Page 122 of Succeeding Love

I fiddled with my keys and asked with a mumbled breath, “How did he kick her out?”

The corner of Preston’s lips curled up in a crooked grin. “Well, there was yelling. Lots of it. He was yelling a lot about you, though. She said something about being sorry for messing things up with the neighbor girl before driving off, and he told her to ignore his mom if she ever calls him in the future. It was like watching one of those shows Miss Velma gets into. All that was missing was someone getting slapped in the face and someone else unknowingly getting their sister pregnant.”

I lifted an eyebrow, wondering how he was so specific.

“What?” He shrugged. “I caught parts of it when I was doing laundry at their house.”

“Uh, huh,” I smirked, looking down at my keys in my hand.

So, Vin didn’t know his ex was there. That made me feel better hearing that. And knowing he kicked her out when he got home.

“Well, I better get back upstairs and watch over Jessie. She might have sweetly locked grandma in the laundry room by now,” Preston said before pulling me in for a hug. “Enjoy your next two nights without us, mom. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Preston had a smirk on his face as he walked off towards the elevators. Both my kids could be mischievous brats when they wanted to me. I wonder where they got that from.

I thought about all that Preston told me on the drive home. I’d start smiling out of nowhere, imagining my actionhero tossing his ex to the curb in the most dramatic action hero ways. I was so distracted with my thoughts, I almost took out a stop sign when I hugged the burb too closely, but luckily, I turned the wheel just in time.

I sat straight, both hands on the wheel the rest of the way home, but that didn’t stop me from thinking about Vin.

I missed him. Going over everything that happened, there was so much I wish had happened differently. If I had just texted the right person last night, I could have spent today helping Vin chase his ex out with my short girl energy and showing how my smoothie work-out plan was helping to toughen me up.

Vin was looking for me all morning. If I had just called him back….

As I pulled up to my house, the sun was just setting. I’d been gone all day. Was it too late to reach out to Vin now? Would he even be home?

He called me a couple hours ago, but I sent him to voicemail, not wanting to answer in front of Nick’s mother. I should have just answered once and told him I would be home to talk to him later tonight. Now, I do not know if he even wants to talk to me after I blew him off all day.

I got out of the car and walked around to go in through the front door. I normally would park in the garage, but I wanted Vin to see that I was home.

When I got to the front porch step, I froze when I saw a giant bouquet of Miss Velma’s wildflowers in an intricate vase on my welcome mat. They were gorgeous, and definitely the biggest bunch of flowers she had ever given me.

There was a card wedged between the colorful petals. I lifted it and almost cried, seeing the words scrawled on the outside.

My Lynn, My Love, My Home

I read the card with teary eyes, my breath hitching at every other word.

My Lynn,

Hey baby. I don’t know when you get home, or when you will see this. I hope it’s soon, because the longer I go without seeing you, the more I feel like I’m dying from not seeing your beautiful face.

No matter how late you get back, please just call me. Please, just let me come see you one time. Let me apologize for all the ways I fucked up last night and today and let me see that gorgeous face of yours once. Then you can go on being mad at me again.

I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as it takes, but just let me see you once before I completely die on the inside.

You’re mine, Lynn. You’re my everything.

Love,

Your Action Hero Vin

Tears were spilling down my cheeks, but I still laughed at seeing the added note at the end.

P.S. I kidnapped Kevin. See me to get him back.

He wrote the soppiest, sweetest note, then had to blackmail me a bit at the very end. I loved it. I loved that I could see him in every letter that he wrote.

I picked up the vase and carried it inside, feeling a swell in my chest as I hurried across the street. There was so much I wanted to change about the last twenty-four hours, but this…

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