious yet eager. “Logan’s here?”

Mom’s face remains placid, nodding again to assure me she’s not lying.

“How… um... is he?”

“A mess,” she states truthfully. “You did a number on him, kid.”

I’m about to defend myself until Mom stops me. “I meant…” she points to my heart, “… in here.”

“Mom, I don’t know how to fix us. We’ve kinda always been a broken unit. It’s just so hard.”

“The two of you never saw eye to eye. You were constantly fighting for Ash’s attention. Both headstrong and extremely competitive.”

“And that’s what got me into this mess to begin with. I signed up for the show because they were doing great things. I wanted to be better, and look at the mess I created for myself.”

“And look at where it brought you... here.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I hurt you and lied, and just wasn’t thinking about anyone else but that moment.”

“I get it, kid. You had that moment. We’ve all had it...” She pauses, then drives her mouse around the screen. “I want to show you something.”

I scoot off her lap to allow her to navigate on the screen without too much trouble. She clicks out of the word document she’s in, then opens another. There’s a title on the screen that says, Bad Romance.

“What’s this?” I ask, unsure of what she’s trying to show me.