“Thanks, mate. I appreciate it.” Clapping Marlin a little too hard on the back, I give the bartender a nod, “Put it on his tab.”
I make it two steps before my name gets called.
“Oh, Deville. You forgot something.”
Marlin holds up a rusty key, a battered old thing clinging to a silver chain. I look at the key to my mum’s old apartment, the memento of a woman who was never going to choose me.
The piece of garbage that should have been thrown out a long time ago.
“Keep it. I don’t need it anymore.”
There’s a grin on my face as I turn around and start running through the crowd. Pushing and shoving people out of my way because I’ve got a plane to catch.
And I was asking the wrong question.
Chapter 60
CALISTA
In the end, it was always going to be me and him.
“What are we going to do now, baby.”
Whispering in Ronan’s ear, I feel him wrap himself more tightly around me. Shield me with his body and push away the outside world until I feel strong enough to face it again.
It is exhausting being so independent all the time.
My heels are kicked off and we are curled up in his dog bed. Soft and warm, it’s the space I always returned to until Christopher Deville came barging into my life.
And offered me a new safe place to hide.
I close my eyes and bury my face in his fur. Block out the thoughts in my head and the feelings swirling around my chest so I can concentrate on breathing.
In and out.
Funny how something so simple can be the most difficult feat of them all.
I tell myself that Ronan’s warmth is enough to chase away the loneliness. That his presence is enough to fill some of the void.
I tell myself a lot of things. Convince myself everything is alright just like I always do.
It takes another few minutes, but eventually I find the strength to lift my head. Push myself to standing and slip my heels back on.
“We’ve got an evening all to ourselves.”
Ronan’s ears perk, his eyes darting from me to the bedroom door.
“I could paint your nails. Have mama and her boy be matching.”
He makes a disgusted sound.
“Or I could give you a bath. Buy you a new collar.”
Frivolous suggestions that go over just as well as the first.
I sigh, bending down to stroke his fur, “I’m tired of fighting. Let’s stay in tonight.”
An annoyed sound echoes from his snout, and despite the night’s tumultuous events, I can’t help but smile.
