Addison pointed to the pile. “May I?”
Cleo rushed closer, sitting next to Addison and placing the glasses on the table. “Yes, please. I don’t have a lot. He wasn’t big on getting his picture taken.”
As she sifted through the pictures, there was a common thread. Most were candid with only a few straight on. There were a lot with his bike and a few with members of the club. The last two were of Cleo and her brother. One was from adulthood and another when they were kids.
“You two look alike.”
“You think so?” Cleo’s voice hitched.
Addison glanced over, nodding. “I do.” She lifted a picture. “Same smile.”
Cleo glanced at the picture, and her gaze veered over to Addison’s chest. She blinked then darted her eyes back to the pile. Had it been a man looking at her chest, Addison could’ve taken offense. But that’s not what Cleo was looking at. Her cheeks pinkened, and she grabbed her glass, taking a huge mouthful.
This was crazy territory that very few ever had to navigate. It was the elephant in the room. And it would stay that way until it was addressed.Let’s rip that band-aid off.
Addison rested her elbows on her knees, and cocked her head. “This is weird, right?”
Cleo’s brows shot up, and her knuckles whitened over her tight grasp of the glass. “I’m enjoying it.”
“So am I. But can we agree that this is” —she shrugged— “Well, it’s strange. I have your brother’s heart beating inside of me. That’s fucking weird.”
Cleo’s glanced down at her chest, and her lips twitched. “It’s a little weird.”
Addison nodded, smiling. “Right? So let’s embrace it. Because it’s silly for either of us to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing. There are no rules, and if there are, I don’t know them.”
“Me neither,” Cleo muttered.
“So let’s agree that this will be weird until it’s not.”
Cleo nodded, and the tension in her features eased. “Okay.”
Perfect! There was one more elephant in the room, though she doubted Cleo recognized it. Addison had prepared a well-thought-out and meaningful speech. She wanted to make sure she expressed her full gratitude without fumbling over her words brought on by emotion. She’d rehearsed it three times this morning.
And now I don’t remember a goddamn word of it.She’d have to wing it.
Addison drew in a breath. “Since we’re talking about Knox’s heart, I want you to know how truly thankful I am to your brother.” Addison paused, reining in her emotions. Or trying. Cleo reached out, clasping her hand. “The night of my surgery, my nurse, Andrea, told me his heart was a gift. And I promise to never take it for granted.”
Cleo’s eyes welled. “I know you won’t.”
Addison’s vision blurred. She was not usually overly emotional, but a tear slipped down her cheek.
“And thankyou.”
Her brows furrowed. “For what?”
She sighed. “For being open to hearing from me and sharing Knox with me.”
Cleo wiped her eyes, smiling. This moment had to happen. It was raw and hard but necessary. She’d expressed her gratitude through her letters lots of times. But it was worth saying it out loud.
Cleo sniffled and squeezed her hand. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
Me too.
Addison sighed. “And now that we’ve got the sappy stuff out of the way, and we’ve established the weird part.” Addison searched for a picture and pulled it out of the pile. It was Knox shirtless standing with another member and his bike in the background. She held it up to face Cleo. “Is it okay to say Knox was hot?”
Cleo burst out laughing. It was the perfect icebreaker. And not a lie.
They spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening having lunch and chatting on the couch as if they’d known each other for years. Cleo did most of the talking. It was perfect. Eventually, the subject shifted to her boyfriend. Honestly? Addison steered it that way. She was curious about Cleo’s man and Knox’s brother in the MC.
