Page 25 of Wynns of Change
“Thanks.” Harlow sniffled, sucking in a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean to break down.”
“It’s okay. You’ve had a rough…a tough time.” Caleb reached behind him and grabbed a tissue. “It’s not often I get beautiful women, stars at that, in my office in tears.”
Harlow dabbed at her eyes and laughed. “I’m a hot mess.”
“You’re human.” Caleb returned to his chair and reached for his notepad. “What’s your cell phone number? I’ll send you a text or call you as soon as I have a chance to check into it.”
Harlow rattled it off. “Thanks, Caleb.” She slowly stood. “Dad already knows. We’ve talked about it.”
“Good. That was my next question,” he said. “Your dad missed you while you were gone.”
“I missed him too. It took a car accident and me coming back to realize how much. Thanks again, Caleb.” She turned to go.
He stopped her. “Hey. I…uh…I heard you were married. He’s a lucky guy.”
“We’re divorcing.”
Caleb’s eyes flickered with surprise. “Leave it to me to put my foot in my mouth.”
“It’s okay. My car accident brought about a lot of changes that needed to happen. One of them being ending a relationship with a person who never truly loved me,” Harlow said. “I heard about Tiffany’s death. I’m sorry.”
“It’s been a rocky few years. You never know what hand life is going to deal you.”
“No.” Harlow offered him a sad smile. “It appears we’ve both been on the receiving end of some tough times.”
“But maybe not forever.”
“I hope not.” Harlow thanked him again and strode out of his office, eager to leave before she humiliated herself again, or worse yet, said something stupid. Whenever Caleb was around, her brain turned to mush.
She climbed onto her bike. Giving it a nudge, Harlow pedaled off. “That went well,” she sighed. “At least I didn’t make a complete fool of myself, and Caleb agreed to help Dad and me.”
Chapter 12
“Well?” Harlow twirled around, modeling her new outfit, one she’d purchased during a shopping trip to Vancouver’s Sinclair Centre, a premier shopping plaza.
Lottie let out a flirty whistle. “I love it. You’re cute as a button.”
“Thanks. I knew as soon as I saw it, this was a perfect Mackie night out outfit.”
David trailed behind, following his daughter and Lottie to the door. “You gals are feasting on fudge for dinner?”
“I don’t know,” Lottie said. “Peyton, who owns The Fudge Shop, insists she has a special surprise and asked us not to bring a dish to share.”
“I heard the same.” Harlow made a zipping motion across her lips. “Peyton wouldn’t give me a single hint, only reminding me I needed to be on time and to bring my appetite. What about you, Dad? Are you hanging around home tonight?”
“Birdie and I are gonna try out the new downtown seafood restaurant that opened this summer.”
“We’ll miss her for the Mackie’s night.”
“I’m sure she’ll miss you, too. She claims she has something important she wants to discuss.”
Harlow feigned surprise. “Something important? Is she moving out?”
“Who knows? Anything is possible with Birdie.”
She bounced onto the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek. “We shouldn’t be too late.”
“But you never know,” Lottie added. “Once the Mackies get going, we could gab all night.”
