Page 17 of Manic

It's surprisingly comfortable, and I find myself relaxing despite the circumstances.

"Listen," I say, seizing a moment of courage, "I was wondering if I could stop by the clubhouse in the next couple of days? To catch up properly?"

Tor chuckles, the sound warming me from the inside out. "Meg, you don't need to ask permission. You're always welcome there. You know that."

His words hit me right in the heart, a bittersweet reminder of what I left behind.

I'm about to respond when the kitchen door swings open.

"Mom," Tindra's voice carries across the cafe, "we're all out of yogurt for the parfaits. I prepped about fifty sausage, egg, and cheese burritos, but I don't know what you want me to do next."

My stomach plummets as I watch Tor's eyes widen, his gaze darting between me and Tindra.

The air suddenly feels thick, and my head is pounding.

Oh God, I think, my heart racing.

This can’t be happening.

Not here, not now, not like this.

CHAPTER THREE

Tor

My heart skips a beat as I take in the sight before me. Meghan, the woman who's haunted my dreams for years, stands next to a teenage girl who could be her mirror image—except for one startling detail.

"Holy shit," I mutter under my breath, unable to tear my eyes away from the girl's hair.

It's the same dark brown, almost black, as mine.

I can't wrap my head around it.

Meghan, a mother.

The thought hits me like a sucker punch to the gut.

I always pictured her as the mother of my children, not someone else's.

Yet here she is, with a daughter who looks to be in her early teens.

The girl's eyes, though—those are all Meghan.

The same mesmerizing sage green that captured my heart all those years ago.

"Tor?" Meghan's voice snaps me out of my daze. "Are you okay?"

I force a smile, trying to mask the turmoil of emotions churning inside me. "Yeah, just... surprised you have a kid."

My gaze flicks between them, noting the similarities.

The same delicate nose, the same full lips.

The girl—Meghan's daughter—looks between us curiously.

I can see the wheels turning in her head, and I wonder what Meghan's told her about me.

About her ex-biker boyfriend from what feels like a million years ago.

---