Page 100 of Play With Me

“I can see that. Lola, you can’t just get her a dog.”

“Sure I can. Look – it’s here.”

“Lola—” His tone was deeper, and the warning that trailed on his voice caused sudden heat to warm my core.

“You know what I mean. Brook, I need to leave. Eddie—”

“Don’t do this. Don’t go. It’s Christmas time. Maybe you could leave me, but I know you don’t want to leave Sophie. Don’t run away from us, Lola. We’ve missed you so much. Both of us.”

“I’m not leaving, per se, but I cannot stay either. I’ve already promised Sophie to see her for her birthday.”

I winked to Sophie when Brook glanced back at her. She winked back when his attention returned to me.

“Lola, there’s so much I need to tell you.”

“There’s a lot I have to tell you as well, but in two weeks, when I return. We should do dinner at my place. Both of you.” He still had doubt in his eyes. “I’m not playing here, Madman. I think we both realize that there’s much more at stake here than we initially thought.”

I stepped up on my toes and kissed him on his cheek, saying, “I will be back, I promise.”

It took many more promises before he finally agreed to let me go for now. That, and Storm’s happy tail, which kept swiping wine glasses off the table.

As much as Brook missed me, I missed him that much more. He always made me feel like a perfect woman in a man’s world, even when I wasn’t. I was broken, but he healed me. There was still so much to figure out, but for the first time in my life, I saw the two of us figuring it all out together. I was still seeking some much-needed answers before I could move on, but I no longer doubted that I would get them. I wanted to put my past behind me before I told Brook how much I loved him and how much I wanted us to be a family. More than that, I wanted to tell both Brook and Sophie how much I needed them in my life. I wanted them for forever.

Chapter 23

Brook - Two weeks later

Istood at the crash site, waiting by the same willow tree where eight years ago I’d lived through one of the toughest and one of the happiest days of my life. There were others here too. Many of them. The more I looked around for Lola, pushing away the doubt, the more I worried that I could be wrong. I didn’t want to be wrong. If I knew what I thought I knew, then Lola was part of me and Sophie forever, and she didn’t even know it. Besides, Lola wouldn’t be out there in the crowd. She would be here, by the tree.

“Daddy?” Sophie pulled on my hand. “I thought you said Lola would be here. She did promise to see me on my birthday.”

“She will be.”

She had to be.

She wouldn’t miss today for anything. Today was the day Lola found closure.

Yet she wasn’t here.

“Brook?” I heard a familiar voice.

“Emma? What are you doing here?”

“I have the investigation papers you’ve been waiting for.”

James was supposed to bring them here, but now that I saw Lola’s best friend, I knew that my gut was right.

“It’s true, then.”

She didn’t answer, but I saw it on her face.

“I gave Lola the papers this morning. You won’t find her here, but if I were a betting woman, which I am, I’d put my money on the New York cemetery.”

Right – that did make sense. We were flying back home to visit Marissa this afternoon.

“Can we have a moment?” she asked, nodding to Sophie.

“Sohpie, can you listen to some mu—”

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