Page 63 of Give In To Love
Frannie let out a cry, breaking the stalemate. “I think she needs to be changed.”
“Here, I’ll take her. You relax.” Rafi stood, taking the little girl from Elise. He rarely took anything in life seriously, except when it came to his family. He really was a good dad.
The distraction provided a natural opportunity to excuse myself and make my exit. I knew Sammy wanted an answer to his question, but the truth was, I didn’t have one. TJ was back in Astaire, yes, but he was here to help take care of Gram. Which had nothing to do with me. And yeah, we had a mutual friend, so maybe our paths would cross from time to time, but this wasn’t some angsty romance novel. TJ wasn’t here to rekindle our relationship.
In fact, I didn’t even know how long he was planning to stay. He’d made it sound like he was here for good when we’d talked last night, but I wasn’t convinced he was really willing to give up his career entirely. And I still had a boyfriend I needed to figure out what to do with.
I stood as I said, “I think I’m going to head home. I need to feed Lucy and get ready for the week.”
Sammy and Will exchanged a look, then stood as well. “We should also get going. We’ll walk you out.”
We said our goodbyes to the Salgados and headed out to our cars, but Sammy stopped me just as I was about to climb in.
“Listen, I wasn’t trying to be a dick back there.”
“I know.”
“I just want you to be happy.”
“I know that too.”
30
JIMMY
For at least thetenth time today, I pulled out my phone and looked at the messages TJ had sent earlier.
TJ
Hey sunshine. It was good to see you Saturday
Hopefully this is still your number. lol. As you can see, mine hasn’t changed
Feel free to use it :-)
I brushed my thumb over the words as if they’d somehow connect me to him. I’d debated responding, but I didn’t know what to say. And besides, I was already in the middle of a relationship crisis with Steven. It wasn’t exactly the best time to reconnect with an old flame, no matter how innocent the intention.
It was Wednesday, and Steven still hadn’t come home. I tried texting him but hadn’t gotten a response. He’d left in a huff Saturday night without packing anything. And for a man who had a thirty-minute beauty regimen—day and night—and spent as much as an hour just deciding what he was going to wear, I wasn’t sure how he was managing.
I shouldn’t have found any of that amusing. I should have been worried he’d been abducted or was in a hospital somewhere, and maybe there was a part of me thatwasworried, at least a little bit, but I also knew him. Steven loved nothing more than turning a small thing into a really big thing. He loved being the center of attention. And he loved playing the victim.
So when he walked into the apartment around five-thirty that evening, wearing a brand-new outfit and an attitude, I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t amused anymore either. I was pissed.
And I was done.
“Oh good. You’re home.” I clicked the TV off and turned to face him. “Now you can pack your things and get out.”
“What!” he screeched. “What the fuck are you talking about? Ilivehere.”
“You haven’t been home since Saturday night. No calls. No texts.”
He crossed his arms in front of him, taking a defensive stance. “I stayed with Chance and Justin.”
“Good. Then you can stay with them a little longer while you find another place to live.”
“What the fuck has gotten into you? This isn’t like you.”
“Maybe not. But maybe it should be.”
