Page 115 of The House Guest

“When Benjamin and I left for Turkey, they were rehomed.” He smiled. “With Chandler and Candace. They’re still there.”

“No way!” I sighed. “Candace didn’t mention that.”

After I said it, my eyes widened.

“You’ve been in touch with Candace?” he asked.

I nodded. “Long story short, after I stalked her page online, I accidentally liked one of her photos, which prompted her to reach out to me. We talked once on the phone to catch up. That was it.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. You two always got along. She loved you.”

He looked into my eyes. I wanted him to hold me again, to reiterate thathe’dalways loved me, too. But I knew that validation was something I’d have to earn. He’d poured his heart out to me in Ohio, and I’d thrown it away the moment I chose to move forward with the wedding.

“Can I ask you a favor?” I said.

“Okay…”

“I know we have a lot to talk about. But can we put off the heavy stuff until tomorrow and chill for the rest of the day? Maybe enjoy some of the things we used to? I miss it. I missher—the old me. Even if I can’t ever be her again, I want to live in that world again for one day.”

“We can do that.” He smiled, gesturing toward the stairs. “Can I show you to your room?”

“Yes. Please.”

To my shock, he led me to my old room, the main bedroom.

I turned to him in surprise. “You haven’t taken over this space?”

“Well, it’s kind of haunted.” He shrugged. “First because of Dad. Then because of you.”

Unlike the living room, this suite hadn’t changed a bit. Even the linens were the same. Dorian followed me around the room, his hands in his pockets, his body language just as guarded as his attitude had been back at Benjamin’s.

I walked into the empty closet that had once been my art room.

“Was she living here with you?”

“No. But she stayed over quite a bit.”

“I’m sorry my being here caused you to break up. I’m sure she was devastated.”

He arched a brow. “I thought we weren’t gonna talk about the tough stuff today.”

“There’s something about this closet that makes me want to purge my thoughts.”

“We did have some deep conversations in here, didn’t we?” Dorian cracked a smile.

“Itall feels like just a moment ago.”

“Time is probably an illusion anyway.” He sighed. “It does seem like yesterday. And yet so much has changed. You’ve created a beautiful little human. You’re a mom. And I managed to drive my father’s business into the ground.”

“That’s a good place for it, considering it nearly got you killed.”

“That’s not all it did, right? You paid a price, too, even if you didn’t know it at the time.”

“For whatever reason, the universe planned it this way.” I smiled sadly.

“All of that, and we end up right here right now in the place it all started. I woke up this morning to get eggs and somehow by the afternoon I’m in the closet with Primrose. It’s like a dream.” After a long moment of silence, he said, “I need you to clarify something.”

“Okay.”