Page 44 of Kisses Sweeter than Wine

MERLOT

Merlot had successfully avoided Talbot’s phone calls for three days. Besides wanting to make sure her father was back in DC, he needed to ensure all his emotions and thoughts were in check. He’d had two long talks with his sister Zinny, who, for someone so young, was insightful as shit.

The bottom line was he was still in love with Talbot. It didn’t matter that she’d changed her name and had a new life. Deep down, she was still the same person who had left him twenty-one years ago. His struggle to get past the lies had more to do with how much it hurt that he’d been the only one in the dark.

He’d suffered insurmountable grief and his parents had watched. If felt like a betrayal wrapped in a layer of protection.

Talk about a contradiction.

Only, he’d been grieving the wrong thing.

He’d lost the love of his life. He could accept that, but she’d had a good life. A happy one. And that he could wrap his brain around.

“I’m sorry that it took three days for this.” Merlot stepped through the door. “I’m sorry—”

“We need to talk.” She glanced at her watch. “I have maybe ten minutes to get this out, so do me a favor and shut up and listen.”

“You don’t get to bark orders at me.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed her to the kitchen. “I’m trying to say I’m sorry for how I behaved. You didn’t deserve that and I was wrong.”

“Apology accepted. All is forgiven.”

He arched a brow. “Just like that.”

“Yup.” She nodded as if she were a bobblehead. “Would you like a beer or something?” she asked as she paced in front of the fridge. Her nervous energy filled the room like a thick cloud of smoke.

“Do I need one?”

“I don’t know. You might. And I’m going to have one.” She ducked her head into the refrigerator and pulled out two, pushing one across the counter. “I sent you a text after you tossed me out on my ass—”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Yeah. I know and it’s fine. Please, let me get through this before another secret is unraveled the wrong way.”

He laughed. “Because there’s a right way to—”

“I have a son,” she blurted out. “No. We have a son. His name is Corbin. He’s going to be twenty-one in a few days.” She lifted her beer and clanked it against his. “Cheers.”

He stood in the kitchen with his mouth hanging open.

“Oh. And there are two more things.”

“You’ve got to be joking. I haven’t even digested that piece of news.” Him? A father. And he missed it? Fuck. His mind swirled. His pulse raged so fast he thought he might have a heart attack.

The only good news was he didn’t want to wring her pretty little neck.

“You named him Corbin?” He blinked.

“Yeah. But we’ll have to talk about that later because he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Jesus, I need to sit down.” He gripped the counter. “How did that happen?”

“I’ll get into that later. The second thing is he thinks—”

Corbin burst through the door. “Mom. Where are you?”

Merlot swallowed. His son. His adult son. He wrangled in his anger. There was no place for that now. What was done was done. He couldn’t change the past and Talbot wasn’t to blame. She’d done the best she could with what she’d been given.

A young man wearing Army fatigues stepped into the kitchen. He dropped his rucksack by the hallway and blinked.

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