I excused myself from Chloe and peered around the corner.
I spotted Michael standing in the doorway. A woman stood in front of him. At least, she did for a second. The next instant, her arms flew around Michael.
I heard him mutter, “Roxy . . .”
I sucked in a breath. That was when I knew who she was.
Chloe’s mom.
The woman who had disappeared almost seven years ago and hadn’t been heard from since then.
What was she doing here now?
I tried not to panic. But I didn’t know what to do. In fact, I wanted to disappear.
But that wasn’t an option right now.
The love of his life has returned. The one who left Michael scorned and burned. Are there lessons there that still need to be learned? Should I be concerned?
“Who is it?” Chloe appeared beside me.
My heart pounded harder as I motioned for her to keep her voice down. Did Michael want Chloe to see Roxy? I had no idea, which left me speechless for a moment.
With one last glance at the door, I put my arm around the girl’s shoulders and led her back into the kitchen. “It looks like an old friend of your dad’s is here. Why don’t we keep eating our pizza while they talk?”
Chloe shrugged and went back to the table to finish eating.
I mentally released the breath I’d been holding. That had been close. I’d bought a little bit of time, at least.
“She was pretty.” Chloe picked a pepperoni from the top of her pizza slice.
Even she’d seen enough to notice that.
Chloe told the truth. Roxy was a knockout, as people said. I hadn’t any doubt that would be the case, however.
I figured that Chloe got her looks from her mom: the long blonde hair, the bright smile, and the pretty blue eyes.
Michael was handsome too. But he was thick with defined muscles and a squarish jaw that was framed with dark hair.
Chloe looked nothing like him.
I tried to focus on Chloe and what she was saying to me, something about how she wanted to get a dog, but all I could think about was Michael and Roxy. Why in the world had the woman appeared again after all these years? What sense did it make?
I didn’t know. Nor did I have any clue if this would change things between Michael and me.
Yes, I was going there. Maybe the leap seemed too big, but I knew it wasn’t. Michael and Roxy had a child together. That was a bond not easily forgotten.
I would like to say it wouldn’t change our budding relationship. But I knew that Michael had loved Roxy. I knew when she left that it had changed the course of his life.
One of Michael’s close friends had once told me how loyal Michael was. That once he let someone into his circle—which he rarely did—that person stayed there. He or she was a friend for life.
I shook my head, trying to sort out my thoughts but knowing this wasn’t the time or place.
“What do you think, Elliot?” Chloe stared up at me, waiting for me to respond.
I realized I hadn’t even heard her question, and guilt flooded me. “What was that, sweetie?”
“I said, what do you think of Pomeranians? That’s what I want. A cute little Pomeranian I can name Fluffy. Do you think my dad will ever go for it?”
I forced a smile, even though it took entirely too much energy. “I don’t know. You’ll have to talk to your dad about that.”
She peered over my shoulder. “How much longer do you think he’s going to be talking to that woman?”
“I have no idea. Maybe they have a lot to catch up on.” I almost felt sick to my stomach as I said the words.
Worst-case scenarios went through my mind. I didn’t generally consider myself a pessimist, but, right now, that’s exactly how I felt. Pessimistic. Like something was on the verge of changing. Like just when this one thing in my life had started going right, something was bound to come in and make everything go wrong.
That seemed to be the way my life operated lately.
A moment later, someone cleared his throat behind me. I turned and saw Michael standing there, his expression pinched. “Elliot, could I talk to you for a minute?”
I nodded and stood from the table, abandoning my cold pizza. “Of course.”
He glanced to Chloe. “You stay there. Finish your dinner. I’ll be back in a minute.”
But as Michael and I stepped away, I couldn’t deny that dread pooled in my stomach.
Chapter Eight
As Michael led me into the living room, I glanced toward the front door. Roxy still stood there, nibbling on her fingernail with her shoulders hunched as if in distress. I expected her to glance up at us, but she didn’t.
However, the fact that she was still here spoke volumes.
Once in the living room, Michael didn’t bother to sit down. He paused in the middle of the space, looking too wired to even attempt to be seated.
He kept his hand on my arm as he leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “Roxy is back.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I gathered that. What are you going to do?”
He stepped away from me and ran his hand through his hair before placing his hat back on it. I’d never seen Michael look so flustered before. He was usually calm and cool.
“I have no idea,” he muttered before dragging his gaze back up to mine. “She wants to see Chloe.”
My eyes widened. There were so many implications to that. I didn’t even know what kind of advice to give him. “Are you going to let that happen?”
“Chloe has been talking about her mom nonstop since she learned to say her first word. I don’t want to keep them apart.”
I understood what he was saying but . . . “What if she leaves again?”
“Exactly. I don’t want Chloe to get hurt.” Michael let out a long breath and turned away again. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
I saw the agony on his face, the pull between two choices and the implications of each one. It was like a fraying piece of fabric being pulled further apart, leaving only a single thread—a tightrope, of sorts. Navigating the narrow line was treacherous.
“I know you’ll make the right choice, Michael.”
His gaze met mine again, still unsteady. “I’m going to have to let them meet each other. It would be a big mistake to keep them apart. I don’t know if Chloe would ever forgive me for it.”
I couldn’t argue with his statement, though I knew it was complicated. Michael had to do what was best for his daughter and consider both the long-term and short-term consequences.
I leaned closer, another question on my mind. “Why is Roxy back, Michael? Why now?”
“She said she had a wakeup call, and she wants to make things right.”
Before we could say anything else, a voice sounded behind us.
“Mom?”
I sucked in a breath and turned, all my questions fading as reality took center stage.
Chloe stood in the entryway, her eyes wide and hopeful as she stared at the woman by the door.
The next instant, she darted toward Roxy.
Based on everything I witnessed, Chloe and her mom had reunited—for better or for worse.
“I think about you all the time, Mommy.” Chloe sat in Roxy’s lap and twirled the woman’s hair between her fingers as she stared up in adoration at her mother.