Something was there and I was thankful that she didn’t feel the need to mask it in front of me. The churning that had subsided was going back again and it made me want to hold Ami closer but I felt like shit using her for comfort. I wasn’t even sure if it was a healthy thing or not but I would definitely ask Doc about it the next time I talked to him.
“You need to get it off your chest?”
Her brows rose and her lips faded contemplatively as though she were debating the ramifications of going into detail. I knew she worried it would derail our morning but with the way I could feel myself start to perspire I was about to ruin it my damn self.
“It involves my father and money. He wanted more of it and thought I would be a good way to get it.”
“That’s messed up. Y’all close?”
Her smile was soft and I knew it was one of disappointment and not joy. “Not at all. I don’t know what it’s like to be a daddy’s girl. So when I see how you are with her already it makes me happy.”
“Sterling, we've gotta talk.” I’d been joking this time but the quick way my tone changed had her back on guard. While we were sharing, it was only right I got this out.
“Are you about to fire me?”
“No, well maybe. But not right now. I’ll pay your contract out—”
She grinned and waved off my offer of pennies. “My cousin owns the agency so you’ve technically paid him.”
“Then I’ll deposit it directly into your account.”
“You don’t have to pay me for—”
“We're not even about to finish that sentence. But we do need to talk.” She’d been brave and now it was time for me to do the same.
She turned off the burners to the stove and nodded. I appreciated that she wasn’t asking me a bunch of questions but I still knew she deserved answers.
She walked toward me with her hands out. “Let me put her down because it’s close to her nap time and you’ve already worn her out.” She kissed me before taking Ami to walk down the hall. I watched her walk away and I prayed that I wouldn’t lose her with what I had to confess.
STERLING
I FOUND HIM pacing in front of the fireplace when I came back from putting Ami in her crib. I watched him and he looked different from before. He wasn’t as confident. The self-assurance that he normally exuded didn’t look to be anywhere in him now. The pleasure of last night and the joy of this morning seemed to be completely gone.
I got closer to him but something told me not to get too close. His body language screamed that he was battling something heavy.
“She’s asleep. If you’ve changed your mind about wanting to talk to me—”
It was the wrong thing to say but I also felt like I was intruding just watching him pace back and forth. He acknowledged my presence with a grunt and then went back to silently stewing in a cesspool of emotions that I knew wasn’t doing him any good.
I waited a few more minutes but I was ready to eat before our food got cold and maybe catch a nap while Ami slept. He needed a minute and I wasn’t about to catch a stray from Aldrich’s shitty mood so it was better to leave him there. As soon as I turned around, I heard him speak up behind me.
“You wanna know why I was so angry?”
I turned back seeing that the anger on his face had been joined with pain and what could only be aggravation. I hated feeling like I was putting him on the spot so I shook my head tolet him know this wasn’t necessary. “You don’t have to do this, Aldrich—”
He stopped moving and flexed his hands at his sides as he grunted out a breath.
“No, I do. You were here and you saw me at my worst. You didn’t judge me. We got close and I know there were still moments where you wondered what the fuck I was on. The man you see now isn’t the one who was present when you first got here.”
“I knew you were going through something. Your life was being interrupted by a major change. No one can judge you for that.” I mean I did, some, but still.
“The woman…I think her name was Marley. She was my stalker; I didn’t know I had one. I didn’t even know the bitch was really that crazy. I rarely check my social media DMs because I don’t deal with women who slide in my messages like that. But she’d apparently been after me for a minute. Hung around the team.” Aldrich’s mouth was tight, his body tensing with each word he spoke.
“So, a groupie. But like to the nth degree.” I was trying to understand where this was headed but the more he talked the more worried I got. Aldrich’s face got tighter, his anger clear.
“Yeah. She broke in my house and started moving stuff around—”
“Wait, this house?” I immediately got creeped out thinking that she’d been in here. I should’ve just let him talk but my discomfort wouldn’t let me keep silent about that.
