Page 43 of When I Come Back
“Really, I promise, it’s okay. I understand how a man can make a woman crazy. Been there, done that, currently writing the book.” She lets out another small laugh, and I feel like I can breathe again, knowing she isn’t immediately calling her lawyer to sue my ass. “You want my advice?”
I nod because, honestly, I’d take any advice at this point.
“If it feels right, it probably is. If it makes you happy, listen to the part of you that’s saying it’s right. I think we sometimes talk ourselves out of the good after dealing with the bad. A man who makes you feel whole and complete is worth keeping around. Just… watch out for STIs if it’s new,” she says with a wink.A wink.
Who is this woman, and why did I not run into her sooner? She’s like a fairy godmother who stepped straight out of Vogue with slicked back red hair, and a good six inches taller than me.
I give her a sheepish smile at the last bit because we one-hundred percent did not use a condom. It never crossed mymind. Not that I think I need to worry, I trust Cary, but… yeah, it wasn’t my best moment. I’m usually much more responsible.
She must catch my drift by the look on my face and adds, “Next time then.”
No one in the history of Thea Carina Ashford has ever been able to calm me down that quickly without some kind of physical intervention. Props to her.
“Let me buy your coffee. I need to get mine remade anyway,” I say as I pick up the cups from the floor and quickly toss them into a trashcan, then I grab some napkins for us both. At the counter, I look over to Grayce. “Whatever she wants, I’ve got it along with ours remade, please. And I’ll clean up the mess I made, just point me to the mop.”
Grayce, of course, tells me absolutely not and sends her son out to clean up the mess. I mouth ‘I’m sorry’ to him as he mops it up. He’s only twelve but one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met.
Once the coffees are remade, I apologize to the kind woman again and thank her for her advice. The ring on her left ring finger catches the light as she wraps her hand around the coffee I just handed her.
“Holy shit, that’s gorgeous!” I say with my eyes laser-focused on the ring. She moves her coffee to her right hand, freeing her left so she can hold it out for me to see.
The ring is an oval yellow champagne diamond surrounded by a starburst halo of white diamonds set in a simple yellow-gold band.
The woman smiles as she stares down at the ring on her finger, probably thinking of the man who gave it to her. “It is very… pretty. Probably not what I would have chosen for myself, but that’s what happens when a man picks out the ring,” she says laughing.
“Really? I think I’d die if someone gave me that. It’s exactly what I’ve always imagined for myself,” I reply as I bring my eyesaway from the ring and back to her face. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
She puts her left hand back around her coffee so it’s braced between both hands now. “Iris.”
“Thea. Nice to meet you, Iris. I’m so sorry it happened in the way it did. But thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it.” I pull my purse strap back up my shoulder after it slid some during my perusal of her ring and turn around to wave goodbye to Grayce. I slip her son a ten-dollar bill on the way out while putting my pointer finger to my lips and whispering, “Shh,” so he knows not to tell his mom.
Now that I’ve had a full-blown meltdown in the middle of the café, threw coffee on a stranger,andtold everyone there I slept with my ex, I can only hope this caffeine gets me through my inventory counts.
Chapter Twenty-One
Carrington
I’ve spent most of the morning since leaving Thea’s switching between reaching out to my contacts in Seattle, staring at my phone, and pacing the length of the hotel room. My head is a mess. Last night was perfect, so much better than what I remember. Watching her let go with me, come with me. It was everything. Everything I’ve been missing the last eight years. Everything I haven’t been able to find in someone else and thought I could live without.
There’s a knock at my hotel door in the late afternoon, and I don’t think too much about it before I sling the door open. My stomach bottoms out when I see the woman standing on the other side.
“Hi, Care Bear!” she says with an easy smile.
“Wh–what are you doing here?” My tone is tight, and my throat suddenly feels raw. I immediately see her face fall, replaced by hurt.
“Excuse me? I thought I’d at least get a hello after not seeing you for two weeks.”
“I—Hi! I’m—I’m sorry, I’m just a bit thrown. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I guess that answers my question of if you were reading my texts…” she says, pushing past me into the room, wheeling a small suitcase behind her. “I tried calling you a few times yesterday. I sent you my flight information. This wasn’t a surprise trip, I just wasn’t giving you the option to say no anymore.”
Fuck.
I try to calm my heart. It’s galloping like a fucking racehorse, and my mind spins. She turns, looking at me with an expression that’s equal measure expectant and pissed off.
“I’m sorry,” I say again with a sigh and pull her in for a hug. “I just wasn’t expecting you, and it surprised me. I’m… glad you’re here.” She slowly melts into me and buries her face into my neck.
The hug is nice and familiar, but her smell is all wrong—the expensive Tom Ford perfume she asks me to get her for Christmas every year—and she doesn’t fit into my body perfectly—just a few inches too tall. I’m suddenly hit with a huge wave of guilt. Guilt for what I’ve done to her, and the lies I’ve told Thea.
