Page 72 of You Know You Wanna

“Oh my gosh,” Gracie muttered, reminding me of her presence. “You’ve got it so damn bad. Just admit it already. You’re head over heels in love with that man, and by the looks of it, he’s in love with you too. What in the world are you going to do now?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? If I was in love with him and he was in love with me, then what in the world were we going to do? Was I going to have to accept that there was nothing I could do? Or was I going to try to make it work? And if I tried to make it work, what would that look like? How would I even begin?

Right now, there were way too many questions and not a single answer, and that was the problem I’d been trying to solve since that night he’d left my cabin. So far though, I hadn’t come up with anything. It was starting to feel like I never would.

37

REMINGTON

Done with work for the day, I shut my laptop and checked my watch, seeing that it was barely nine a.m. I frowned. That can’t be right.

Double-checking the time, I glanced at the clock on the wall, and lo and behold, it really was just past nine. I’d started working at five, but I’d thought it would take me much longer to get it all done.

Impressed with myself, I got up and scribbled a note to Laurene, who was still asleep. I had fit in an entire workday in just four hours and my daughter would never even know that I’d done it. Not concerned about the fact that I was hiding it from her that I was squeezing in some work, I grinned, feeling good.

Birdie would be finishing her last yoga class of the morning soon, and I was hoping to catch her when she did. After sticking the note on the inside of Laurene’s door letting her know that I’d meet her for brunch, I headed out, smiling—until my phone started ringing and I saw Jacqueline’s name appear on the screen.

Blowing out a breath, I picked up and really hoped today was the day I’d actually get to talk to her about the situation with the school. Trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible, I pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hey, Jacqs. I’m glad you called.”

“As am I, darling,” she said, sounding extremely happy about something. “I’ve got good news.”

“You do?” I paused in the hallway just outside the suite, my heartrate picking up as I waited for her to tell me this so-called good news. Historically, my ex-wife and I didn’t share the same definition of the term and my stomach was already tightening.

“I bought a flat in London!” she squealed once the dramatic pause had served its purpose. “It’s the most delightful place, Remi. You should see it. The building is so quaint and charming. It’s right in the center of the action and it’s going to be the perfect home base for me.”

My mouth went dry. “I’m glad you found a place you love so much, but what does it have to do with me?”

“Oh.” She giggled and my stomach turned to cement. “I’m having a little housewarming party soon and I want Laurene to be here for it.”

And there it is. The sting.

Jacqueline Carnegie Ford was like one of those highly venomous scorpions with the small pincers and the thick tails. At first glance, she wasn’t that threatening, but when the tail came out, it was time to run.

“Excuse me?” I cleared my throat. “Why do you want her there for some party and how soon?”

“A couple weeks,” she said lightly. “It’ll be good for her to come over early. She’ll have some time to settle in and maybe even meet some people before term starts.”

My teeth ground together and my insides revolted against the idea of sending her away so soon. We were supposed to have the whole summer together, but Jacqueline had always seen our daughter as a little doll for her to dress up, putting her back on the shelf when she was bored. Her sudden decision to want Laurene at the party wasn’t to give her time to settle in.

I’d put more money on it than I’d agreed to pay Alan that there was something else behind this. In all likelihood, she’d made a friend with kids at the same school or she was trying to make a good impression on someone by playing the loving mother. Either that, or she’d gotten bored all by herself and her new friends were busy.

A frustrated huff of air left me and I shook my head. “It shouldn’t matter when she gets there if she’s going to be living at boarding school anyway, Jacqueline. In fact, one could even argue that it’ll make it more difficult for her if she has just enough time to settle in at the flat and then have to leave again to go settle in someplace else.”

“She’s my daughter, Remington. I know what’s good for her and this will allow her and me some time to bond and go shopping before she has to go to school. A new wardrobe can be as good as a holiday.”

“Yeah, except that she’s already on vacation,” I said, struggling to keep my voice even. “With me. Like we agreed.”

“Are you saying no?” she asked, surprised and with a sudden quiver in her voice. “I’m not asking you, Remi. I want her here for my party.”

“Again, though, it’s not all about what you want.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” she said, sniffing, and she hung up.

I gripped my phone so tight, the thing was at risk of cracking, but the damage was done. As I groaned and fought against the urge to call her back and insist that we talk about it now, I heard the door click shut behind me.

Spinning around, I realized that Laurene must’ve woken up at some point during the call and I had no idea how much she’d heard, but it must’ve been enough. Tears shimmered in her eyes. Her brow furrowed and she shook her head repeatedly.