Page 130 of Never Let You Go

Skye and Caroline provide me with a much-needed relief from small talk when they come down to show us their costumes and perform a little play they improvise. Then, we move to the dining room.

The table is set for four with flowers, a fancy tablecloth and napkins, and stem glasses for the adults. She went all out. Or is she always like this?

Emma’s conversation is lively and probably fun if you’re into whatever shit Emma does. She’s a great mother. I can tell by the way she looks at her daughter and engages in conversation about her friends, the school, and her ballet. After a while, I have to admit she’s more interesting than I ever gave her credit for.

After a couple of glasses of wine, I relax and start to actually enjoy the evening. Except she’s placed me so that I have a view through the kitchen door of her ass every time she leans over to check the roast in the oven, and her cheeks flush slightly when I talk to her, and she bites her bottom lip when she smiles.

And this evening is turning into the trap I thought for sure it wasn’t going to be.

My mind wanders to Alexandra all the fucking time.

“When is Alexandra leaving again?” Emma asks when Skye mentions her for the millionth time.

There’s no way she doesn’t know that. She’s put her contract under a microscope, trying to get me out of it without losing the grant.

She failed.

Before I have a chance to answer her first question, she fires a second one. “Did she finally find a place to live? I heard the bed and breakfast was offering long-term rentals on their rooms with kitchenettes.”

Skye smacks her lips. “She lives with us. I love her. She lets me braid her hair.” She whispers something in Caroline’s ear, and the two girls giggle.

Emma cocks an eyebrow. “She’s still living with you?” Her voice is strained. “Why, you should have brought her along.” She stiffly taps the corner of her mouth with her embroidered napkin.

“She’s pretty independent,” I say. “Does her own thing.”

“Normally, she has dinner with us every night,” Skye chimes in, not realizing she’s contradicting me, “but tonight, she’s going out with friends because Daddy has plans.”

She’s going out with friends? Why do I not know this? She said she was hanging out with Grace.

“That’s nice,” Emma says.

Skye nods. “She says she loves it here, and her heart will break when she has to leave.”

“When is she leaving again?” Emma repeats.

“Who is she going out with?” I ask Skye at the same time.

“She is leaving at the beginning of summer,” Skye says with a sigh. “But she said I could visit her in New York.”

I mentally count down the time I have left with Alexandra, and my heart tightens a bit. That’s why I wanted her in the beginning, I tell myself. Because she wasn’t going to stay. Wasn’t going to have demands or disrupt the balance of my life with Skye.

Everything is different now, and I need to have that conversation with her.

When Emma stands to clear our plates, I don’t make a move to help her. Instead, I pull my phone out while she has her back to me.

Me

Where are you

Alexandra might find that too demanding. I shouldn’t impulse-text like a fucking teenager.

Me

Skye says you’re out with friends

Better, but not quite there yet.

Me

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