Ilook out the window for what feels like the hundredth time now. Ryan is on her way over. To discuss the custody situation. Given she was the one who dealt with Lena and Trent directly regarding the matter, she seemed like the best lawyer to represent me in the case. A hunch she confirmed when Jovi and I called her the week after I was served papers and she reacted as indignantly as Jovi did when he found out. She’s been handling the situation ever since. Our meeting today is meant to prepare me for what’s next.
Since the kids don't know what's going on, Jovi has taken them for lunch at one of his family's places. Much as I appreciate him making sure they're taken care of, part of me wishes he was here. To do this with me.
No sooner do I have the thought than my phone vibrates with a call from him.
"She there yet?" he asks as soon as I answer.
I peer out the window yet again. "No."
"Good. Then I have time to tell you three things."
Nerves knot my gut, but he still makes me smile. "Three things?"
"One. Trent and Lena chose you. Not Tammy. You," he starts and that first statement is enough to both settle me and bring the sting of tears to my eyes. "Two. The kids adore you. Despite everything they've been through this year, they're thriving. As we speak, they're giggling so hard, Remmi has the hiccups. You did that. You got them here."
I'm almost afraid to ask. "And three?"
"You don't need me. But I've got you anyway. Whatever happens, I'm with you."
"I wish you were here now," I whisper, then press my lips together tightly trying to hold back the onslaught of emotions that simple statement brings forth.
"I was hoping you'd say that," and I can hear the sweet, lopsided grin in his voice when he says it. "Go drag your grumpy cat out from under the futon. Keep her with you for the meeting," he says, "and I'll be there too."
I hear the kids start talking to him, excitement in their voices as they compete for his attention. "I better go," he says after a second. "My mother just told them they could cook their own burgers on the grill in the kitchen."
"Oh." A small laugh bubbles out of me. "Yes, go supervise."
"You trust me?"
I don't have to think about it. "Yes."
"I trust you too." His answer is like the calm at the center of my storm. "Everything is going to be fine."
Then he hangs up, Gavin's delighted loud laugh the last thing I hear before the line goes quiet.
I take one more look out the window, then take a long resigning breath and track down Harriet.
Jovi called it. She is, as per usual, napping under the futon, and not at all impressed with me when I grab hold of her and tug her out. Appeasing her with a snuggle to my chest, I rub under her chin, coaxing her to doze off again. Her soft purr vibrating against me is like a balm to my frayed nerves, and I smile, wondering if that was Jovi's intention when he told me to go find her.
Until I notice she's wearing a collar. She's an outdoor cat. Never have I ever placed a collar on her. Certainly not one this fancy, with a dangling tag.
Curious, I flip it over to see what it says, only to find it's not a plate for engraving but a charm for pictures. Placed inside is a photo of Jovi. One I took the day he joined me for my photoshoot.
It's been cropped to cut out his half naked body, zoomed in to show only his face. Those deep, caring eyes. And that damn sexy, unendingly kind and forever taunting, smile.
And I can't help it, I laugh. This man has become the greatest surprise of my life. And even when I don't really know where we stand, when we continue to hover on the precipice of something neither of us seems ready to leap into, I don't doubt that he's here to stay. That whatever it is we are, whatever we become, we are something unbreakable. We agreed to a year, but the truth is, I don’t think I can imagine a life without him anymore. I don't want to.
The realization sits like a comfy blanket over my mind, stilling all the reeling thoughts as I hold Harriet close and make my way back to the front of the house. I've reached the end of the hall, when there's a knock at the door.
Ryan is here.
And, thanks to Jovi, I'm ready.
JOVI
"I still can't believe you invited the kids into the kitchen to cook on an open flame grill," I grunt, watching the kids play in the small arcade room off the dining area while I sit at the bar with my mother. The Raleigh is the only one of our bars that’s open to all ages during the day. With the lull between lunch and dinner, it makes for an easy environment to watch the kids while still catching up with my mother and making sure she feels secure with how everything is running.
There haven't been any major issues even through the changes I made in management to make sure everything was taken care of while I had to take a step back. The minor hiccups along the way were easily handled, either by myself or everyone currently in charge, but my mother still lacks faith in the idea of handing over control to others. Mina included.
