“Yeah.” He nodded, staring at his hands. “There were. I’m sorry for that, Maddie.”
“Apologies aren’t going to work this time, Don. I stopped believing them long ago.”
“I understand. But that doesn’t mean I’m not sincere, or that I don’t regret what I’ve done to hurt you and Harper. She misses you, by the way.”
“You two have been talking about me?” Fresh pain stabbed her heart.
“We’ve been reconnecting. She said she tried calling you, but you won’t call her back.”
Madge lifted her chin. “Now she knows how it feels.” She sounded petty, but she didn’t care. She glanced at her watch. “We’re going to be late,” she said, starting to open the door.
“I just want you to know something, Maddie, before we end things. I’m in counseling—something I should have started a long time ago. I’m a deeply flawed man who has made irreparable mistakes, and I’ve lost almost everything because of it.”
“‘Almost’?”
“Not that I deserve it, but our wonderful daughter hasdecided to forgive me. She doesn’t trust me, and I don’t blame her for that. But she’s giving me a chance.”
Was he trying to make her feel guilty? Or manipulate her into also giving him another chance? “I... I’m glad you two are working on a relationship.” The words were true. He was Harper’s father, and he needed to be there for his daughter. Madge didn’t want their divorce to get in the way of Harper’s relationship with Don.
“And I’m grateful there’s a little part of you that was able to say that. You’re the best, Madge, and I took you for granted. I love you,” he added, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you very much. My hope is that someday you can forgive me for all the ways I’ve hurt you, but even if you don’t, I’ll never stop loving you.”
She couldn’t move. Don was crying. Her always upbeat, nothing-was-ever-wrong husband was actually crying. He was baring his heart, something he’d never done before. He’d always breezed into town and claimed the role of the fun parent and the carefree spouse while she shouldered all the responsibility. She didn’t recognize the broken man sitting next to her.
He opened the door and exited the car.
Slowly she picked up her purse from the passenger-side floorboard and headed for the building. Don walked a few paces ahead, then opened the door for her to walk inside. When they reached the elevator, he pressed the button. It immediately opened, and they both stepped inside.
Madge glanced at his profile as he pressed the button for the third floor and the doors closed. Was he really changing? Could they come back from this? Did she even want to?
Before she could change her mind, she clicked the Stopbutton and stepped in front of him. “I don’t trust you,” she said, looking up at him and meeting his eyes.
He nodded. “I know.”
“I’m also mad at you.”
“Oh, honey, Iknow.” He let out a bitter chuckle. “You have the right to be.”
“But...”
Don took a step forward, closing the space between them. “But?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” She swallowed. “I still love you, too, fool that I am.”
He fell against the steel wall as if her words had knocked the wind out of him. “You do?”
“But that doesn’t mean anything.” She turned her back to him.
He put his hand on her shoulders. “It means everything to me, Maddie.”
She turned and gazed at him. There was a tenderness in his eyes that she’d never seen before, even during their most intimate moments. A raw emotion she had always craved from him but had never gotten—until now. “Where do we go from here?” she whispered, confused.
“That depends. Do you still want to sign the papers?”
After a long moment, she shook her head. “Not right now.”
“Oh, Maddie—”
“But I reserve the right to start the proceedings again. You have a lot of making up to do, Donald Wilson. I do too.”
