Page 79 of Honey Bee Library
I reached over and turned on the light in the kitchen. The warm orange light filled the space and made it feel like home.
I hated that.
“He had to go back to Miami,” I said.
I knew it was wrong not to tell him the full truth, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit to him that Cole was gone. That I’d run him out of town because I was too scared to admit my feelings for him. ThatIwanted to be the one to leave.
I didn’t want to see the disappointed look on my son’s face. He loved Cole, and yet, I’d forced him out.
“Oh,” Jasper said before he yawned again.
“Come on, bubba. Let’s take a bath and get into bed.”
Thankfully, Jasper didn’t fight me. Instead he just nodded and let me usher him into the bathroom, where I turned on the tub faucet so the water could warm up. Fifteen minutes later, he was buried in bubbles up to his neck.
I left him playing while I dumped his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper and gathered his pajamas to take into the bathroom. I sat on the toilet, scrolling on my phone while he played.
Twenty minutes later, Jasper was full raisin, so I unplugged the tub to drain the water while he climbed out and dried off. Once his pajamas were on and his teeth were brushed, I snuggled next to him in bed while I read him a story.
The impromptu trip to Miami mixed with hanging out with Zoey today must have worn him out, because Jasper was out before I even got halfway through the book. His head weighed heavy on my arm as I slowly dog-eared the page and then set the book on the nightstand.
I pulled Jasper closer to me as I snuggled deeper into the blankets, my heart breaking as memories of my time with Cole rose to the surface. I wanted to forget him. I wanted this breakup to be easy. Yet, my heart ached to have him back in my life.
I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but I couldn’t deny the fact that my heart was beating for him. And I feared it always would.
Sleep evaded me, so I eventually pulled the comforter off my body and slowly slid my feet to the floor. Once I was stable, I stood and turned to make sure I hadn’t woken up Jasper, but he was dead to the world. I doubted a zombie apocalypse could wake him.
I closed the bedroom door behind me and made my way into the kitchen and turned on the under-cupboard lights. With the way I was feeling, I needed some wine.
I found a wine glass in one of the upper cabinets. It made a softtinkwhen I set it down on the granite countertop. There was a half-empty bottle of wine in the fridge—a brand that I didn’t recognize but was sure was expensive—so I pulled it out and collected my glass.
I made my way into the living room, where I collapsed on the couch. I covered my legs with the nearby throw blanket, and after filling my glass halfway, I settled back with the TV remote in hand. I found a reality show about a group of women who brought a lot of their issues on themselves, and I sipped my wine while I watched.
For a moment, I forgot about Cole. My body was relaxed, and I wasn’t thinking about the moments I’d shared with that man and the future I was no longer going to have.
My relaxation didn’t last long because, suddenly, I heard the front door unlock and the soft fall of footsteps in the foyer. My heart pounded in my chest as I set my wine glass down and moved to stand. My first instinct was to hurry into the kitchen to get a knife, but I was more likely going to give a weapon to the intruder than defend myself with it.
I needed to hide.
I couldn’t make it back to the bedroom to get Jasper, so I did the next best thing I could think of. I dropped behind the couch just as a dark shadow came around the corner. I pressed my body against the soft material, hoping that the intruder would take what they needed and leave.
The sound of footfalls coming into the living room caused my fight-or-flight reflex to kick in. I thought this was a gated community. Who did the security guard let in?
“Willow?”
Cole’s soft and confused voice caused me to yelp. I whipped my gaze up to see him peering down at me. His eyebrows were drawn together, but there was a soft smile on his lips. He tipped his head to the side as he studied me.
“What are you doing?”
I felt like I was going into cardiac arrest as my heart went from,I need to gather my strength to protect my son,to,the man I fell in love with was now back in my life. It was a whiplash that left me feeling dizzy.
Desperate to save face and appear put together, I tried to stand, but all the blood that had been pumping through my veins at a rapid speed was suddenly drained from my body. My head felt light as spots formed in my gaze.
My knees gave out, and I was certain I was going to face-plant on the tiled floor.
“Whoa,” Cole said, his voice feeling far away as it competed against the whooshing sound of blood pulsing through my ears.
I’m not sure how he got to me so fast, but I was wrapped in his arms and my feet left the ground. He pulled me tight to his chest as he peered down at me.
