AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without glancing at Maggie, I cut her off. “You can finish up for the evening, Maggie. Thank you for all your help today for Bug’s birthday.”
Maggie scoots out past me while Summer finds some napkins to clean up the egg. As she crouches over the mess, I move further into the kitchen to grab the mop, and Summer’s soft words carry to my ears.
“I didn’t know it was your daughter’s birthday today. The internet says she doesn’t turn four till next week…”
Having located the mop, I prop it against the countertop and duck down to help Summer clean up the gooey mess.
“Yeah…well, that would have been Noah’s doing. Bella came early, and the tabloids at the time were rife with speculation about the dates of conception. About whether Layla and I were together or if she was with someone else…Noah reckoned an early arrival would feed the press, you know?”
Layla. The elephant in the room.
Summer’s hands are still as I speak, and her eyes lift to meet mine. “Yes, that does sound like Uncle Noah.”
I snort, having not heard him referred to as such in a long ass time. It had taken her months to lose the habit of referring to my dad as her uncle when she’d moved in with us. Her father, Peter, alongside my old man, Noah and Cole Gardiner, Layla’s waste-of-space dad, had been best friends their whole lives, but the uncle references were entirely a Summer thing. My parents had called Noah, Cole, and Peter family, hence why Layla had all but grown up in our home alongside us, but Mum and Dad hadn’t felt the need to push formalities.
“Uncle Noah…fuck, yeah. I forgot you always called him that. He’ll be thrilled to see you back.”
She smiles widely, some unknown emotion flittering across her features. “He’ll be thrilled, alright.”
* * *
SUMMER
“So, what exactly do you plan on doing this week, Caden?”
The man in question had mixed some drinks, and we’re now sat around a firepit staring out over the Cambridge countryside on a starlit night.
The entire patio area is lit by strings of Christmas lights—or fairy lights, as I grew up calling them in the UK—and the whole place looks utterly fantastical. Exactly like something out of a dream.
He raises his glass and quirks a singular brow. “Wouldn’t you like to know!”
I’m helpless to stop a broad smile from spreading across my face, a flirtation I learned from the performers at Rogue coming to the fore. “You talk a big talk, North.” I wink, and my smile widens. “But can you walk the walk?”
“With ease, Bambi. Just you wait.”
When Caden had mentioned Layla earlier, I’d felt compelled to ask about her, but something in his eyes—a hauntedness—made me keep my mouth shut. Her version of events had never wound up making sense, and as I’d already left with plenty of reasons to stay away, I’d never discoveredwhy.
But now is clearly not the time. I promised him a week, after all.
“So, this is your place, hmm?”
His lips rise in an easy smile, displaying his perfect white teeth. “It sure is. Mine and Bella Bugs.”
I shake my head, a smile playing on my lips as I mischievously poke the bear. “You and those damn nicknames, Caden North.”
My smile hurts when Caden throws his head back and laughs, the sight doing something to my insides. This carefree side of him is the one I loved the most.
The one youlovethe most, you big liar.
My inner thoughts dim my smile slightly as Caden drops his head forward, still chuckling lightly. “Oh, Bam. I’ve only ever given out two nicknames, both beginning with B and both for the people I love most in the world.”
The honesty in his eyes and the transparency in his voice sober me, allowing words to escape my lips that I’d sworn not to speak of.
“So, why Layla?”
His face loses its mirth, and I curse my tongue for stealing the joy of the moment.
“If it couldn’t be you, then it had to be her, Summer. I—I was the reason Archer died. I was the reason she was left alone. I was the reasonyouleft—”
