Page 98

“I can’t just up and leave,” I said, exasperated.
“Yes, you can. You’ve already been mentally checked out for weeks.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Here’s what you do,” he said. “You go and find Kiera—”
“Kiera?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Go find her and patch up whatever went down that has you being the asshole you are. Then you invite her on an exotic vacation.”
I snorted. He thought this was about Kiera. It was laughable. But it also wasn’t surprising. I had let him and everyone else in the world think there were wedding bells in our future because I was trying so hard to protect Heart. In the end, she still got hurt.
I hadn’t confided anything in my brother. Maybe I should have. Too late now. There was no point in telling him when everything had ended. It would be easier for him to assume something else, then dig up the pain that I’d been trying to bury the past few weeks.
“You know she’d love it,” continued Brody. “The girl lives for selfies on the beach at five-star resorts, and she looks good doing it.”
“I’d rather go alone,” I said.
“It would be better with her. Think about it, you can fuck her in every orifice. She’d let you. Happily. Then you can release some of that stress that is clearly pent up.”
I rolled my eyes. Maybe he was right. Not about Kiera. But getting away for a while. It would be good to clear my head and get out of a city that had so many reminders of Heart.
“Where would I go?” I asked.
Brody grinned, knowing I had given in. “I hear Bora Bora is nice this time of year.”
Chapter 35
Addison
“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Monica.
“I’m sure,” I said, forcing certainty to my voice.
“I just don’t want to see you getting hurt. Again. Haven’t you been through enough?”
I had been through more than enough. I had lost my job. I had lost the man I thought I knew, and lied to him in the process. Knowing the baby was still growing inside of me when I had told him it was gone was too painful to think about. It was wrong. But at the time, it felt like it was my only choice. I wanted to protect this baby.
I felt weepy just thinking about it. Monica noticed and pulled me into her arms.
“Look, if you think going to see your parents will help, then I support you,” she said.
“Thank you, Monica,” I said between tears. “For everything.”
She squeezed me tightly as I tried not to sob in the middle of the airport. I had been a mess for the past few weeks. My heart had felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, pounding it until there were no good feelings left. Only the sad ones. Only the broken ones.
“Text me when you land, okay?” she said.
“Okay. Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” she said.
She gave my belly a little rub before turning and heading for the exit to the transfers. I smiled as I watched her go. If I didn’t have her, I didn’t know what I would do. Maybe she was right in thinking flying home to see my parents was a bad idea. I had gotten by just fine without them over the years, but me becoming a mother only made me want mine. I wanted my baby to have more family than just me.
I got through security quickly and found a café to sit in while I waited for my flight. There was a little table that was vacant, and I propped my feet up on my little suitcase. I ordered a cup of chamomile tea and a cheese Danish, and hoped it was enough to tide me over on the flight. It was a short flight, but I was always hungry. Maybe there would be a snack served.
As I waited, I read one of the pregnancy books I had bought. With the visit home to my parents looming in my mind, it was hard to focus on sleep routines. It was even harder to focus whenever a man in a suit passed by. They all made me think of Daniel.