“It’s so nice to officially meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. It’s truly an honor.”
Cleo’s features softened a touch, but I could sense her walls going up. “You as well.” Her gaze traveled from Liv to Charlie and finally to me. “I should go?—”
“No!” Liv and I both said at the same time.
“Stay, please,” I continued. “Have breakfast at least.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to intrude?—”
“Why not?” Liv asked. “I do it all the time.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling any sense of control I had spiraling out of reach. “What she means is… You’re not intruding. You were literally here, and we were in the middle of making breakfast. You should stay.”
But she was already walking toward the bedroom to grab her overnight bag.
I turned to Liv, exasperated. “You couldn’t have freaking called? Given me a heads up? Messenger pigeon?”
She gestured toward the bedroom. “Go get your girl and stop worrying about me! We can talk later,” she whispered, shooing me off.
I jogged into my room, heart pounding as Cleo tossed the last of her clothes in the bag. I held up my hands as I got closer, scared the slightest movement would scare her off. “Please don’t go, bluebird. I didn’t know she was coming?—”
“I’m not worried about that, Grady. I don’t care. She seems lovely, but Charlie hasn’t seen her mom in over two weeks, and you guys obviously have things to talk about.”
“So do we,” I said. My voice sounded desperate, which was precisely how I felt. “Please don’t go.”
“I have to,” Cleo said, finally meeting my eyes.
“Let me drive you, at least.” Maybe if I could get her alone, I could smooth things out. I could calm whatever fears were running through her head, so she’d come back here, and we could start the morning over.
“No, you should stay. I’m going to borrow your truck, if that’s okay. And I’ll have Lennox follow me out here later to bring it back. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried about the damn truck,” I said as she zipped up the bag. I could feel her hesitation for only a moment before she walked past me, giving my hand a squeeze. I let her reach the door before I spoke. “Hey, don’t go like this,please.”
We said things, we made promises, but I felt them slipping away the moment I heard Liv’s voice. God. Out of all the things I thought to be worried about, this had never crossed my mind. Cleo knew I’d been married, knew that if we continued whatever this thing was, she’d end up meeting and having a relationship with my ex-wife. But knowing and seeing are two different things. When Liv was brought up in conversation, Cleo didn’t have to see her standing in front of her.
“You’re not. I just… I don’t know. You guys deserve to spend the morning together after being apart for so long. I just want to make sure I’m not standing in the way of that.”
“But you’re not,” I said, moving forward until I was standing right in front of her. Gently, I cupped her neck, feeling her pulse rapidly beating beneath my hands. “I’ve told you time and again. You belong here with us.”
Cleo closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. I thought maybe it worked, that she would stay, but then she straightened up and stepped back. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
I stood there in the doorway, watching her walk away until Iheard the rumble of my old truck, and she pulled out onto the road, driving away.
“Well, that didn’t really go as planned,” Liv said, stepping up beside me with two steaming cups of coffee. She handed me one, which I took gratefully, taking a long sip to compose myself before I completely lost it.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, heading into the kitchen where Charlie was already munching down on what had to have been her second donut, given the chocolatey mess she’d made on her hands and face. She gave me a small smile as I snatched a glazed concoction from the box.
She was hot on my heels, rounding the kitchen with the stubborn look she often got when preparing to bust some balls at work. “Look, in my defense, how was I supposed to know the one who got away was going to be here this morning? It’s not like you told me. Which, in all actuality, I should be madder about since I’ve never met the woman. But I trust your judgement and all that.”
“Liv,” I growled, angrily taking a bite off the donut. “Don’t do that.”
“I’m just saying,” she said, holding up her hands. “Besides, I already told you why I came in. I wanted to surprise Charlie. I missed her, Grady. Video calls weren’t enough anymore. I missed you, too, you old grump. It’s nice to see you, by the way.”
Under different circumstances, I probably would’ve rolled my eyes and let things go, but I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t know what was going through Cleo’s mind or if our relationship was already over before it’d ever begun again. “Why didn’t you pick up last night? You could’ve at least toldmeyou were planning on coming in. Hell, a text would’ve been better than nothing.”
“What part of ‘I wanted to surprise our daughter’ do you not get?” She tapped my temple. “Did she fuck you stupid or something?”
“Very funny,” I said dryly. “And don’t talk about her like that.”
