Page 12 of Seeing You

“She really is.”

Talking any more about Billie Donovan wasn’t an option, so he turned the subject back to the reason he was here. “Tell me where we need to begin with Dad.”

Chapter Three

“We’re here! We’ve got wine…”

“And juice! I can’t have wine, but grape juice sort of looks the same, so…”

“Chinese food will be here in twenty minutes and…”

Billie stood in wild confusion as her sisters and Jade came through her front door with zero warning. “What is happening right now? I didn’t have girls’ night on the calendar. And didn’t you just get back from your honeymoon? What are you doing here?

“We got home a couple of hours ago,” Chloe said before walking over and hugging her. “Ash texted me and told me about what happened today, so I told Tanner he was on his own for dinner and he totally understood.”

“Okay, but…”

“And Levi is on dad duty tonight with the kids,” Jade told her with a grin. “Let’s see how he enjoys homework and bath time all on his own.”

“Jade, Cal is going to be one. Are you telling us our brother hasn’t had a night alone with the boys in all that time?” Ashlynn asked as she began taking glasses out of the cabinets.

“Normally I wait until Cal’s asleep if I need to go out, or my mom or yours is there—like on girls’ nights. But since this was a code red situation, he had to be on his own.”

“Oh God, you didn’t invite our mom, did you?” Billie pleaded.

“What? Oh gosh, no!” Jade assured her. “There wasn’t time, plus I didn’t think you’d appreciate it.” Pausing, she walked over and took one of Billie’s hands in hers. “We just want you to know that we’re here for you.”

“For…?”

“Bill, come on,” Ash said as she began handing out drinks. “Marcus just strolls into Books & Beans out of the blue and you’re going to pretend like it’s not a big deal?”

“That’s because it’s not.”

Three pairs of eyes looked at her in disbelief.

“Okay, fine. It’skindof a big deal. It was a shock,” she went on, taking the wineglass. “But once I went back to the kitchen and calmed down, I realized I was fine. So…while I appreciate you all coming here to check on me, it’s unnecessary. I’m fine. I’m good! Really.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Jade said, leading her over to the sofa. “I was there with you all day and you cannot tell me you’re fine.”

“Agreed.” Ash sat down beside her. “You seriously looked like you had seen a ghost when you first saw him and most of the time you were talking to him, you were shaking.”

This was ridiculous. “Of course I reacted that way! It’s been ten years! I honestly never thought I’d ever see him again. I neverwantedto see him again. It’s bizarre that he’s even here in Sweetbriar Ridge because he was so hateful about ever coming back. Hell, he ridiculed me for wanting to!”

“Ten years is a long time,” Chloe quietly assured her, placing a hand on her knee. “But…in all that time, whenever the subject came up, you always shut down. We all know that breakups are awful, but…what actually happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ashlynn was about to speak, but Jade held up a hand to stop her. “It’s time, Bill. Holding it in isn’t making anything better. Now, I realize we didn’t know each other when it happened, but we’ve known each other long enough for me to know that there is definitely a lot of pain that you’re still dealing with.”

“This is a safe space,” Chloe chimed in. “We love you and we just want you to be okay. If…you know…he is going to be in town for a while, chances are you’re going to run into him again. Maybe he’s even going to be at Iris’s wedding. Then what will you do?”

Shaking her head, Billie wholeheartedly disagreed. “That’s not going to happen. I’ve had nightmares about Marcus showing up at any of our friends’ weddings, and he never does. This is just a miserable coincidence that he’s here around the same time. And, mark my words, he’s not staying. He won’t. He’s too good for our little small town.”

Ashlynn groaned. “He’s such a freaking snob. Seriously, what did you ever see in him?”

Leaning back against the cushions, she took a sip of her wine and hummed with approval. “Good choice,” she said to no one in particular. “And…he wasn’t always a snob. That all happened after we moved away. In that respect, he was a little like Levi, you know? He dreamed of a life that was anywhere but here.”

“Okay, but…Levi wasn’t a dick about it,” Ash reminded her before adding, “Most of the time.”

---