Page 54 of Bobby

We both laugh for a moment before continuing to eat.

“My mother used to make them for me,” I say after some time. I set down the rest of my food and push the plate back.

“Want to talk about it?”

I shake my head. “No.” I rub my hands on my legs and look at him. His face is full of concern for me, and it melts my heart. “Not yet.”

He nods, and when his phone rings, he goes and answers it. Followed by putting on his glasses and opening his laptop on the coffee table.

I take my cue from him, putting the rest of the food away, waiting on the strawberries for later, and picking up the kitchen.

I find my workbag near the front door and pull out my laptop. Going to the spot I occupied on the couch earlier, I power up my station and get to work. I might not get everything done that I was planning on today, but I can at least do something.

And that’s how we spend the next few hours: working beside each other, in our own little worlds.

Until the power goes out and we’re forced to brave the darkness together.

Chapter 20—Bobby

“Tell me what happened.”

It’s a request, and from the way she sighs, I know she’ll answer. We’ve been sitting by candlelight for over an hour. The night sky is darker now. The sun has set, and the storm has taken the entire grid block down. I’m not worried about it. Marco has things handled, and I’m secure. And so is Willow.

“When I turned eighteen, my parents decided they could finally take a vacation. We used to go on one each year as a family, but they hadn’t been on one with just the two of them since their honeymoon. So, since I was technically an adult, they decided it was time. But just like that silly Alanis Morissette song, the trip of a lifetime ended theirs.”

She looks down at her hands, fidgeting with them for a second before looking up at me over the glow of the candles between us.

“Was that your first flight?” The one I forced on her. I don’t add it, but I think it.

She nods. “Since they died, yes. I used to fly with them for our trips. But since then, I….” She just shakes her head and looks out the window to watch the storm outside.

“How did you get to New York?”

“We drove. Well, I did. Trevor was called into the new office before me and flew up while I moved us out of our home in West Virginia. I’d just had Lily, and we were trying to save money by using a U-Haul.”

“He made you drive a U-Haul while dealing with a newborn?” My hands clench into fists to keep from reaching for my phone and calling Marco to deal with Trevor once and for all. I wanted him dead before, but I held off. But after hearing this, I’m not so sure I should anymore.

“It’s okay. The drive was quieter with a screaming newborn than it would have been with him in the car, explaining the entire time how my fear was irrational.”

“It’s not irrational,” I defend.

Another shrug. “He thought so. When he wasn’t at the office, he was flying. It was a hobby he thought set him above others. All I saw was that it took him away from the house. But maybe I should have seen it as his first mistress in our relationship before he actually found another woman.”

I stand abruptly and go to the bar in the corner. It’s not big, but it’s stocked well enough. I grab a decanter without knowing what’s in it and pour myself a healthy glass, taking a drink before going back over to her.

“Here.” I don’t ask, just give it to her. After the day we’ve both had, it’s warranted.

She takes it and sips it, no sputtering in distaste or coughing, before handing it back to me. I turn and look out the window. I need to put distance between us. Not because I’m mad at her, but the sight of her makes me so furious that someone could choose another over her. She’s beautiful and perfect in every way a woman can be, and yet someone treated her like garbage and threw her away.

“Why did you kiss me?”

I turn at her words and see her standing from the couch. Mere inches away from me.

“At the hotel or in the helicopter?”

“Both.”

“Because I wanted to. Because I couldn’t stop myself.”