Fire flashed in his eyes. “You lied to me.”
“Yes.” How she wished she could have kept the lie. She stepped onto the front porch and closed the door behind her, lest Pawpaw come in from the back.
“Why?” His intense gaze burned her senses. “I wanted her, and you cheated me out of a child.”
Over the years, she’d imagined how this would play out in a million ways, but it was never like this, and she was surprisingly numb. “Can we go somewhere and talk that’s not here?”
“Afraid of what will happen now that your lies have caught up to you?”
If she’d thought admitting the truth would buy her any mercy, she was wrong. “She’ll be home any minute. I don’t want her to walk into the middle of this.”
For whatever reason, her words calmed him. “Meet me at Franco’s in an hour.”
“I’ll be there.”
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. His gaze wandered down the street and fixed on a person walking. Dear goodness, Cecily was almost home. She silently pleaded for Lucas to leave immediately.
His gaze snapped back to her, a dark weariness etched into his features. “One hour.”
She gripped the doorjamb for support as he walked away. Her legs barely supported her, but she had to be strong for Cecily. She couldn’t let her see her this way. Taking a calming breath, she counted to ten then released it.
Cecily carried a small plastic bag and two drinks. “Who was that man I saw?”
“Just a salesman.”
Blessedly, Cecily didn’t question her, and handed over a Styrofoam cup. “They still had pumpkin spice.”
“Thanks.”
“Here’s your change.” Giving Serena a handful of coins, Cecily offered a half smile. “I kinda used some to get me a cappuccino, too. I can give you back the money.”
“Don’t worry about it.” They walked into the house. “I have an errand to run. Can you make sure the laundry gets switched around?”
“Sure. Where are you going?”
She froze, couldn’t think of a lie on the spot, and tapped Cecily’s nose like she’d done when her daughter was a toddler asking fifty questions. “That’s not your business.”
“What about the tree?”
“We’ll still have time. Promise.” She held out a hand. “Can I have Pawpaw’s candy? I’ll take it out to him.”
Cecily arched her brows but didn’t argue and gave Serena the candy bar before plopping on the sofa with her drink and a book.
Serena went to the backyard and waited for Pawpaw to turn off the water. “I had Cecily pick you up a treat from the store.”
“Thanks.” He reached for the offered sweet and tore open the label. “My favorite.”
Shuffling her feet, she debated how to tell Pawpaw. “Did you hear anyone at the front door?”
“No, why?” He bit off a piece of chocolate.
“We had a visitor.” She was beating around the bush but couldn’t help it.
“Who?”
“Lucas.”
His expression remained neutral, but his shoulders tensed. “What did he want?”
