Neither of us spoke. We stood there for an hour. Just us and a sunrise.
“I went there once with my parents when I was a kid,” Crystal tells me. “You were about ten when I took you. You’ve probably forgotten.”
“No. I remember.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dean
April 5
o what do you think?” The real-estate agent Nancy Walker enters the kitchen of the four-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot house.
I stare out the window at the backyard. Over the past few weeks, Nancy has emailed me listings of several houses on the market. I haven’t responded to her messages until now. When Liv was pregnant, I’d looked for a house because I knew we’d need one. Then after the miscarriage…
Anger and fear swamp my chest. I take a breath and shove them aside before turning to face Nancy. “It’s nice.”
“Great school district, and walking distance to the park,” she remarks.
“I’ll talk to Liv about it.”
“Okay. Don’t wait too long if you want to make an offer, though. There are two more showings this afternoon already.”
I thank her and head out to my car. There’s a message on my phone from Liv that she’s running late. We’d agreed to meet at Java Works after she’s done at the café.
I park on Avalon Street and walk to the coffeehouse. As I cross in front of our apartment building, the door opens and Crystal Winter steps out.
Fuck.
I react on instinct, my fists clenching and every muscle in my body contracting in defense. She pauses to look inside her purse, then she glances up and meets my gaze. To my grim satisfaction, she wavers a little.
“Oh, hello, Dean. I thought you were gone already.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Not sure yet. I’ve been enjoying the time with Liv, and helping out at her café.” She puts on her sunglasses. “I might stay for the grand opening.”
Dislike spears through me. I don’t bother trying to suppress it. This woman hurt my wife in ways I can’t comprehend. I’ll never come close to forgiving her.
“Why did you come here?” I ask.
“To see my daughter, of course.”
I wish I could believe her, for Liv’s sake if nothing else.
“I know you don’t believe me,” she continues. “I don’t know if Liv does either, but I’ve been hoping we can put all the crap behind us and move on.”
An image of Liv appears in my head. I can almost feel it, her secret wish that it might be true. That maybe, somehow, Crystal can still be the kind of mother she has always wanted.
I step closer to Crystal.
“Look.” I lower my voice. “I don’t care if you want money. How much? I’ll write you a check right now. But if you do one fucking thing to hurt Liv again, you’ll regret it.”
Crystal’s eyes harden. “Your protective streak is all very touching, Dean, but trust me on this. Liv doesn’t need it.”
“You don’t know what Liv needs.”
She looks at me for a minute. “Why did you leave her after the miscarriage?”
My jaw tightens against a new wave of anger and guilt. Goddammit, but the woman knows how to hit a weak spot.
“Leave her alone, Crystal,” I say through gritted teeth. “Just leave her the fuck alone.”
She shrugs and turns to walk away.
I shake off my rage, inhaling a deep breath. I know my anger is exactly what Crystal wants, that she likes the idea of coming between me and Liv because…
The truth slams into me. Crystal doesn’t want money. She wants Liv.
Unease twists in my gut.
I can’t leave Mirror Lake again. Not now.
Pushing thoughts of Crystal out of my head, I yank open the door of Java Works and find an empty table. After getting a coffee, I distract myself with checking email.“Professor West?”
I glance up to see my grad students Jessica and Sam approaching from the back of the room. They stop beside my table.
“Hey, we didn’t know you were back,” Sam says.
“Good to see you both.” I gesture for them to sit. “I’m leaving again on Monday. How’s your work going?”
They sit down and give me updates about their research, and we talk about city planning and architecture. Within a few minutes, I can already feel the tension slide from my shoulders. Discussing medieval history with grad students is, at least, one thing I can still do well.
I look toward the door when it opens again, feeling Liv before I see her. She shoots me a smile, then pauses to order a coffee at the counter. She’s wearing a blue skirt and sweater over a white blouse with a little collar. She looks like the sky.
Her hair is down, loose around her shoulders and messy from the wind. She pushes it back with one hand as she walks toward me. It’s one of her sexiest moves—even more so because she’s unaware of how beautiful she is.
I stand to pull out a chair for her.
“Sorry I’m late.” She reaches up to press a kiss against my cheek. My head fills with her peaches scent.
“Oh, hey, Mrs. West.”
“Hi, Jessica. Sam.” Liv puts her satchel on an empty chair and sits down. “Nice to see you both again.”