Assuming it’s not already too late for her to hear more of my excuses, my worries, and everything I wish I could control.
That’s not fair.
The least I owe her is an explanation.
We spendthe night apart and it’s a restless goddamned absence.
Best to give her space, though, and by the time I’m padding downstairs to brew some coffee the next morning, I’m ready to lay my cards out.
But there’s a noise in the hallway that stops me cold.
Another intruder?
Impossible. None of the cameras went off and pinged my app.
Only, when I hustle into the kitchen with my fists ready, it’s just Margot.
She’s standing there, dressed in olive slacks and a crisp white blouse, with those big suitcases behind her.
She stops and stares at me, eyes wide. Her heart-shaped lips twitch.
What the actual fuck?
We gawk at each other for an eternity.
Her mouth is tight, her face almost as pale as that shirt.
She looks like she got about as much sleep as I did, and I hate it.
“Margot,” I grind out. “What are you doing?”
She stiffens. “I didn’t think you’d be down yet.”
“Obviously.” I gesture at her luggage. “Is that why you’re sneaking out without a goodbye?”
Her mouth opens, closes, and then her face falls.
“Duchess, are you shitting me right now?” There’s a jagged lump in my throat. “You weren’t even going to say goodbye to the kids?”
Her nostrils flare and she folds her arms.
“I… I figured you could do that for me.”
“Yeah, because they’d love that.” I snort. “Whatever your beef is with me, I thought we were better than that.”
“What else do you expect, Kane? Should I just stick around, waiting for you to realize you fucked up? We had less than a week left anyway.”
Less than a damn week, yeah.
Still more time than this exit would be.
And it hits me like an uppercut, I’m not ready for our time together to end.
In the silence, her red-rimmed eyes flick to mine and away again. “I didn’t think you’d care.”
“Where were you planning to go? Home?” My voice is hoarse.
“I was going to catch the next flight out of Bar Harbor to Portland. From there, not sure,” she whispers. “You’re welcome to the house as long as you’d like, if you think it’s safe enough. I’ll be out of your hair and you guys can—”
