Page 61 of The Mood Board

Dad remained quiet, letting me work through my emotions, his strong, silent presence comforting, even if it was on the other end of a phone line.

My father had always been that way—strong, quiet, gentle. He spoke in soft, slow tones when he said anything, but more often than not, he simply listened. He had been the perfect complement to my mother, who talked enough for the both of them. He had been the grounding presence, while she had been the electrifying one.

I was a lot like my mother—she had come with enough energy and personality that it reached a room before she even entered it. At least up until she had gotten sick. She had been an indomitable spirit, full of life and love for all my siblings and me. And my father, of course.

But I liked to think I had gotten some of his laid-back attitude, the one that allowed him to be such a good listener. The one that meant I thought before I reacted, considered all angles, and made the best decision I could based on the information I had.

They also taught me to look for the good instead of the bad, to count my blessings instead of focusing on what I didn’t have, and to know that challenging moments don’t last forever. Even with the tragedy we had endured, my parents taught us to believe in the good.

They had been the reason I was a hopeless romantic and had always believed in love, though it had taken me time to find it.

But now all I could see was Bailey with Russ’s arm around her, the way she wouldn’t meet my eyes, and her left hand with only a crease and a lighter line of skin where her engagement ring had been.

“Dad, Bailey left me.” The words didn’t want to work themselves out, and I had to force them. And even then, my voice sounded rough and strained to my ears.

Dad was so quiet for so long that I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” The words finally came quietly, regretfully.

“I don’t understand why, either.” I gripped the steering wheel until the leather creaked again, hair brushing my forehead and hanging in my eyes as I let my head droop. “She said it was because the press was after her and was costing her clients. But none of it makes any sense—that’s not like her.”

“It takes a long time to get to know someone,” Dad replied.

“But this?” If I sounded bewildered, it was because I was. How could I have known Bailey so little when I had thought I had known every part of her? How could I have misjudged her so enormously? How could she be the kind of person who would leave someone they were supposed to love during their darkest hours?

I had heard of it happening, of course, but I was a good judge of character. Was Bailey that good at acting? Had she been after my money, as one careless person had joked when we had first gotten together?

It didn’t seem at all possible. And yet, the facts were there in front of me.

How could the woman I loved just leave like that? I’d had my mistakes in the past, women who I found out weren’t who they claimed to be. A few had been after my money, but others simply hadn’t turned out to have a compatible personality. But never had I come across someone who was so entirely the opposite of who I thought they were. Someone I had fallen so deeply for, someone who I thought I had known inside and out. The person with whom I had wanted to spend the rest of my life, had made plans to grow old with, to start a family with.

How was any of this possible? Could Bailey truly be that two-faced? Could I have misjudged her that badly? No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t understand how that could be possible.

“I just don’t get it, Dad. I don’t. I can’t understand how this happened.” The words came fast and manically—I desperately wanted to understand. Maybe if I understood what had happened, it might help me feel better. The fingers of one hand curled in my hair, tugging until I felt pain.

“You don’t know the circumstances, Liam. You don’t know what might have happened.”

“Because she won’t tell me!” I burst out.

I knew I sounded like a teenager, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that even as a teenager, I had rarely had an outburst. I was angry, lost, my heart shattered into so many pieces they were dust.

“Liam, do you love her?” Dad asked.

“Of course, I do,” I snapped. “And I thought she loved me, too—”

“Liam, do you love Bailey?”

The calm in Dad’s voice cut through my frenzied agitation, and I took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Then trust her. Trust her to know she did what she felt she had to do. Respect her decision, even if you don’t know why she made it right now. Bailey is a good woman. I have faith that she’ll tell you when she’s ready.”

Have faith. Trust her. The words echoed through my head, leaving a ringing in my ears. Although that could have been the hyperventilating. The world was spinning, too, my thoughts hard to grasp as if they were caught in a whirlpool.

Could I?

Bailey had just crushed my heart right in front of me, leaving me at one of the lowest points of my life.

But I knew I had to listen. Dad was the voice of reason right now, and I had to believe he was right about Bailey. She was a good woman. Nothing she was doing made any sense right now, not from the woman I had come to love so deeply. I couldn’t let what was going on cloud my head and my heart, which was exactly what it was doing.

“Just think about it, okay?” Dad asked. “I believe you do know Bailey. And if in your heart, you believe that, then give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s earned that much from you. Call me to let me know you’re still okay, all right, Liam? That this wasn’t just some fluke. I love you, son.”

Dad hung up before I could say any more. He was a man of few words, but what he did say always made an impact.

As always, Dad was right. I had to trust her. If she left me because it was what her heart told her to do, I had to respect that. And if there was another reason, I would hopefully know that, too someday.

But it didn’t make the moment any easier, and I wasn’t sure what would help me feel better. Until an idea popped into my head.

Checking behind me as I signaled, I eased back into traffic and made a U-turn the first chance I could. It was quiet on the other side of the apartment door when I came to it, but I knocked anyway. It took a moment to hear footsteps, and then the door opened.

Janelle stood there, her eyes rounding in surprise, her fiery hair falling around her shoulders and down her back.

“Liam?”

“Hi, Janelle. Can I come in?”

Her surprise melted into a smile as she motioned me inside.

THE END