“I think it does because I don’t think you would have. What you did was difficult, Liv. Just like what I did was. We got what we intended, but I no longer think the payoff was worth what we lost to get here.” Straightening, I reached over and moved a curl from her cheek. “Maybe you should look him up. You never know.”
She shook her head, giving me a small smile. That was enough to know she forgave me.
“By the way,” I said, fixing my shirt where I’d rolled the sleeves. “Thank you for talking to Tori. For telling her the truth. I know how hard it is for you to be humble.”
She laughed and threw a pad of paper at me. “Get out of my office, little brother.”
I picked up the pad and tossed it on her desk before I headed out.
“Did it help?” she asked as my hand was on the handle.
“For a moment, until she started hating me again.”
“Give her time. I see the way she looks at you. She’s still in love with you. You’ll just have to find a way to win her back.”
“Nothing like a challenge I have a zero percent chance of winning,” I mumbled as I walked out.
Heading to my office, I heard Tori talking to our assistant, her voice carrying so that it inched its way into my chest, causing an ache I couldn’t ignore. Changing direction, I left the office,taking a walk to clear my head. I thought about Liv’s observation that Tori still loved me. The idea caused fluctuations in my pulse, and I swallowed back the hope. Paired with the small hints she’d dropped in her frustrated conversations with me, there was hope, but I didn’t know how to win her back. It seemed an impossible feat, but the possibility was too exciting to ignore.
After a brisk walk in the late October air, I found myself standing in front of the daycare, watching Reid play with the other kids in his class. The director had informed me that a new teacher had started last week, a rehire whom she had cut when my father had insisted on slowly dismantling the center. Something I had argued against and had now rectified.
Reid was playing cars with a redheaded boy and a very animated girl with braids. His smile warmed a place in my chest that only Tori had ever reached. I wanted to know him, to hear his stories, to learn his likes and dislikes, to watch him continue to grow.
The scent of vanilla and cherry blossoms and the familiar sensation of Tori standing in my presence had my nerves buzzing.
“Give him a car and he can play for hours.”
“I was the same way,” I said, watching him laugh so hard he was holding his stomach. “Had a collection of miniature cars until…” The memory of my father taking them all away when I’d left one in the kitchen returned. His voice had cut through me like barbed wire as he scolded me and the spanking he’d given me had left my bottom sore for two days.
“I’m hoping he doesn’t want to be a racecar driver when he gets older,” said Tori, filling the silence. “I don’t think I could handle the worry.”
“I’ll buy the cars he wants to feed the addiction,” I blurted, wanting to kick myself for assuming she would let me give himanything. I rubbed the back of my neck. “I bought my first when I was sixteen and still have it in my garage.”
“Guess your Jacksonville car isn’t part of that collection?” An acidic tone laced the question.
“No. I donated it when I returned home. My father would have disowned me if he had seen me driving that.”
Awkward silence let me know it was time to leave. It had hovered over us since the night she’d confronted me.
I turned to leave when she said, “I’m taking Reid to the zoo for his birthday.”
“The zoo?” My voice squeaked at the memory of Tori at the zoo. Her smile in the Florida sun, tanned skin, and hidden kisses. I clenched my hands to stave off the need to touch her.
“Yes. This weekend if you’d like to come.”
I swiveled around, meeting dusty blue orbs. The air rushed from my lungs, and I struggled to reply. “I’d like that.”
She nodded, swallowing. “Saturday morning, before I head to my brother’s for the birthday party.”
Something I knew I wouldn’t be welcome to attend. I was certain her brother hated me even more than she did. Anyone who had hurt my sister the way I’d hurt her I would loathe.
“Sounds like a…” I almost said date but caught myself. “A plan.”
She gave me a forced smile, then turned back to watching Reid. It was only Monday, but I headed back out of the building and made my way to the toy store, buying every miniature sports car they had.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I stretched my tired muscles. The gym in the building was always empty this early,and having a full bathroom in my office made it easy to get my workout in before turning my focus to the day. I pulled a suit from the small closet in the bathroom and returned to lock my office door only to find my father standing across from me.
“I’ll need to have a talk with security if they’re still letting you in here. How did you get to this floor?”
