Page 132 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

Garrett’s father laughed. “My daughter doesn’t know how to not be nosy,” Richard said.

“It’s fine,” Justine said. “I think we stayed out of everyone’s business in my family. Maybe I wish I’d been a bit nosier with my father.”

“What did we say?” Garrett asked. “That we weren’t going to try to think of things we had no idea about or put thoughts and ideas in our heads that we couldn’t control.”

“That’s right,” she said. “Just like you.”

“You tell him,” Selena said.

“I’m trying to. We are getting there. At our pace.”

“Which is code for no one to bring it up again,” Garrett said.

She smiled and looked into his eyes.

What she saw was that he was the one who wanted the answers but was afraid to ask.

41

WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT

“I’ll get it,” Justine said the following Saturday when his doorbell went off. “Your hands are covered right now.”

He laughed over the silly look she was giving him. Neither one of them was all that great in the kitchen with anything other than the basics, but she had this brainy idea to try to make fresh bread.

He was the one with his fingers covered in sticky dough while he tried to knead it and she gave instructions as she busted on his biceps flexing.

Maybe he was purposely doing it more than he should, but it made her laugh and that was all he was trying to do.

They were in a good spot and he didn’t want anything to change that.

“Is Garrett here?” he heard a familiar female voice ask and felt every nerve stand on end.

“Yes,” Justine said. “I’ll get him.”

He grabbed a towel and wiped his hands as quickly and aggressively as he could.

That was what he felt right now.

Aggression that his happy world was going to be turned upside down once again.

“Taylor,” he said when he took those few steps into the living room and saw his ex standing in the foyer of his home. “What are you doing here?”

Taylor looked at Justine. The difference was night and day between them.

Taylor was a brunette, about five foot six, and on the curvy side.

Visually, the complete opposite of Justine.

“When I heard you moved to the island I thought maybe we could talk or work things out. It’s what I’ve wanted and, well, you know.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ve been done for over a year. You made it very clear what you wanted and this island wasn’t it. I’m not sure what this is about, but we have nothing to say to each other. Or I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

Taylor’s face scrunched back as if there was a putrid odor in the room.

Yep, there was. The shit he was going to have to clean up now with her appearance.

“You’ve never talked to me this way before,” Taylor said.

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