Page 138 of Fake Out Hearts

“Good. I’m glad it’s getting through. Listen, I love you more than you’ll ever know, sweetheart. I know I have a bad way of showing it, but I do love you. And I know that man loves you too. I heard it in his voice the night you were in the hospital. Don’t let that go.”

“Thanks, Mom. I needed this.”

“I know you did. Call me in a couple days to let me know how things are, okay? And make sure you’re eating. I know how you get when you’re stressed.”

I laugh and pick up the cold grilled cheese from the plate next to me and take a bite. “I’m eating right now, actually.”

“Good. I love you. Talk soon.”

“Love you too, Mom,” I tell her, and for the first time in what feels like years, it’s because I mean it, not because it’s what I’m supposed to say. “Bye.”

I end the call and put my phone back on the nightstand with my head whirling with Mom’s words. I need someone to process them with, so I take the grilled cheese with me to the door and step outside to look for Callie. Hushed voices echo upstairs from the living room, so I go downstairs and find her sitting on the couch having a whispered conversation with Reese. They both glance up at me when I enter, and I get the distinct feeling they’ve been talking about me.

“Everything okay?” Callie asks, and I nod.

“Yeah. My mom had a lot to say, but I needed to hear it. What’s going on? Is something wrong?” I ask.

But before either of them can answer, someone knocks on the front door. Reese shoots me a worried look as he climbs off the couch to answer it, and his wide frame blocks the view as he opens the door.

“Hey, man,” he says to whoever it is, speaking in a low tone. “What are you doing here?”

A familiar voice answers him, sending my pulse racing.

“I’m here for my wife.”

Chapter 45

Becca

When Reese steps aside and Theo appears, my heart lurches. I’ve missed him so badly that his presence now is like gravity, an invisible but no less noticeable pull.

“I came for my wife,” Theo repeats and thrusts up the divorce papers in one hand. “I’ve got them right here.”

My heart aches again because I don’t want to sign them. I really don’t. But if this is what he wants, how can I say no?

Theo steps toward me. “But I want to talk to you first. Can we do that? Please?”

I bite my lip, but after the conversations I had with Callie and my mom, I’d be an idiot to say no. So I nod, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” he says quietly. He glances over my shoulder at Callie and Reese, who are still watching us. “Can we… go somewhere else? Somewhere more private?”

“Okay.”

I steal a look back at Callie who smiles and nods encouragingly at me as I follow Theo outside.

He helps me into his car like always, then we head off somewhere. For the first few minutes, the silence and tension between us is almost unbearable. I wish he’d say something,anything at all, or at the very least put his hand on my leg like he always does, but he just grips the wheel and stares straight ahead.

Even though neither of us are saying a word, it’s like there’s an elephant riding with us in the backseat. There are so many things I want to say, so many things that need to be said, but I don’t even know where to start. Somehow, saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t feel anywhere near adequate so I just keep it to myself.

But finally, Theo breaks the quiet.

“How have you been? Have you been eating?”

The fact that he cares enough to ask, even after all of this, touches me.

“I have. Callie has made sure of it.”

He nods. “Good. I knew you were in good hands with those two.”

---