Page 59 of Guarded Hearts
Afterward, when Mia’s friends, including Sarah Telling, had gathered around me and congratulated me on a stunning routine, I’d had trouble focusing on their words. Had Pasha not poured so much of his time and effort into mastering the steps, learning the routine, the whole dance would have flopped. I didn’t deserve the credit. He did. A lesser man would not have pulled it off.
He stirred in the bed, and I wiped away my tears, slinging my bag over my shoulder. No regrets. I’d left him the note, and I’d made the most of the time we’d had together.
One of his T-shirts with the word Security emblazoned across it had been tossed across a chair. I picked it up and held it to my nose. Without giving myself a chance to second-guess my choice, I stuffed it into the side pocket of my bag. He had them strewn around my hotel room, and I doubted he’d miss this one. Having the piece of clothing he wore so often might make the ache a little less when I got home.
At the door, I glanced at his sleeping form one more time. The familiar rush of love flooded my body. I hoped he’d forgive me for not waking him. How did I say goodbye when it was the one word I couldn’t possibly utter? Another tear slid down my cheek, and I drew the door closed behind me.
My eyes were so swollen from crying that when the driver turned in to the driveway of my small red brick bungalow, I squinted. The tall black planters on either side of my door were identical to ones I used to own. I tried to remember if I’d bought Olivia the same ones. Had Oliviabrought them here? They’d been the first outdoor decoration I’d bought for my house. Ricky had taken both when he’d left. Particularly spiteful, considering he’d known how much I’d loved them. Purchasing them, tending to them, had made me feel like a real adult.
With a shake of my head, I paid the driver and hoisted my bag over my shoulder. My keys were buried in my purse somewhere, and I dug around in the bottom until I found them.
When I tried to insert the key, it jammed. Frowning, I tried again. The lock wouldn’t turn. That was weird. I pounded on the door.
“Olivia?” I stepped back and peered in the bay window beside the door, and my heart froze.
Oh, no.
The couch I’d picked out with Ricky the first year I’d owned the house was back against the far wall, and the coffee table I’d spilled nail polish on one drunken night was in the middle of the room.Son of a bitch.
He’d moved back in.Oliviahad helped him move back in. I lay on the doorbell, pressing on it repeatedly. “Ricky!”
The door swung back, and Ricky, tall, lean, and dark featured, lounged in the doorway, a smirk on his face. “I figured you’d be excited to see me, but there’s no need to make me deaf.”
“I amnotexcited to see you. Why won’t my key work?” I held up my keychain.
“Changed the locks.”
“It’s my fucking house.Youcan’t change the locks.”
“Au contraire.” He removed a screwdriver from his back pocket. “When you don’t need to call anyone to change them, it’s quite easy, actually.”
“You’re not moving back in.”
“I already have.”
“I’ll call the police. This is my house.”
“What if I said your credit card debt was paid off?”
I eyed him warily. The repayments came out monthly, and another one was due in a few days. “You paid off the rest ofyourcredit card debt.”
“That was one of the conditions for taking me back, right? Our credit card debt needed to be paid.”
“Youpaid it?”
“Lyss, it’s paid. Check for yourself. Go ahead.” He nodded to the phone clutched in my hand. “I’ll wait.”
After setting down my bag, I logged into my online banking. A lump sum payment had been made the day before the wedding. Had he really done this? A frisson of unease snaked down my spine. What would he expect in return? He’d changed the locks on my house. When I glanced up, Ricky smirked.
“What’d I tell you?” He stepped back to let me enter. “Welcome home, babe.”
I grabbed my bag and slid past him. The mattress that had been lying on the floor was nowhere to be found. “You brought back all my stuff?”
“Yeah, I moved all our stuff back in.” He ran a hand down my back. “Don’t worry. I can look past whatever happened between you and that Russian guy. We’ve both made mistakes.”
“We’ve both made mistakes? The only mistake I made was thinking Olivia had left Kevin. She lied to me, for you, right?”
He shrugged and threw himself onto the plush leather sofa. “We both know you were going to take me back. Your sister just helped us avoid a few steps. Now we can work it out under one roof instead of all the back-and-forth shit we’ve done before.”
