Page 40 of One More Heartbeat
I can’t imagine what Peony’s going through after losing everything she owned in a fire and violently losing her mother. And then to find out she has a father…and an entire family she didn’t know about.
It’s no wonder she’s so shy with Garrett. All of it must be so overwhelming.
Simone, Jess, Emily, and Garrett’s brothers arrive at his house an hour later for Game Night, and I listen as he explains it all again for their benefit. Not once does the tightness in my chest ease even a tiny amount at the senselessness of Kenda’s death. Or at the news about Peony—and how her existence means Garrett and I can definitely never be together.
“Wow, that’s a lot to process.” Emily takes a sip of her Chardonnay.
Garrett slouches back on the couch. “It is a lot. I’ve known about it for just over twenty-four hours, and I’m still processing.”
“I can imagine,” Troy says, his arm protectively around Jess. She’s leaning into him, her head on his broad shoulder. “So, you’re positive she’s your daughter?”
“I won’t know for sure until I get the paternity results, but I have accepted there’s a good chance she is my daughter.”
Garrett doesn’t say it to our friends, but he has told me his other concerns. If he isn’t Peony’s father, Kenda had a good reason for not telling him the truth. She knew he would do the paternity test. Just to be certain.
But he didn’t tell me what he will do if the results are negative, and I didn’t push the issue.
Simone, Jess, and Em watch me, sympathy shaping the curve of their mouths. Silently asking me how I’m doing now that Garrett is a father and Kenda is dead. Silently asking me how I’m doing, given I’ve been in love with Garrett forever.
I flash them a smile I hope they translate for what it is—a surrendering of my heart to this new reality.
“How’s Joseph doing?” Simone asks once there’s a lull in the conversation. She’s curled into Lucas’s side, the two of them cozy together on the far end of the couch.
“We broke up last night.”
Garrett gives me a double take. “You never mentioned you guys broke up?” There’s almost an accusation in his tone, the brush of surprise.
I shrug, the movement coming so casually. “It didn’t seem important after what you had to tell me.” That, combined with what happened yesterday afternoon at P&T with the drunk father, made my breakup seem insignificant. Not worth mentioning.
“How come you broke up?” Emily’s eyes widen, doing nothing to hide her devastation on my behalf.
“Turns out, he was once married and is still in love with his ex-wife.” The words burn my throat on the way out, not so much because I’m truly broken over what happened, but because I feel like an idiot for being blindsided by the news.
Just…not as blindsided as I was by Garrett’s life update.
A daughter. He and Kenda have a daughter together.
No matter how many times I say the words in my head, the truth isn’t any easier to swallow.
“Damn,” Troy mutters.
Garrett’s forehead puckers into a frown. “What? The asshole never told you he’d been married?”
“That’s right. Let’s just say the past twenty-four hours have been nothing but an oil slick of secrets.” I look up at the ceiling. “Lord, please tell me that’s the end of them for a while.”
“I can’t believe the day you had yesterday,” Jess says to me. Troy tenderly kisses her temple. “Between that and the violent drunk in P&T?—”
“Wait, what?” Concern creases deeper grooves across Garrett’s forehead, and his eyes pivot my way. “What drunk?”
A flush spreads up Jess’s pale cheeks. “Sorry, was that supposed to be a secret too?” She leans down to stroke Bailey, who is lying by her feet in herService Dog in Trainingvest.
I wince at how I had kept that information from Garrett. But it hadn’t been anything he needed to worry about. Nor is there anything he can do about it. And he clearly has other much bigger things to worry about.
I get Garrett and the others up to speed on what happened yesterday. “It’s not that big a deal.” The lie burns on my tongue like acid. “Everything worked out fine in the end. The cops were called, and they dealt with it.”
“Except the man broke your chair,” Em points out.
“I can replace it,” I hurry to reassure. “No one was hurt; that’s the important thing.” Garrett opens his mouth to no doubt argue this, so I rush to add, “But that reminds me.” I tell them my plans to expand P&Tand how the place next door is available for lease, skillfully diverting the discussion in a new direction. I’d rather not relive yesterday’s events. It’s enough I did that in my dreams last night.
