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Silence reigns supreme on the line as that soaks in for a minute, and when it does, he hits me with a bazillion questions, none of which I have the answer to because I’ve been so focused on wanting to keep her in my life, that I know nothing about what’s happened in the time we’ve been apart.
It seems to be a running theme with the women in my life.
Layla goes off the deep end, fucking anything with a pulse and numbing her demons with drugs and whatever else she can get her hands on. And what do I do?
I pretend everything is fine and dandy.
Summer returns after fifteen years of radio silence and a million and one bad choices between us, and what do I do?
Same.
Fucking.
Thing.
I put a stop to my spiralling thoughts and focus on the fact that we have a week. The fact that Iknowshe still has feelings for me—and I can use that to my advantage.
If I need to orgasm her into submission, I’m up for that fucking job.
“Did she say why she left, North?”
I expel the heavy breath that I didn’t realise I had been holding. “No, Henry. And you know what? I don’t need to know right now, okay?”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t,” I cut him off gently. “I don’t know what to say, man. I had all these fucking questions in my head forfifteen years…I never thought I’d get the chance to ask her any of them.”
I close my eyes, squeezing the lids shut tight as I pinch the bridge of my nose. “But Christ, brother. When I saw her standing there in my driveway, looking as though no time had passed between us…IknewI didn’t need answers. I just needher. However she’ll have me…”
The silence stretches out between us for a long beat.
“Never mind, man. Maybe I’m being a fucking idiot—”
“The one that got awaydidn’tget away. This is your fucking chance. Take it with both hands. You deserve to be happy, Cade.”
There’s a knock on the door of my office, and Bug bounds in with Summer sticking her head tentatively around the corner until I wave her in.
“Anyway, Henry. I’ve got to—”
“Can I say hi?” Bella slides onto my lap and slips the phone from my hand. “Hi, Uncle Henry. Can I have my sleepover tonight,please?”
I’m about to object when I realise there are only a few other people I would trust to watch Bella overnight–and perhaps, some child-free time would go a long way towards making Summer admit there’s still something between us.
Thirty seconds later, the entire evening is planned out.
We’ll drop Bella to the DeMarco Holdings penthouse that Henry and Liv use when they need to stay in the city before I take Summer with me to the rehearsal at Alexandra Palace.
A couple of sneaky emails later, the balls are in motion for an evening she’ll never forget.
* * *
SUMMER
When Caden told me to pack for two nights in the city, I was more than a little concerned, as I’d packed the bare minimum for the trip to the UK as a whole.
I make my way back to my temporary lodgings at the recording studio while Caden is getting cases together for himself and Bella. Mulling over what the hell I’m going to pack out of my sparse case, my jaw hits the floor when I climb the stairs above the studio and enter the wide-open space.
There are rails upon rails of all manner of clothing, shoes, and accessories. My eyes rake along each rail that I pass as I touch a multitude of different fabrics and colours before eventually filling with tears when they land upon a handwritten note:
