Page 84 of Deal Breaker
I nod slowly, swallowing past the tight lump in my throat.
“He’s still in the waiting area,” Dad adds. “I told him you’d probably want to see him.”
Before I can respond, my mom speaks, her voice quiet but firm. “You need to tell him, Lan.”
My gaze swings back to Poppy, and for a beat, I feel like I can’t breathe. My mom places her hand on mine. “You can’t keep this from him forever. And the longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”
I close my eyes. “I don’t know how to tell him after all this time.”
“I know you’re scared,” she says gently. “But you didn’t build this lie because you were cruel. You thought it was theright thing to do. But he deserves the truth…” she pauses and nods at P. “And so does she.”
I blink fast, trying to keep the tears from spilling.
“He’s a good man, Landyn,” she finishes. “And he still loves you.”
My chest tightens. We haven’t said those three words, but I know Ford loves me. I have felt it in every conversation, in every moment we’ve spent together. The fact that he left work and all of his obligations to show up here for me today shows how much he cares. He doesn’t do things unless he means them. That undoes me a little.
I draw in a deep breath, stand, and kiss my mom on the head. “Can you guys stay with her for a bit?”
My dad nods immediately. “Of course.”
Poppy giggles over something on her iPad as I reach out and push the curls back from her face, my hand lingering there for just a second before I turn and leave the room.
I spot him before he sees me.
Ford is sitting in a rigid plastic chair in the waiting room, one hand wrapped around a paper coffee cup. His other hand is raking through his hair, that familiar gesture that always meant he was thinking too hard.
The sight of him hits me like a wave.
He looks tired. Anxious. His brows are drawn tight, his eyes fixed on the floor like he’s willing it to give him answers. He doesn’t belong here—he’s all power and control, and hospitals are made of worry and waiting. But still, he came.
I walk toward him slowly, like I’m approaching something fragile.
He lifts his head.
His eyes meet mine and the way they soften—justslightly—is enough to make my throat close. He’s on his feet in an instant.
“Landyn.”
I smile. “Hey.”
He steps closer, then stops himself. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “My mom’s stable. They’re running tests. It’s…it’s been a long day.”
His shoulders deflate just a little. “I called. Texted.”
“I’m sorry. I was in such a rush when my dad called me this morning that I forgot my phone at home.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” His voice drops an octave, warm and steady. “I just—I didn’t know where you were. And when Becca said there was a family emergency?—”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He swallows hard, eyes dragging over me like he’s checking for visible damage. “You did.”
For a long second, we just stand there. The two of us in the middle of this too-bright waiting room, surrounded by ugly chairs and cheap vending machines. Somehow, he still looks like home.
I break the silence. “You came all this way.”
