Page 78
As she rolled her suitcase out of her room, Hayes met her at the foot of the stairs, a cup of steaming coffee in hand.
Chin up, she took a breath. “Will you take me to Dublin?”
He lifted his brow in a move painfully similar to Oliver, but didn’t argue. Just gave a brusque nod. Then he glanced up the stairs. “Should I go talk to him? Or leave him alone?”
Oliver had been left alone too long as it was. “He could use some company.”
“Shit.” Hayes walked up the staircase like a man approaching the guillotine.
Addy dragged herself to the kitchen, each step making the hollow ache behind her ribs worse.
Cake wouldn’t fix anything, but she cut a slice anyway.
***
Addison had left him in the silence he’d once needed. Now it pressed on him like a headache.
Oliver wished he hadn’t seen the pain in her eyes at his accusation. He’d meant every word. Yarrows couldn’t be trusted, but Addy—
His brother walked in without knocking. “You going to stay up here pouting?”
He didn’t bother standing from the bed. “I’m not pouting. You sent me a sitter.”
“Well, you’ve been acting like a baby. We figured it’s time to finally send someone to change your diapers.”
“I’ve not been—”
Hayes closed the door. “Yes, you have. You’ve been sulking more than Jackson’s kids when they don’t get ice cream. I can have a more mature conversation with them than you.”
“You didn’t go through what I went through.”
“No. We didn’t. But we saw your personality change in front of our eyes. You always saw the glass as half full. Now you see the glass as irrelevant. You turned away from everyone and started to pity yourself.” He drained his coffee. “And frankly, you’re pissing all of us off. Several universities are trying to recruit you. Instead, you fly to Ireland to track down the Yarrow kid because he stole your watch. It’s time to move on. You refuse to see it, but we had no choice but to get you a babysitter.”
Leave it to Hayes to cut straight to the point.
All the responses in his head fell short.
Even he didn’t recognize himself anymore.
Hayes placed the empty cup on the table by the window. “When you didn’t pick up, and neither did Addison, we got concerned. We no longer know what you’re capable of. And we were terrified we’d just sent an innocent woman into your mess.”
Like he’d ever hurt Addy.
“We don’t like who you’re turning into,” Hayes continued. “Francesca’s expecting. She and Nate texted you an ultrasound photo and you didn’t even reply.”
“Shit.” He hadn’t even seen that in the flurry of texts he’d been ignoring.
“I do not want to be here. I want to be with my pregnant wife. So, get over yourself and answer your damn phone. You had all of us worried to death.”
Francesca and Nate were having a baby. He had a niece and two nephews he hadn’t seen in months and missed terribly, and now not three but four more on the way. He hated who he’d become.
Rising, he joined Hayes by the window. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I haven’t been myself. I didn’t mean to shut you all out. You’re the ones who got me through. I wouldn’t be here without all of you. Do Nate and Francesca know what they’re having yet?”
“Not yet. They’re just happy it’s not twins.”
“They’ll be great parents.”
“Yeah, they’ve had plenty of training… babysitting you.”
