Page 26

Leah

Leah was fuming, and it had taken a lot for her not to show it.

Skye sat across from her on her phone. Leah looked at her phone again.

Still no call from Quinton. She’d texted him when they were leaving, then called when they made it to the restaurant, and she hadn’t heard from him yet.

Even though she knew not to expect him, a part of her wished she was wrong.

“Are you ladies ready to order, or do you still wanna wait?” the waitress asked.

Leah looked at Skye. She was willing to follow her lead. If it were up to Leah, they would’ve ordered twenty minutes ago, but Skye wanted to wait for her dad.

“We can order.” Skye hunched her shoulders.

Leah agreed, even though her appetite abandoned her a long time ago.

“He’s probably driving,” Skye said after they placed their order and the waitress walked away.

All Leah heard was, “It’s okay, Teeah. I’m sure my dad isn’t ignoring you to spend time with your sister.”

“I’m sure he is.” Leah glanced at her phone again.

She didn’t want to entertain the thoughts that came to her, but she couldn’t help it.

Quinton had never given her a reason not to trust him, so the feeling she had was a foreign one when it came to their relationship.

Leah had been hurt in relationships before and she knew how devastating it could feel, but what she and Quinton shared wasn’t just another relationship.

When she agreed to marry him, it was with the intent that they’d be forever, till death did they part.

Until now, she never questioned if that would happen.

Why am I questioning it now? He’s checking on Nova. That’s it.

It wasn’t long before their breakfast arrived. Skye devoured hers while Leah managed to swallow a few bites before she was done.

“You’re quiet,” Skye said, leaning closer to the table. “Something on your mind?” She lifted her arched brows.

“Of course. Something’s always on my mind. Right now, I’m thinking about the groceries I need to pick up, the dry cleaning I need to drop off, and the notes I need to make from my sessions this week.”

“And that Dad’s not here even though we’ve called him several times?” Skye asked, cutting right through Leah’s BS.

“What?” Leah’s small laugh sounded nervous even to her ears. “What makes you think that’s on my mind?”

“Because you’ve been looking at your phone every few seconds.” Skye put her fork down and waved the waitress over. “Can we have the check and two to-go plates, please?”

“You can finish eating,” Leah insisted.

“No, we’re going to Gran’s to make sure everything’s okay,” Skye said in a tone that let Leah know there was no need to argue. Her mind was made up, and they were leaving.

All Leah had to figure out was when and how the seventeen-year-old who sat across from her became so wise beyond her years. There were days like that one when Leah had to remind herself that Skye wasn’t an adult yet, even though she often behaved like one.

Quinton called as soon as Leah and Skye pulled out of the restaurant’s parking lot. “Babe, I’m sorry. I left my phone in the truck and lost track of time. Are y’all still there?”

“We just left.”

“Are you all . . .”

Leah’s phone beeped. She looked at the screen that showed her mom’s number. “It’s Mom, I’ll see you at home.” Leah hung up.

“Hey, Mom.”

“It’s Nova.”

Leah still hadn’t gotten used to hearing her sister’s voice on the other end of her phone. “Hey, Nova. Are you okay?” Leah wasn’t sure why she asked. Nova sounded fine. She definitely didn’t sound like someone who needed saving a minute ago.

“I’m fine. Hey, I was wondering if you would like to come over tonight, and we can maybe have a sleepover or something.”

Leah’s mood lifted. “I’d love that.”

“Really? Oh good. Do you think that maybe Skye would like to come too? I thought it could be just us girls for the night?”

“I’m sure she would.” Leah almost turned to Skye, then caught herself midmotion.

She didn’t know if being with Skye would raise any suspicions, even though it shouldn’t.

Leah liked to think whether she was married to Quinton or not, she’d still have a close relationship with Skye, but to avoid any questions, she had to stay quiet for now. “Do you want me to call and ask her?”

Nova was quiet. “Yeah, that’ll be good.” Her voice was lower and lacked the enthusiasm that it held a minute ago. “I don’t have her phone number, so.”

“Oh, she probably didn’t think about it. You know how teenagers can be?” Leah said the words before thinking. Because of course Nova didn’t know how teenagers could be. Not today’s teenagers, who, if you asked Leah, were quite different from how she and Nova were as teenagers.

“Yeah,” Nova said nervously. “So, I’ll see you tonight then.”

Leah could’ve slapped herself for that slipup. She’d been so careful to make sure she didn’t say anything that would make Nova feel any less included than she already felt.

“You need to give Nova your phone number. She’d love to be able to call you sometimes,” Leah told Skye.

“Okay.”

“And she wants us to come over tonight for a sleepover.” Leah spit the words out quickly, hoping Skye would say okay without paying much attention to what she’d said.

“What? But I’m supposed to stay with Ava tonight. You and Dad already said it was okay.”

“I know, but that was before Nova wanted us to come there. Come on, Skye, this would mean so much to her. You’ll have other nights to spend with Ava.”

“And we’ll have other nights to spend at Gran’s too.”

Leah had perfected the “mama look” she learned from the best. All she had to do was bend her head a little and lift her brows, and that look meant, “Just do what I say.”

“Fine.” Skye folded her arms and turned toward the window.

As Leah pulled into her driveway, she couldn’t help thinking how her life was now divided into two parts.

Before Nova and After Nova. Before Nova, Leah’s biggest issue was making sure her calendar wasn’t overbooked and deciding what they should eat for dinner.

After Nova, her life was all those things and much more, like wondering if her husband was still in love with her sister and figuring out when would be a good time to unburden herself from this secret that was growing harder to carry by the day.

Was it bad that Leah felt her life was better before Nova?

Yes, it was. She knew it was. It wasn’t a thought that made her feel good at all.

Not that she wished Nova wasn’t back. She’d never in a trillion years wish that, but she did wish that things were different.

If there weren’t a dark, stormy cloud hanging over her head every day, then all of this would be much better.

“Hey, how was breakfast?” Quinton asked when they walked inside.

“It was good. Where were you?” Skye asked, getting straight to the point.

Quinton looked at Leah. “I was at Gran’s. Didn’t Leah tell you where I was?”

“Yes, but we thought you’d join us for breakfast like we do every single morning after a winning game.”

Quinton nodded. “And that was the plan, but I left my phone and ... You know what, it’s not important. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He kissed Skye’s forehead.

“When you say make it up to me are we talking monetary orrr ...”

“I mean however I feel is a good way to make it up to you,” Quinton clarified.

“Gotcha.” Skye pointed, then ran upstairs to her room.

She knew not to push the issue because he had been known to change his mind. Like earlier, for instance.

“How was Nova?” Leah asked, folding her arms and waiting for him to tell her what she already knew.

“Not good.”

“Really, because she sounded good when she called me a little while ago.”

“Did she tell you about the conversation we had?” he asked.

“No. What conversation?”

Quinton nodded toward the family room. “Let’s talk in here.”

Leah followed Quinton and sat next to him on the sofa. She listened as he told her about the smoke and how Nova acted like Lance was this great savior when there wasn’t even a fire, just smoke. His words, not Leah’s.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell her about him. I don’t want her around him.”

“Quinton, Nova’s not a child. I understand that you want to protect her, but you don’t need to protect her from Lance. You know, like I do, that Lance would never do anything to hurt her.”

“I don’t know anything, and neither do you. People only show you the person they want you to see, Leah. You, more than anyone, should know that.”

“Me more than anyone?”

“Yes, a therapist. You think your clients tell you everything about themselves or just what they want you to know?”

“Of course they tell me what they want me to know. Isn’t that what everyone does? Isn’t it what we’re doing right now with Nova?”

“Yeah, he brought that up too.”

Leah’s body was like a bottomless pit and her heart never stopped dropping. “What?” She was barely able to speak. “What do you mean he told her?”

“He didn’t say it outright, but he hinted to the fact that I had a secret that I wasn’t sharing too.”

Leah couldn’t sit any longer. “And that’s exactly why I didn’t want you going over there in the first place. What would’ve happened if the two of you had gotten into it and he let it slip that we’re married? Who do you think she would’ve felt more hurt and betrayal from, him or you?”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“Nothing. You were supposed to go eat breakfast with your wife and daughter like we do every morning after a winning game. That’s what you were supposed to do.”

“And leave her alone with a guy who we both know was accused of rape.”

“Oh my God, Quinton!”

“Hey! What’s going on?” Skye’s eyes were wide as they darted from Leah to Quinton. “I’ve never heard y’all fight before. I don’t like it.”

“We’re not fighting,” Leah said.

“You were shouting. It sounds like fighting to me.”

“It’s fine, Skye. Just go to your room and give us a minute.”

Skye didn’t move.

“Now.” Quinton’s words were more forceful than Leah had ever heard him speak to Skye.

Skye rushed away from the doorway and up the stairs. Leah’s heart was being pulled with each step Skye took.

Leah flopped back on the sofa. She held her head in her hand. “What are we doing? This isn’t us,” she said, feeling drained.

“I know.” Quinton exhaled. “I don’t expect you to understand how important this is to me, Leah.”

“But I do understand. You have to know that you’re not the only person who wants to keep Nova safe. We all want the same thing, Quinton. If my mom thought for one second that Nova would be in danger, then she never would’ve left. Plus, she told Lance to listen out for her.”

Quinton shook his head. “And for some reason you still don’t understand that he’s the danger I’m trying to keep her away from. If you’re asking me to let it go, then I’m sorry, I can’t do that. I’ll never sit back and wait for something to happen to her again.”

“You weren’t sitting and waiting for something to happen to her back then.

Don’t you get that? If you thought for one second that she was in danger, you would’ve flown out of that room, snatched her away from Adam, and probably tried to beat him within an inch of his life.

You didn’t fail her then, Quinton, and being overprotective now isn’t going to erase the past.”

“I hear what you’re saying. I just wish you could hear what I’m saying.”

Quinton walked out of the room, leaving Leah sitting and replaying their entire conversation from beginning to end. How could she get him to understand that Nova was no longer his responsibility without sounding like a jealous wife?

A better question was what could she tell herself to convince her that she wasn’t a jealous wife?