Page 146 of Protecting Love

Paris was right. He should have talked to Ian first.

For once he just acted without thought.

She was also right that he was afraid. Not something he admitted to anyone.

“Yeah. I wanted to talk.”

“It’s about last night, right?” Ian asked, putting his book bag on the chair by the island.

“Yes. Your mother called me today.”

Ian stopped and stared at him. “What did she say?”

“I’d rather hear your side of it,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yes. Tell me what happened. Just talk, I’ll piece it together.”

He flipped the burgers that he started when he noticed Ian walking home.

“I didn’t want to go,” Ian said.

“I know. Sometimes we’ve got to do things we don’t want to.”

Ian put his head down. “She pissed me off.”

“Nothing new there. What did she do this time?” he asked.

Ian looked stunned that he was allowed to just talk like this.

Maybe he was surprised Fletcher was letting it go too.

But it seemed like he fucked everything else up today.

“She started in on how I looked. She said I need a haircut four times in ten minutes.”

He held back his snort.

He agreed with his ex there but knew enough to let his sixteen-year-old son figure that out on his own.

Could be the style for all he knew.

Maybe Ian had a girl he was crushing on who liked the shaggy look.

Long hair never killed anyone.

“What did you say?”

“I told her I’m growing it out. Then she said it looked horrible. I didn’t point out that blonde wasn’t her color.”

He really had to hold that laugh in. His son wasn’t wrong there. He didn’t think the blonde hair was doing his ex any favors.

“So she complained about how you looked and you were, what? Rude back?”

“Yep. She’s always nitpicking. I asked her why she cared. She never did before. I pointed out all the times I needed things and she was out with other men.”

He groaned. “Ian.”