“He is.”
“Does she love him back?”
Most of the time she thought of her brother as grown-up, but every now and then she remembered he was still a teenager. Now, with the worry and questioning in his tone, he sounded more like a little boy than an adult.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I hope so. He would be good for her.”
“Love sucks.”
She smiled. “You say that now, but one day you’re going to meet a woman who changes your mind.”
“Naw. I’m going to play the field. I’m never getting serious about anyone.”
“Famous last words.”
thirty-three
ROBYN WOKE UP a little after six—which would have been impressive, except she was now in Florida, and it was three in the morning back in Santa Barbara, so not exactly a full night’s sleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt rested—probably before Lillian had died. Regardless, life waited for no one, so she got up and headed for the shower. She stood under the hot spray until she felt human again, then dressed and prepared to start her day.
She thought maybe the routine would help, but she’d been gone so long, the house barely felt familiar. She’d lived here for years, yet nothing about the place was right. This wasn’t home anymore. It probably hadn’t been for longer than she’d realized.
She made the bed, then unpacked. She carried her dirty clothes to the laundry room, where she found a pile of Austin’s clothes waiting for her. While Austin knew how to do laundry, it wasn’t his favorite. She smiled. He’d have to take on the task when he moved in with Mason.
Just thinking the name stabbed her in the heart, but she ignored the sensation. She wasn’t ready to deal with him just yet. When she felt stronger, she would do the deep dive into her feelings, first to figure out what had gone wrong and second to decide what she wanted enough to fight for.
Once the laundry was started, she went through the stack of mail, mostly junk. After that was done, she took a pad of paper and walked through the house. Some of the furniture would need to stay for staging. Some of it could be sold. She doubted there was much Harlow would be interested in, and Austin would stare at her in confusion if she asked him if he wanted to keep anything.
There were a few art pieces she knew Cord loved, along with the dining room table he’d bought without talking to her. It wouldn’t fit in his current place, but if he and Zafina were going to have a kid together, they would need a house. His penthouse condo was too small for a baby, and there wasn’t any backyard or…
She came to a stop in the middle of the dining room as an idea formed. It was insane, really. Twisted and strange, but it felt right. Okay, maybe that was the lack of sleep talking, but maybe not.
She pulled out her phone.
You have a second to talk?
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Do you have any idea what time it is?
Yes, but so what? You get up early.
It’s not even four in the morning where you are.
I’m back.
She pushed the button to call him.
“When did you get back?” her ex-husband asked when he answered.
“Last night. Cord, are you going to marry Zafina?”
He swore. “There’s a question.”
“Yes, it is. Are you answering it?”
“It’s awkward talking about this with you.”
She smiled. “Why? Come on, we’ve been done for years. I hope you two work it out. Are you going to marry her and be a dad to that baby?”
“I’m thinking about it.” He sighed. “I haven’t proposed or anything, and she keeps saying she doesn’t have to be married, but we both know that’s not true. What do you think?”
“My opinion shouldn’t matter,” she told him. “But for what it’s worth, doing the right thing can feel really good. Maybe it’s time to grow up.”
“Low blow.”
“But the truth.”
“Did you call to tell me I shouldn’t do it?”
“No, I called to say you should buy me out of the house.”
His end of the call went silent, so she kept talking.
“Think about it,” she said. “You love this place way more than I ever did. I’d throw in the furniture. You already own half of the house, so it would be a bargain. You couldn’t find anything close to this nice for that price. There’s room for the kids to visit, and when they have grandkids, we can all spend the holidays here. Harlow can have her dream wedding in the backyard, like she’s always wanted.”
He would easily qualify for a loan, she thought. After all, he had a successful business.
“You’d do that?” he asked, his tone hopeful. “I mean, Zafina would have to see it, but I know she’d be crazy about it. We’d ah, probably have to replace the bedroom furniture.”
“Yes, I doubt your future wife wants to sleep in the same bed where you and I had sex.”
He chuckled. “That’s a blunt way of putting it.”
“I’m speaking my mind more these days. Want to bring her by today? I’ll make myself scarce. I’ll also tell the kids to be gone, so there’s no pressure.”
“I can’t believe you’d do this for me, Robyn.”
“Like I said, this has always been more your house than mine.” And having him buy it made things much easier for her. “Text me when you’ll be by.”
“I will.” His voice was eager. “Probably around lunchtime, but I’ll let you know for sure.”
“Great.”
She hung up. Cord had a way of being persuasive, so she was fairly confident he would get Zafina there at the first opportunity. She resumed her walk-through, now looking for what she would want to pack up for herself. Honestly there was very little. A few paintings, a couple of antiques that were meaningful to her. Otherwise, she would only take her clothes and jewelry. Harlow could take whatever dishes, pots and pans she needed for her new life. Zafina could keep the rest, or they could donate it.
By eight, Robyn was on the patio with her third cup of coffee. The sound of the waterfall flowing into the pool was restful but nothing like a view of the Pacific, and Florida was nothing like California.
The air was already hot and humid. She could hear the low hum of bugs, and even the air smelled different. This wasn’t home anymore, and it was time she admitted it. She was leaving Naples.
There were a few things she would miss. Mostly being close to her daughter. But beyond that, Robyn knew she could easily leave the rest of it behind.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, and at last let down the carefully constructed wall she’d used to protect herself for the past forty-eight hours. Emotions rushed in, flooding her with pain and longing and sorrow. Her breathing got shallow and her chest tightened as she allowed herself to think his name.
Mason.
She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew he was done with her. She’d seen it in his determined expression, had felt it through the distance he’d established. He’d pushed her away, basically told her they were over, and she didn’t understand why.
He’d said she was breaking up with him, which didn’t make any sense. She hadn’t been. She’d thought—okay, assumed—that after Lillian died, she would come back and live there while she figured out what to do with the inventory. She’d even talked about buying some land from him so she could build a house next to his. She’d been so sure she mattered to him. That they would be…would be…