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“It’s okay, honey. But Ferguson came a long way to meet you and you were just asking me about him. What’s wrong?”
He shrugged. “I just need Ryan, Mom. That’s all.”
I handed Titus my phone and went in search of Ferguson. He was just a few feet from Titus’ room, eyes closed with his head tilted back and shoulders deflated. “Ferguson?”
He opened his eyes and flashed a disappointment smile. “I shouldn’t have expected more.”
“This was not a good time to meet him for the first time, Ferguson. This was his first big medical scare, and he knows Ryan. Has known him all his life.” I didn’t bother to tell him that Ryan was the only man Titus knew for certain he could rely on. No need to plunge the knife down to the bone. Yet.
“But I’m his father,” he growled angrily. “Shouldn’t he be excited to meet me? Curious about who I am and where I’ve been all this time?”
“He is curious about you, but showing up wasn’t the best choice on your part. You should have given me time to talk to Titus, to get him used to the idea that you might actually want to be part of his life.”
“So I’m the bad guy now?”
I shook my head. “No, not just now. Don’t forget that it was you who walked away, Ferguson. He doesn’t know you, he knows Ryan and Oliver and Cal and Antonio, men who aren’t related to him, but who have been around all of his life. You’re just an idea to him, but you puff your chest out like you expected a parade. He’s not one of your kids back in Canada. You’re a stranger to him because that’s how you wanted it. So just…grow the hell up, Ferguson.”
“I’m not a stranger.”
“No, you’re worse. You’re nothing to him.”
I watched as his disappointment turned to anger and he pushed off the wall, taking a few steps away. “I don’t need this.”
“If you leave now, don’t come back. I won’t be as friendly next time.”
“I just need some air, Persy. That’s all.”
I nodded, taking him at his word because Ferguson was many things, but not a liar. At least not the Ferguson I used to know. “Be sure that you want to know him. If you have any doubts at all, go home and forgive your wife. Go to counseling and make it work with her and the kids you already have.”
Ferguson turned to me with his heart in his eyes, the picture of a defeated man, and nodded. “I have a feeling I won’t be thinking of much else for a while. Talk soon, Persy.”
I watched my ex walk away with a sigh, hoping that his unexpected arrival hadn’t totally screwed things with me and Ryan.
Ryan
“Wow, she looks even better than the day I won her.” Gavin stood beside me, arms folded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Did you do something else?”
I laughed at the awe in his voice. It was one of my favorite parts about showing off a restoration job, even though this wasn’t one. This laugh was the best part of my Monday so far. “I had one of the boys give her a good wash. The long drive through the Nevada and California desert made the Bel Air pretty dusty and covered in bugs.”
“She’s beautiful.” Gavin’s feet began to move as he slowly circled the car, an expression of awe on his face. “Thanks, Ryan.” He handed over the credit card absently, still staring at the shiny dashboard, the chrome dials on the inside and even the tires.
I laughed, suddenly getting a glimpse of how Persephone felt watching me and the guys take in a new restoration job. “You don’t want to know how much it costs first?”
Gavin looked up at me, brows dipped in confusion. “Is the price negotiable?”
“Since you can pay with no problem, no. But most people want to examine the bill to see what they were charged for.”
“I trust you, Ryan. Besides, if you stiff me I’ll just flirt with your girl. How are things going with the lovely Dr. Persy, anyway?”
Persephone was the last person I wanted to talk about right now, or for another few days. “Things are not going at all. We haven’t spoken at all in the past twenty-four hours.” Those words felt like sawdust on my tongue, twenty-four hours without Persy was like a day without water. Or food. It was un-fucking-fathomable. The last time we’d gone this long without talking was when she was so buried under medical books and learning the ropes of becoming a practicing doctor. But those were unusual circumstances, and I hated the feeling of not knowing what was going on in her life.
Was she spending time with Ferguson?
Had she decided to give them another shot?
A small part of me knew she hadn’t. Persephone was a lot of things but she wasn’t a cheater or a liar. If she was even thinking about getting back with her ex, she would tell me first.
