Page 15 of Resilient Rhythms
“What are you thinking about, Mckenna?” he teases.
My blush deepens and I snort. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“More than anything,” he admits in that suave way of his. Always so honest, never playing the mind games I once accused him of.
Maybe that was due to my own insecurities too?
“We should talk,” I reply sensibly.
Mav’s smirk widens. “We should.”
I arch an eyebrow, waiting for him to begin.
He takes a sip of his coffee, rolling his lips together before leaning forward on the kitchen island. “It’s been almost two months since…”
“We filed divorce papers?”
He sighs and straightens, nodding as he grips the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
“How’ve you been?”
“Good,” he replies. “And fucking miserable.” His eyes snap to mine and I note the regret in them. “I’ve been trying, Mckenna. Fucked off to Costa Rica to surf, get some sun, clear my head. I’m in therapy.”
“So am I.”
“Yeah? How’s it going?”
I take a sip of my coffee to gather my thoughts. But I’m honest with Mav. “Good days and bad. The day-to-day has been easier since Bran moved to Texas. I’m not searching for him on campus or nervous about studying in the library anymore. At least, not the way I was. But instead…”
“Instead?”
“I missed you, Maverick. More than I ever thought possible. After I signed those papers and you left…” I trail off, throwing out an arm. “This house felt lonely. I felt isolated. I know I could talk to Allegra or Ivy or Nova. Hell, I could even call up Levi or your brother. My dad and Jeannie have been supportive of everything. But all I wanted was you. Anything good that happened in my day, I wanted you to be the first to know. When I would wake up after a nightmare, it was your arms I craved. I was wrong for putting so much pressure on you?—”
“You didn’t,” he interjects, his mouth twisting. “I was wrong for going behind your back.”
“You were trying to protect me.”
“By keeping you in the dark.”
“I still needed you, Mav.”
“I’m sorry I let you down, Mckenna.”
I shake my head, feeling the backs of my eyes burn. He’s saying the words I craved months ago. And, by his expression, I know he means them too.
Too bad we had to fucking break, to burn our relationship to the ground, to get to this point.
“I let you down too, Maverick. I pushed you away,” I remind him.
“We both made mistakes.”
“Are you back now for…the band?” I ask weakly, my stomach tightening into knots. He can’t be back for me. There’s no way; it was Mav’s idea to divorce.
He wanted to let me go. He asked me for this.
Mav’s quiet for a long moment, his fingertips tapping a beat out against the end of the island. “I wanted to see you graduate law school.”
“It meant a lot to me that you were there.”
