Page 39
Me
Let me know you got home okay.
Her townhouse was only two miles down the road, so I waited. But the screen stayed dark, so I eventually put the phone down and drove home.
The house was quiet when I walked in. I tossed my keys onto the entry table and stopped to stare at the one she gave me for her place.
Things had been going perfectly for us before it all blew up tonight.
I headed into the kitchen to make a snack since dinner didn’t happen, but when I saw all the leftovers that Celia had carefully portioned and put in the fridge for me, I couldn’t bring myself to eat any of it right now. So I grabbed a bottle of bourbon instead, and poured myself two fingers on the rocks.
It burned going down, but I poured myself another glass when it was gone.
The phone rang while I was standing at the counter, but the name that flashed on the screen wasn’t the one I wanted.
I almost let Courtney’s call go to voicemail. Then I thought about Ellie in her car, crying, and I answered.
“What the hell did you do?” Courtney didn’t wait for me to say a word before she started yelling. “She showed up here sobbing. Harry had to pull over because she couldn’t breathe. You brought that woman to dinner, and you didn’t even have the decency to warn her.”
“I didn’t know.” I paced the length of the island because standing still made me feel worse. “I didn’t know Celia was Harry’s ex. If I had, I would have handled it differently.”
“Handled it?” Courtney’s laugh was devoid of humor. “Where was any of that energy when your little girlfriend told Harry she might be his mother-in-law someday?”
I closed my eyes. “Celia was blindsided. She said something she shouldn’t have. Ellie also said stuff she shouldn’t have. Neither of them was at their best.”
“Don’t you dare make this equal.” Courtney’s voice rose. “Ellie is twenty-one. She just got married. And you brought the woman who tried to destroy her into her favorite restaurant and expected her to smile over champagne.”
“I wasn’t—”
“That woman is not a victim. She lost, and she’s trying to punish Ellie for winning.”
I shook my head. “That’s not the Celia I know.”
“You’ve been alone for a long time. I understand that you want company. But you do not get to use our daughter as the audience for your midlife crisis. Tell her it’s over before Ellie has to spend another day wondering if her father is going to keep that woman in his life.”
“Do not patronize me or tell me what to do. You don’t get a say when it comes to my life.” I heard the edge in my voice and didn’t pull it back. Unlike earlier when I had nobody to vent my anger on, Courtney had given me a target. Herself. “You know I love Ellie. That’s why you used her as a tool against me for so long. But I also love Celia.”
“You love her.” Courtney sounded incredulous. “You’ve known her, what, a few months? You do not choose the woman who hurt your daughter over your daughter.”
“I didn’t say I was choosing anyone.” I braced a hand on the counter. “Ellie is the one who chose to leave the restaurant after I told Celia I needed a beat.”
“You’re a fool,” Courtney spat. “Ellie is on my couch. Harry is pacing my kitchen. They’re talking about whether they can ever see you again if you continue your little fling with her. Is that the family you want? Your daughter staying away because you would not let go of a girlfriend who chose you to get back at her ex?”
“I will talk to Ellie when she’s willing to listen to me. I will not do it through you.”
“She doesn’t want to hear you.” Courtney’s voice dropped to a demanding hiss. “She wants her father to act like someone who gives a shit about her feelings. End it, Julian. Or stay out of her life until you do. Those are the options she has. I’m only telling you what she already said.”
“I’ll believe it when she tells me herself.” I was done. “Good night, Courtney.”
I hung up before she could lay into me again.
When my phone buzzed only a minute later, I assumed it was her rage texting me for hanging up. But it wasn’t.
Celia
Home.
That one little word eased some of the tension in my shoulders. My relationships with my daughter and the woman I loved were a disaster, but at least she’d been kind enough to let me know she was home. Yet more evidence she was nothing like the catty bitch Ellie thought she was.
