Page 40

He shrugged.
“What are you reading that’s so fascinating?”
He finally looked up. “I’ve been doing some research on Julian Hunter. Not all his online reviews are great. I don’t trust him.”
“Really, Gabriel, there’s no person, or business, that has all positive reviews. You know that as well as I do.” She wasn’t ready to tell him about hiring Jim Fallow, even though she wanted her son to know that he’d found nothing questionable about Julian Hunter.
“Why did she try to kill herself? What if she was trying to get away from him?”
Blythe sighed. “Who knows when that happened? It could have been years before she even met him.”
Gabriel shut his laptop and shook his head. “I can hear the stress in her voice when I talk to her. What if she’s not telling me everything, just pretending to be okay? Maybe I should go to Boston and see for myself.”
“No,” she said with such vehemence that Gabriel looked up startled. “You can’t do that. She has a child. She needs time to figure things out, and it’s not fair to her for you to complicate matters. Besides, she’s still very much in touch with Gigi and Ed, and they would be on the first plane up there if they sensed anything was amiss.”
“But—”
“No buts,” she interrupted him. “You have to give her space. If you love her, you’ll let her do what she has to do. They’ve been married a long time. They have a child together. If she’s meant to be with you, things will work out, but as much as it hurts, you have to let her go for now.”
“It’s not that easy, Mom.”
Her voice softened. “I hate that you’re hurting, sweetheart, but try to be grateful for the love you felt. You will have that again in your life—if not with Addison, then with someone else. You must love her enough to let her decide what’s best for her.”
He took a deep breath. “Hailey said the same thing. Darcy too.”
Since he’d opened the door, Blythe walked through it. “Darcy wrote to let me know she was settling in. I hadn’t realized you’d seen her.”
“Yeah, I wanted to see her before she left. I’ve always felt bad about the way I ended things so quickly. She’s a good friend.”
Blythe was glad to hear it. “Maybe you should go visit her once she’s settled. It might do you some good to get away for a while.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
Blythe said nothing else.Maybewas a start.
− 38 −
Cassandra
I remembered something! It was during my third therapy session, during hypnosis. It was my honeymoon. Now I know where the picture of the two of us on the beach was taken. On our way to Hawaii, we’d stopped in Los Angeles for two days and spent all day on the beach in Santa Monica. I remembered us holding hands as we walked along the shore, then going back to our room at Shutters and making love with the sound of crashing waves in the background and the scent of salt air permeating the room, filled with a sense of well-being and safety as Julian held me in his arms.
It’s such a relief to finally have a piece of my past to call my own. I look at Julian differently now, and I’m so grateful that he waited and never gave up on me.
I’m finding solace in the solitude of my weekdays, when Julian is at work and Valentina in school. After they leave in the morning, I sit in the sun-drenched conservatory, where I do a half hour of meditation. Today I feel the need to spend more time, as I try to recall more details of those glorious days in Santa Monica when I remember being so happy and in love. Nothing more comes to mind, though. The last month has shown me that trying to force a memory is an exercise in futility, so I decide to take a walk.
My phone rings. I look at the screen—Gabriel. I’ve been avoiding his calls for the past few days, texting him that I need somespace. But it’s time for me to have the conversation I’ve been dreading.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Addy! I’ve been so worried about you. Why haven’t you called me back?”
I sigh. Despite my rediscovered feelings for Julian, I still love Gabriel. Just the sound of his voice brings all my feelings back. “This is so hard. But we can’t keep talking. I have to focus on my family. This is my life now.”
“Please don’t cut me off. You still don’t know what made you leave. What if you were really unhappy? Or if Julian’s not who he seems. I just need—”
“Stop. I’m remembering things.” I don’t want to hurt him, but he needs to hear the truth. “I was happy. I think I was very much in love with him, and I want to find my way back to him.”
There is a long silence. Finally he answers, his voice cracking. “Your memory’s come back?”