Page 93 of Exposed

I walked over to Jacob. “We can stick these to your bedroom ceiling. So that even on cloudy days you can talk to your dad.”

“Really?” Jacob looked so excited.

“I’ll put them up for you today, okay?”

“Thanks, Coach.” He leaned forward and hugged me. “Can we go to Mr. Nigel’s house?”

“Only you,” Nigel said. “No grown-ups allowed.”

“What?” I said. “Why?”

“Because you wouldn’t understand what you were seeing.”

And a child would? That sounded like a really bad idea. “Maybe later, kiddo,” I said. “Rumor has it we get cupcakes for breakfast.”

“Cuppycakes!” Jacob yelled.

“Cuppycakes!” Nigel mimicked. He grabbed the straps of his lederhosen like he was about to undo them.

I glared at him. And I hoped he realized I was silently telling him, ‘Don’t you dare.’ Because if he got naked again, I was throwing him through his weird door.

But maybe he was just acting out because he needed more attention or something. “Thanks, Nigel. For picking up the gifts. And hanging up the portrait.” Exactly where I’d wanted it. Jacob didn’t seem to notice it or care. He was much more curious about the door. Besides, it was art. I didn’t see a problem with it being down here at all.

“I’ll frame the sheet later as well. I need to iron it first.”

That seemed like a really bad idea. But I’d learned to let Nigel do Nigel. As long as it didn’t mean he was naked on my counter and hitting on my soon-to-be-wife.

Chapter 30

Wednesday

Brooklyn

I pulled out a tray of brownies. Baking always made me feel better. But it wasn’t the guilt that was making me feel uneasy today. Having my rings against my chest somehow eased the pain of missing Miller. I barely noticed the rings on my finger. But I noticed them pressed against my chest because it was a new sensation. The rings shifted every time I moved. A constant reminder. And it was like Miller was where he belonged…right next to my heart.

Jacob reached out for a brownie, but I grabbed his hand.

“In a minute, sweet boy. They need to cool.”

He reached out with his other hand.

I grabbed that too. “Fine, you win.” I released his hands and grabbed a knife to cut him a small piece.

He shoved the entire thing in his mouth.

I laughed. “What’s the verdict? Good?”

“Oui.”

Luckily that was one of the only French words he’d picked up from Nigel. Because I really didn’t know any French. I tickled his side and he laughed.

His laughter made me smile. I knew Miller meant what he wrote in his letter to me. He wanted me to be happy. And I was doing my best to choose that. I also felt him here in this house. I wouldn’t have loved it so much if I hadn’t felt his presence.

So no, for the first time it wasn’t Miller’s absence that made the quiet of the mornings unbearable. It was that my dad kept texting me. And calling. Every few hours. I pressed the center of my chest, feeling the rings through my shirt.What should I do, Miller?I knew what I wanted to do. Push my father into oncoming traffic. But what if he was telling the truth? What if he hadn’t ordered the hit that killed Miller? I wasn’t sure it mattered if he had or hadn’t. It was still his fault.

My phone buzzed.Speak of the devil.I grabbed my phone and stared at his words: “Angel, please answer my calls. We need to talk.”

I was gripping my phone so tightly that my knuckles were turning white. What would Miller have done in this situation? I thought about how he’d told Jacob to punch my father. I knew exactly what he’d do. And it was better to take care of this now. I texted him back: “We have nothing to discuss. Please stop contacting me.”

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