“I need to try to get ahold of her dad again. Can I use my phone?”
The nurse in the room nodded and pointed at the door. “There’s a waiting room right next door where you can use it.”
Adrienne really didn’t want to leave Daisy by herself, but she also needed to get ahold of Mace.
Her indecisiveness must’ve shown on her face because the nurse smiled softly. “We will take good care of Daisy. You’ll be able to hear us with the door open. Okay?”
“Okay. Sorry.”
She went into the waiting room and called Mace. It went straight to voicemail, something so unlike him that it actually started to make her worry. But before she could figure out what she was going to do next, a deep voice filled the air, and her shoulders relaxed even as her belly clenched.
“Lazy Daisy,” Mace rumbled from the next room, and tears once again stung the backs of Adrienne’s eyes. Was it because of the fact that he was such a caring father, or that hearing his voice reminded her that he’d pushed her away.
It wouldn’t matter, though. Not now. She’d made sure Daisy was okay, and now that Mace was there, she figured she would be. She’d ask Violet what happened or even Mace when she saw him the next day at work. There was no use staying there now when her mind and heart weren’t ready to see him, weren’t ready for him to meet her gaze and speak to her. She should be stronger than this, but she knew she wasn’t. Not yet. She needed a few more moments to reconstruct her shields so she became the strong woman she had always thought she was.
She was just walking out the door, careful not to look to the right when Mace’s voice hit her again.
“Addi.”
She froze but didn’t look back.
“Addi.” He paused. “Thank you. Just…thank you. I dropped my phone on the way to the lawyer today and it shattered. So I’ve been out of touch all day and going crazy. When I went home and found Violet like she was, she told me what was going on. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of this. But thank you for helping. Just…thank you.”
She swallowed hard but didn’t turn back. She wasn’t sure if she could.
“No problem, Mace. It was for Daisy. Of course, I helped.”
She hadn’t meant to sound so passive-aggressive, and she didn’t like herself that way. As it was, she could practically feel Mace flinch from her words.
Knowing that she needed to face him or she never would, she turned. He was just as sexy as ever, all rumpled and broody, but he’d shaved his beard, making her take a step back.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like that,” she said quickly. “You shaved.”
His mouth quirked up into a semblance of a smile. “I shaved.” No explanation, but she wasn’t sure she was owed one. How had things gotten so weird, so quickly? “And you don’t have to apologize. Not for anything.” He let out a breath. “The doctor thinks it’s an ear infection and said Daisy should be fine soon. They’re just going to keep her for a bit to get the fever down. But, Addi? I’m never going to be able to repay you for taking care of her. I owe you.”
She gave him a small smile, knowing it didn’t reach her eyes, but she couldn’t force it. “I’m glad she’ll be okay. And you don’t owe me a thing. That’s what friends are for.”
That’s what you do for those you love. But she didn’t say that. Instead, she waved awkwardly and turned on her heel, leaving him standing clean-shaven in the hallway, holding her heart as if he didn’t know what to do with it. It was okay, she didn’t know what to do with it either.
And she was afraid that after today, she might not ever figure it out.
Chapter 16
There were many times in a man’s life when he realized he was an idiot. Mace had been forced to realize that those times were more numerous than he’d originally thought thanks to how he’d reacted three days ago.
Three days ago, he’d broken his best friend’s heart.
Three days ago, he’d done a fine job of breaking his heart, too.
Mace slid the razor over his face through the shaving cream again and sighed as he rinsed it off in the sink. He hated shaving, and in the winter, he preferred to keep his beard longer, but he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror and see his beard without thinking of her.
He was a sad excuse for a best friend, a sadder excuse for a man, and he wasn’t sure what the hell he was going to do about it. Knowing he couldn’t do anything about it with shaving cream over half of his face and standing in his bathroom in nothing but a towel, he took his time shaving, trying to get his thoughts in order.
Daisy was sleeping and had been doing so a lot over the past couple of days ever since she’d been diagnosed with an ear infection. Thankfully, her fever had broken quickly, so now she was just sleeping off the worst of the sickness. She should bounce back in the next day and could go back to school. She was already missing her friends and teachers, and by the time she got back, they’d be off for Thanksgiving break. They’d already been invited to his parents’ house for the main meal, and he was grateful that he didn’t have to cook the whole feast. His sisters would be coming down from Denver and possibly bringing two of their friends who were part of their core group. At least one thing was planned.
He’d taken off work the past two days at Shep’s and Adrienne’s insistence. They and Ryan had said they would cover for him and make sure that everything was fine at the shop so he could take care of Daisy. He needed to get back to work and make money, of course, but he was glad he’d had this time to not only be with Daisy, but also get his thoughts in order when it came to Addi.
He’d known he made a mistake the moment she walked out of his house. He’d known it. Yet he hadn’t gone after her because he wasn’t sure he deserved her forgiveness for what he’d done. And, frankly, because he was a damn coward.