I’ll call soon.
Anytime you need me, I’ll be there.
Most never showed up.
And I refuse to let it happen again. Especially not with someone Elody has already attached herself to. Or who’s been slipping into my thoughts in ways that aren’t entirely comfortable.
My phone rings before I can mentally trip farther down that path, and I swipe it off the counter before hitting the green button. “Hello?”
“Morning, Mr. Lennox,” Carl at the front desk says. “You have a visitor. A Ms. Kia Van Doren. Would you like me to send her up?”
Everything inside me stills as my gaze settles on my daughter. “Um, yeah. You can send her up.”
“Yes, sir.”
With a shriek, Elody races toward the entryway as I follow at a slower pace. It would be impossible not to notice the way my pulse picks up tempo. When the elevator dings, the doors slide open and Kia steps out. Her hands are tucked into the sleeves of her jacket, and her hair is loose around her shoulders. She’s wearing jeans and sneakers without a hint of makeup. Somehow, she looks even prettier than last night.
I hate that I notice it.
And I hate even more just how much I like it. The way my attention fastens on her without permission, cataloging details I have no damn business noticing. Her gaze lifts, locking on mine. That’s all it takes for attraction to spark low in my gut.
“See!” Elody yells, throwing herself at Kia. “I told you she’d come!”
The pretty blonde laughs, bending down to hug her back. The melodic sound hits me straight in the chest.
She glances at me over Elody’s shoulder. “Sorry, I forgot to text first.”
“No worries. I just wasn’t sure if you’d be able to make it,” I say, clearing my throat and shifting from one foot to the other.
She nods. “I said I would.”
That’s it. There aren’t any other explanations or qualifiers. Just the implication that she’s someone who keeps her promises.
Elody drags the younger woman down the hallway to her bedroom, chattering away, thrilled to have a captive audience. Instead of trailing behind them, I force myself to retreat to the living room. My attraction to this woman is exactly why I don’t follow. I need to quash it before it turns into more.
The ringing of my phone breaks into the whirl of my thoughts. It’s a welcome interruption until I glance at the screen.
Fuck.
Abigail McIntyre.
Sarah’s mother.
Every instinct tells me to ignore the call, but that would only make matters worse.
With a muttered curse, I swipe to answer, and brace myself for an uncomfortable conversation. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Laiken.”
“Morning.” It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to remain civil with these people. Although, what choice do I have? At the end of the day, they’re Elody’s grandparents, and no matter how misguided their actions are, they love her. Since both my parents are gone, they’re the only grandparents my daughter has left. I refuse to take that away from her.
The exchange is just as tense and clipped as it always is, with thinly veiled judgments, passive-aggressive remarks disguised as concern, and prying questions about routines and schedules and how I’m “managing.”
Five minutes in, after she slips in yet another comment that sounds suspiciously like a threat, I realize I’ve got a stranglehold on the phone. “I’ve got everything handled,” I tell her.
“Of course you do,” she responds in a tone that implies the opposite.
After disconnecting from the call, I force out a long, slow breath, attempting to shake off the frustration before it has a chance to tank my mood. As I roll my neck, trying to work out the tension, I notice Kia hovering just inside the doorway near the kitchen.
