“Thank you.” I’m so glad I’ve finally told someone the whole story. Even if it still skims over the details. “Probate took a while, but we got there. So, I sold the house and I knew I had to get away. This is where I had all my best memories.”
He smiles. “I hope that includes me.”
“Of course it does.”
Raising his hand to his chest, he taps his heart. “This hurts way more than I ever thought it would. It’s been so long.”
I take a long sip of my coffee to try and steady myself. “I thought of you a lot. Remembering the good times helped me through the bad.”
He slides his hand over mine. “Will you tell me about the bad?”
I shake my head. “I’m not ready for that.”
Caleb gives my hand a squeeze before pulling his away. “I’ll take care of what you need doing around the house—give you the friends and family discount.”
Laughing, I roll my eyes. “I’m not asking for a discount.”
“I’m picking you could do with life giving you a break. I won’t charge you for labour. If anything, I’ll spend more time working on your place to spend time with you.”
“That’s fair.” My cheeks flair with embarrassment. Is this flirting? “I won’t complain.”
“You’d better not.” He chuckles.
“Thank you, Caleb.” I meet his gaze again. There’s so much to unpack. We were together for such a short time, and it was so long ago, but attraction flares between us—at least for me. I always wished that we could’ve stayed together.
“You’re not alone. You got that?”
I nod. “I do.”
“So, what about your kids now? They with you?”
My throat tightens. “Yes. All four of them.”
“Four? Chloe has four too. Massive age gap, but she’s happy.”
Despite the tension, I smile. Caleb’s sister’s five years younger than him, and she was a sweet girl.
“Mine are spaced out, but they’re very close.”
“How old?”
Oh.
“Noah’s in his mid-twenties, Bailey’s sixteen, Kiera’s fourteen, and Jason is seven. What about Chloe?”
He doesn’t seem to be suspicious as he smiles. That’s good. I fully plan on telling him, but I don’t know how he’d go with me dropping a bomb. Besides, I’m not sure I could cope just yet with the backlash.
“She has nineteen-year-old twins, a one-year-old, and a two-year-old.”
My eyes widen. “That big a gap.”
“Second marriage.” As if that explains everything, but I don’t probe because otherwise he might ask more questions.
Time. I need time to adjust to our new life. I’ve had twenty-seven years to prepare for this moment, but I’m just not there.
“Emma? I lost you.”
His smile’s so kind, but all I think about is how angry he’ll be when he finds out.
