Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
I wasn’t going anywhere near Jack.
Well, I wasn’t invading his personal space, anyway.
Lily was finally ready. She backed away and offered a firm nod, and then she put on her headphones. Pink luggage, pink carry-on, purple jacket, purple shoes, pastel yellow headphones with kitten ears on them, pastel yellow shirt, turquoise leggings, turquoise mittens.
She was DC’s own rainbow in November.
“Do you have the itinerary?” I asked.
She nodded again and patted the pocket of her jacket. “Yes, so I’m going now. Goodbye and happy Thanksgiving and goodbye.”
I smiled and rose to my feet. “Happy Thanksgiving, princess.”
She turned on her heel and walked out, heading for the elevator with her luggage.
Suppressing a sigh of gloom, I shifted my gaze to Samantha and stuck my hands down into the pockets of my pants.
She lifted a delicate brow. “You’re seeing Jack on his business trip?”
Unfortunately.
“He texted last week and asked if we could have dinner while he was in town,” I confirmed. “We’re meeting up tonight.”
“Hunh.” She didn’t know what to do with that information; I could tell. Her annoyance wrinkle appeared on her forehead, not my favorite part of her. But probably the part I’d seen most frequently the last ten years of our marriage. “Do you know what he wants?” she asked next. “It just strikes me as odd that he wants to see you. We’re not married anymore.”
I furrowed my brow. “I don’t know, but he was my nephew for twenty-five years, Samantha. Not all outside relationships go through the same process in a divorce. I speak to your sister every week.”
“Because Lily loves her to the point where I’m not sure she knows I’ll be around this week,” she responded with an eye roll. She was bitter about Claire and Lily’s bond. She always had been.
Claire was everything Samantha wasn’t. Warm, generous, patient, delightful, funny, brazen. And she’d dedicated her life to children with special needs, both as a psychiatrist and an educator. Of course, she got along great with Lily. Of course, I trusted her.
“You know my thoughts on the matter,” was all I said.
She pressed her lips into a thin line and flicked a glance into the living room. My condo didn’t look anything like our house had. Or did. She still lived there, with all the gaudy art and uncomfortable furniture. The white and the gold and the marble.
The home I’d created with Lily was a combination of warm colors and comfort. Couch you sank down into, arched windows with padded reading nooks, Lily’s drawings in every room, wooden floors, and one too many blankets. The decorator had gone a little overboard with the throw pillows too, but Lily was a fan, so I wasn’t going to complain.
“So this is who you are.” Samantha cast a glance into the kitchen too, before she met my gaze again. It hit me that she hadn’t been here since the decorator had left. Last time, there’d been paint cans and moving boxes everywhere. “A gay bachelor with—”
“Mommy!” Lily hollered impatiently.
Probably for the best. I didn’t want to know what Samantha was going to say.
She squared her shoulders and gathered her blond hair to the left. Her red coat matched her lipstick.
It was possible I’d muttered “The Redcoats are coming” once or twice.
“Well. I suppose I’ll see you on Saturday when we get back,” she said.
I inclined my head. I’d only get a couple hours with Lily that day, but it would tide me over until I took over on Monday.
“Give Jack my best,” she added. “Tell him I miss him.”
“Will do.” I’d do no such thing. Tonight was going to be an uncomfortable affair, and I was planning on saying as little as possible. Besides, Jack undoubtedly already knew his aunt Samantha was missing him. She’d adored him from the day he was born thirty-two years ago.
Back then, I’d been Samantha’s classmate in high school, nothing more.
Once I closed the door, I released a breath, and I turned around and faced my empty living room. Empty, as in Lily wasn’t here.
It was time to get busy. I had a plan for the entire week. The nightly pizza delivery might still happen, but I had no intention of spending too much time around the house. I needed to stay busy and distracted.
First stop was the gym.
I found my numbness on the treadmill.
I ran to the rhythm of the music in my earbuds, and I kept my stare trained on the sidewalk outside, where people were on their way home from Sunday brunch or heading to the next tourist spot. Georgetown had plenty of them.
Six days till I’d see Lily again.
I was a sorry sack of shit. Without her filling up my everyday life, I had to face the fact that I was just wandering aimlessly.
My company ran itself. I barely needed to go into the office most of the time.