Page 66 of Spark
I glance at the clock, wondering why he’s at the office on a weekend, if anything is wrong, especially if Aileene is there too. But if something really were wrong, wouldn’t Finlay also be there? "Sure. I can head over now."
"Great. Thanks, bud. Text me when you arrive. I’ll meet you in the lobby."
Ending the call, I lower the phone and look at my sister. My quickening heartbeat and fluttering stomach make the recently inked sensations more intense. "Did you hear any of that?"
"Most of it." Smiling, Sofia crosses the room and stands at my side. "I think Cam asking you is a good sign for your friendship."
"I think so too." My fingers tighten around my phone. "I hope I’m ready for this."
Rising onto her toes, she kisses my cheek, then nudges me toward the door. "You’ll be fine. You’re the strongest person I know. Call me when you’re done."
Her faith in me propels me out the door. My heart in my throat, I navigate my truck through the city, running on nerves, fumes, and the worry that I’m completely unprepared to be in Finlay’s space.
Chapter Nineteen
Finlay
Oliveholdsmyhandas she skips, and I walk, through the sparsely occupied parking garage. “Why are we stopping at your office on the weekend, Uncle Fin?”
“Daddy and Aunt Leenie wanted me to look at something in the lab before we all go out to dinner." When we reach the door, I swipe my key card and lead my niece through the quiet lobby of the building.
Waving to Sig, the security guard on duty, I push the button to call up the elevator. I’m not sure why this couldn’t wait until tomorrow, but Cam said Aileene was excited about something to do with the proposed lab remodel. It’s only been a month since Aileen floated the idea, and we don't even have all the quotes yet. But one thing I've learned is when Aileene gets excited about anything, it’s best to listen. She’d been excited about this company, and if it weren’t for her, we would have missed the opportunity to buy it when we did.
We exit the lift, and Olive’s sparkly flip-flops slap against the concrete-colored flooring in the dimly lit hallway. As we round the corner, we’re struck by the lights ablaze in the largest of our labs. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls allow for a view of the sleek white and stainless steel area where many of our scientists spend most of their days.
“Daddy!” Olive shouts with giddy joy and drops my hand when she spies Cam. My brother spins, his grin as wide and joy-filled as his daughter's, and presses his face against the pristine glass, flattening his nose and puffing out his mouth to look like a blowfish. Olive races into the lab, and Cam catches her in his arms. They look more like they’re reuniting after three decades apart rather than the three hours it's been, and for some reason, my heart pinches with longing.
Not,some reason.
Mateo’s warm brown eyes and the bitable cleft in his strong chin flash through my mind, making every step feel like I’m trudging through a quagmire of thick, unrelenting sludge. It’s been four weeks, one day, and twenty-one hours since my life was wrecked.
Who am I kidding? I’m the one who took a sledgehammer to a relationship with a man who had quickly become my world. Maybe if my insensitivity and need to take over hadn't run amuck, I'd be curled up with the man I love right now. And I haven’t been able to figure out how to apologize without sounding like an asshole because there's still a part of me that would pay Mateo's bills again—though, I would go about doing it differently. I’d still do anything to keep him from having to worry or suffer in any way.
I shake away the morose thoughts, but the feeling of having my innards skewered and ripped apart stays, as it has every second of every one of the last twenty-nine days. So, I force my mouth to curve skyward as I enter the lab and hope that one day feeling like a walking carcass will dissipate. “What was so importan—”
I freeze. Muscles, fatigued from the near-constant work I’ve been doing on the house, go rigid. Lungs, trapped in a chest that has become more and more constricted with each passing day, paralyze. Eyes, gritty from lack of sleep, transfix on the man standing in the lab’s far corner chatting with my sister. His broad back is to me, but I would recognize him anywhere. Even in the complete absence of light of a black hole, I’d know he was present simply by the weight of his pull. And I long to be devoured by the gravitational force.
Aileen's gaze meets mine, and she scurries around Mateo, speed walking like she’s trying out for the Olympic race-walking team. Confusion, then surprise, then something that looks an awful lot like resentment, flash across Mateo’s face almost simultaneously.
Aileene pats my arm as she powers by, whispering, “I love you,” but she doesn’t stop or even slow.
I whip my head around as my sister blows past, to find Cam at the door, holding Olive in one arm and waving at Aileen to hurry. My gut drops as the realization that I’ve been set up clobbers me.
Before I can protest, Olive—sweet, innocent, perceptive Olive—waves at Mateo. "Hi, Teo. Are you here to help Uncle Fin find his smile?" Her question is met with silence. My ears heat to their tips, and when I think the uncomfortable quiet can't get any stiffer, she says, "Because he lost it and I've tried to find it for him, but Daddy said you're the only one who can unlock its secret hiding place."
“Okay. That’s great,” Cam interrupts Olive, giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek to soothe any possible hurt his interruption might cause. “We’ll let Teo and Uncle Fin see if they can find each other’s smiles.”
Olive’s eyes brighten. “Like hide-and-seek?”
"Yep. Just like hide-and-seek." When Cam turns his attention back to Mateo and me, his glare is full of meaning and determination. "And they're not allowed to leave this room until they find them." With that, he closes the door and locks it.
“What the hell?” Mateo’s words chase me as I run to the door and pull.
“Cameron…” I point as I yell. “Unlock this door.” I can’t fucking believe this. “Aileene…”
Looking somewhat repentant—though not nearly as much as she should—my sister shrugs her shoulders and lifts her hands, palms up.
Olive waves. "Bye, Uncle Fin. We'll save some pizza for you and Teo."
