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Okay, so maybe it was about the portrait. I glanced at Grayson again, finding that he’d narrowed it down to three backpacks. “So, why don’t you look happy about it?”
“Well, it’s just that it’s a live painting. Meaning, I’m doing it live at the wedding,in front ofall the guests.”
“Oh, dang. No pressure.”
She laughed, then sobered quickly. “Exactly.”
“I’ve seen your work. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she replied.
I held her gaze, and every cell in my body screamed at me to get out of there. But I couldn’t. Her loose-fitting button-down shirt was tucked into her jeans, and her curly hair hung wildly around her gorgeous face. Standing here in this Target aisle with my kid brought on so many thoughts about what could have been, and I couldn’t bring myself to move from this spot.
“Got it,” Grayson said, running back up to me with a Spider-Man backpack and a wide grin. “I want this one.”
“You had Spider-Man last year,” I said. “You sure you don’t want a different one this year?”
“No, I want this one.”
“You got it, bud. Toss it in.”
He did, and I took his return as an excuse to finally part ways with Layla. “See you around.”
“Apparently,” she said, her lips pulled into something of a reluctant smile. Then she turned to my son and the smile stretched wider. “Have a great first day, Grayson.”
“Thank you,” he replied, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil.
She gave me one last wave before leaving the aisle, and when she walked away, she took a piece of me with her.
* * *
Later that night, after Grayson was tucked into bed, Jo came out of her room in her workout clothes. “I’m going for a run.”
My jaw clenched, but I gave her a tight smile. “Will Jason Momoa be joining you this evening?”
“Yes, he will.”
I didn’t say anything as she pranced into the kitchen to fill up her water bottle. I’d looked the guy up and was surprised to find that her statement about him looking like Jason Momoa wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as I’d assumed. But that was literally theonlything I’d been surprised about.
Just as Jo said, he’d been a Marine for what appeared to be one enlistment, had a huge family, and was now working at Starlight Manor, the wedding venue and B&B that Aria and Paul’s parents owned. It all seemed to check out. There was no criminal record to be found, so other than maybe having stolen Jason Momoa’s likeness, he seemed like a normal dude. But in my line of work, that didn’t mean much. The biggest psychos always seemed normal until they didn’t.
“Okay,” she said, returning to the living room. “I’m off. I’ll see you tomorrow if you’re in bed by the time I get back.”
“I thought you were only going for a run.”
“We are, but then we’re gonna hang out after. Chill, bro. I’ll be fine. Do you want us to run by here so you can meet him? Maybe you can wave from the window as we pass by so you can use your cop skills to suss him out.”
I actually did want that, but I knew she was being facetious, and she’d be ridiculously annoyed if I said yes. So instead, I shrugged. “You’re an adult, Jo. I’m not trying to be Dad. I just care about you and want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.” She turned to leave, then stopped and faced me again. “In the spirit of caring about each other, I have to ask … Why won’t you tell me about what happened with Layla last week?”
“Because I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yes, you’ve said that, but we moved here instead of Beaufort because you were trying to get back together with her.”
“And I did try. It didn’t work out.”
She blinked a few times. “So, what, you’re going to give up?”
