“I work for Frank again,” I told him.
“Of course, you do.” There was a resignation in how he said it, like he believed the universe was screwing him over, too. Apparently, we both still had something in common.
“Show me the kitchen.”
CHAPTER 50
harley
Water spilled across the kitchen floor. It wasn’t a trickle. It was a full-on gush of water out of the pipes. Leave it to me to try to fix one thing only to make everything worse. I was soaked and angry. I wasn’t even angry at the water. It was everything… Vivienne throwing a tantrum about my staying, the sheer amount of shit in this goddamn house, the smell lingering despite the open windows, and the growing guilt that I could’ve somehow prevented all of this.
After calling Frank in town about getting his help fixing up the house, I changed out of my dress pants and shirt, opting for jeans and a t-shirt—something comfortable for crawling through the mess. In an impulsive decision, I left my wedding ring in the dresser with the rest of my clothes.Out of sight, out of mind. The relief of its absence was instant.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived thanks to a broken pipe.
I barely heard the knock on the door in all my chaos. If I wasn’t waiting for it, I would’ve missed it entirely. The minute I heard it, I tried to hurry across the kitchen and damn near killed myself in the process as I slipped in the water and crashed into a stack of boxes.
“Fuck,” I grumbled while righting myself. I couldn’t get out of this place fast enough.
Navigating the chaos, I made my way to the front door and yanked it open, expecting Frank.
I wasn’t expecting Maverick. My stomach dropped out as I just stood there staring at him, a familiar ache building in my chest—one I thought I’d worked through.
But here he was: the living embodiment of my broken heart.
The last time I’d seen him was the mug shot of him that I’d looked up online five years ago. I hadn’t been able to resist looking him up to figure out if it was all true. He looked… incredible.
His rough edges had softened some, smoothed out in the clear lack of anger written on his face. It was as if he’d found peace in the past five years, and for some reason, that bothered me. His dark hair was cut shorter, and the beard on his face was neatly tailored to his sharp jaw. A new scar split his left brow, raising questions I wasn’t sure I’d ever find out the answer to.
His gaze dragged over me, too clinical and uncomfortable, leaving me exposed for his judgment. Part of me wanted to know what he was thinking, but the other part didn’t.
The universe was fucking with me. That much was clear. The only person I didn’t want to see while in Wilde Bay was standing on my front porch, looking like his life was better off without me.It cut a lot deeper than I wanted to admit aloud.
I wasn’t emotionally equipped to face Maverick again.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded. It came out harsher than I meant it to, but panic had already taken the wheel.
“Is your mother home?” he asked, his voice flat and almost… bored. Was this boring him?
“What?” I snapped, frowning. Why the hell was he asking about my mother? If anything, she had to be one of the last people he wanted to see.
“Is your mother home?” he repeated, slow and loud as if I was the one being difficult.
My thoughts were scattered. Just the sound of his voice triggered an onslaught of emotions I didn’t want. My pulse thundered in my ears, making the world a little hazy and unsteady.
“Uh…no,” I whispered, shaking my head. My jaw worked, trying to catch up with my mind. The painstakingly familiar spiral pressed in on me like it always did when I was hit with too much at once.I wouldn’t fall apart in front of him. Thankfully, he said nothing and just waited. “I’m sorry… it’s just been a long fucking day. No, my mother is in an assisted living center.”
A flicker of shock passed over his face, but it vanished quickly.
“So, she’s not here?” His push for that answer confused me, but I couldn’t blame him. My mother had always hated him.
“No, she’s not here,” I repeated.
“And she’s not coming back?”
Something ugly and honest bubbled up in me before I could stop it.
“God, I hope not.”Shit, I shouldn’t have said that out loud.Not given the circumstances. I tried to recover as quickly as Icould, “Sorry, that was…. No, she’s not coming—I’m sorry, the kitchen is flooding, did you want… you’re the repair guy, aren’t you?”
