If Skye didn’t want to see me, I knew that it wasn’t right to ambush her. So I stopped in front of the elevator. “Is it okay if I come up?”
“Um, yeah, it’s okay.”
“Okay.” I disconnected the call, and my heart thudded heavily in my chest as I pushed the button to go up to the sixteenth floor.
Why was I there?
Armed with all the analysis that I’d just had to do in Dr. Lavine’s session, one would think I’d be able to answer those questions easily, but as I stepped off the elevator, I still had no idea.
All I could come up with was that I needed to know if she was okay. But that could have been answered by a phone call. The truth was, I needed to see with my own eyes that she was okay. I needed to make sure that, in this situation, she had everything she needed.
As I stepped onto the floor, I was trying to figure out how to explain that and make it sound like a rational, not at all a crazy, thing for me to do. Especially after we’d spent the night together and she’d left without a word this morning.
I stopped in front of sixteen, twenty-four, and lifted my hand to knock, but before my knuckles made contact, the door opened, and Skye stepped outside, closing the door behind her. It wasn’t exactly the welcome I’d hoped for, but I wasn’t sure what I expected from showing up out of the blue like this.
“Hey,” she said, a little breathlessly.
My heart slammed into my chest. Her hair was all gathered on the top of her head, and she wore an oversized T-shirt, baggy sweats, and bare feet. She didn’t have a drop of makeup on, and I’d never seen anyone look so beautiful.
“I heard about your building. Are you okay?”
She nodded as a girl with auburn hair and Skye’s eyes opened the door.
“Mom, what are you—?”
“Callie, this is Mr. Locke. Nick, this is my daughter Callie,” Skye made the introductions.
“Callie, it’s nice to meet you. Please call me Nick.”
I reached my hand out when the door opened even wider and a third version of Skye stepped out. I assumed she was her mom, but if I hadn’t known that Skye was an only child, I would have guessed it was her sister. “Who are you guys talking…oh hello.”
Beside me, I heard Skye sigh as another woman, who by the process of elimination I guessed was the person who’d given me the apartment number, mouthed “I’m sorry” behind Skye’s mother.
“Lola, this is Nick Locke.” Skye waved her arm in front of me like I was a prize on ThePrice is Right. “Nick, this is my mother, Lola.”
Skye’s mother smiled demurely and batted her eyes up at me as she held out her hand. “So nice to meet you, Mr. Locke.”
I was pretty sure she wanted me to kiss her hand, but instead I shook it. “Nice to meet you, Lola, and please call me Nick.”
“Hey Nick, I’m Rihanna, but you can call me Ri.” Rihanna waved from behind Callie and Lola.
It was clear from the starstruck expression on Callie’s face that she was a fan of the podcast. I guessed from the over-the-top eyelash batting that Lola was a fan for a different reason. And Rihanna, clearly amused by the situation, looked like she wanted to sit back with a bag-of-popcorn and just watch it play out. This was the demographic I would usually shine in using my natural born gifts of charisma and charm. Yet I found myself once again in uncharted territory.
The only person I cared about was the one I sensed wasnothappy I’d arrived. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and tell her that I would take care of everything, and she never had to worry about anything again, but somehow, I didn’t think that was the best play here.
Skye turned to me wearing a tight smile on her face. “Anyway, thanks for stopping by—"
“Do you want to come in?” Callie spoke at the same time.
Skye’s head turned back to her daughter. “Callie, you can’t invite people into someone else’s home.”
“It’s just Auntie Ri’s,” she countered.
“Mi case es su casa,” Ri said, opening the door wider.
Skye tensed beside me, and I knew that she did not want me to accept the invitation.
“Thank you, but I can’t stay. I need to get home to my daughter.” I turned back to Skye. “I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay and offer you a place to stay.”
