She opened it.
As the flames leapt, her blood and breath stilled. She read the pages three times, first in incredulity, then with a relief so profound her lungs ached.
Gallant...lovedher. Not that he’d said so outright, at least not in so many words. No, somehow, he’d found better ones.
Each sentence arrowed into her, a cascade of keys slotting into a series of locks. The last of her hesitation cracked and fell away. She wondered whether people could fall in love in a single moment.
Maybe. Probably. Because if so, she just had.
28.
Nick didn’t manage to track down Paige until the day after he returned from New York. When he’d gotten home, she’d been sleeping at Maria’s again, so he’d bit back his self-recriminations and spent the night working on his truck, even though he’d remedied the heater problem in twenty minutes with a simple addition of coolant.
Whatever. The truck now ran better than ever, and he’d successfully dodged Tansy’s questions.
On Monday evening, Nick dropped into his usual chair at the dinner table, his hair still wet from his post-work, post-gym shower. Tansy nodded a welcome. Paige smiled, though not with her usual enthusiasm.
He studied her covertly. Dark shadows clung beneath her eyes. “Hey, Peanut.”
“Hey, Daddy.”
“I’ve barely seen you all week. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” She doodled her fork through her food, then darted a glance at Tansy, who was studiously separating her quinoa from her broccoli—for some reason, she’d never been able to tolerate her food touching.
Not that it mattered right now. Nick got the message. Paige wanted to talk in private.
So he muddled through the meal, trying to keep his mood light. At least... as light as it ever got.
Thankfully, Tansy didn’t seem to notice the muted atmosphere. When she finished eating, she said, “I’m meeting Betty Klein, over at the salon. She can only do her appointments in the evenings.”
“Great.” Nick tried to sound casual.
Tansy went to her bedroom to retrieve her work bag. The cords from her many curling irons and straighteners and god-knew-what-else spilled over the sides. She left looking like she was carrying a giant spider under her arm.
The moment the door closed, Nick turned. “Look, if this is about the other day, when your mom and I were talking, I—”
“It’s not.” Paige’s blue eyes flared. “It’s really not, Daddy. I mean, that caught me off guard, yeah. But... that’s not why I’ve been avoiding you.”
He blinked. The sentiment sliced into his gut. “You’ve been avoiding me?”
“Well. . .” She chewed at her lip.
He sat back. Shit. He’d gotten so knotted up over Aubrey he hadn’t even realized. “Aw, hell, kiddo. I’m sorry. I’ve been a complete asshole.”
Paige breathed out something too thin to be called a laugh. “No, you haven’t. You really haven’t. And you have nothing to apologize for.”
“Then why’re you avoiding me?”
“I just haven’t been ready to talk.”
“About?”
Crimson spots appeared on her cheeks. She picked at her food. “A couple things. But, ah... if you really wanna know, I found Aubrey’s letter. That’s one.”
Every bone in his body snapped into rigid alignment. “Youwhat?”
“The letter Aubrey wrote. In the shoebox under your nightstand. I found it.”
