“You’re not. Trust me. I…” I hesitated for a beat, then plowed on. “I know what bad parenting looks like. This isn’t it.”
“You’re sweet.”
“Not really. I just call it like I see it.”
Her smile lost its apologetic bent and turned full-fledged, transforming her face from quietly pretty to truly stunning. “I have to get back to the front desk. But if you have a few minutes, I’d love the company of someone over the age of eleven. The night manager, Rhonda, isn’t much for conversation. Same goes for our handful of other guests. Top off your coffee, then come have a chat.”
I did exactly that, following her out to the reception area. In the light of day, the space was actually quite pleasant. I eyed the overflowing bookshelves as I settled in on the plush bench seat beneath the window, wishing I had the luxury of curling up in the sunshine with a new novel and ignoring all my problems for the rest of the day.
“You’re welcome to borrow any of them,” Gigi said, noticing the direction of my gaze.
“Oh. I doubt I’ll be here long enough…”
She frowned. “It’s a shame you can’t stay a few more nights. I just finished this series about sexy fairies. I know what you’re thinking.Fairies?Sexy? But they aren’t the Tinker Bell sort of fairy. They’re super powerful, badass,dudefairies. They all have dark hair and really big?—”
My brows arched.
“—wingspans,” she finished, giggling. “Look, just trust me. Read it. You’ll be obsessed. All human males will forever pale in comparison to these fictional fae hotties.”
“That’s a low bar to jump. Human males aren’t all that impressive.”
“Girl, you are preaching to the freaking choir.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “My ex, Donny, is a real piece of work.”
I’d gathered as much last night. “How long have you been divorced?”
“Technically, we aren’t yet. He refuses to sign the damn papers, no matter how many times I send them. I have a temporary restraining order to keep him away from me and the boys, but it’s going to be a long legal battle to permanently untangle him from our lives. Not to mention a heck of a lot of cash. And even then, there are no guarantees. A judge mightstillside with him. He’s an utter asshole at the core, but he can be pretty charming when he needs to be — just ask my twenty-two-year-old self, who fell head over heels for the charade.”
“He sounds like he’s related to my ex, Adrian,” I muttered. “There must be some way to get him to sign without dragging it into court…”
“You haven’t met Donny. My old pit bull had an easier time letting go of things.”
I took a sip of my coffee, scorching my tongue in the process. “You could always try whacking him on the nose with a newspaper.”
“I might, if I knew the bastard wouldn’t hit back — and he’d use his fists, for the record. He broke my arm in two places the last time I stood up to him. That’s when I decided enough was enough. I got my boys, then I got the hell out.”
Any trace of levity fled my voice. “God, Gigi, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make a joke of your situation?—”
She waved away my words. “Don’t apologize. It’s better to laugh than cry about it all day. And if I can’t find the humor in the tragedy… Somehow it feels like he’s already won.”
“I understand,” I said softly. “Believe me, I understand.”
And I did. I understood all too well what it was like to live under the same roof with a man who made your stomach churn with the sour taste of fear. I knew, even after you left, that sour taste took a long, long while to fade.
Maybe itneverreally faded — not entirely. Maybe you just got used to it. Hell, it had been months since I left Adrian and, sometimes, I could still hear his voice screaming at me in the dark; still feel his hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing the life out of me.
I didn’t tell Gigi this. I didn’t have to. She looked at me, I looked at her, and there was a moment. A moment of pure, feminine understanding. Whatever empathy she read in my expression, whatever shared experience she saw in my eyes, told her all she needed to know, without my ever needing to say the words aloud.
There was something so tragically sad about that — the instant bond between two women who’d endured the same trauma — but there was something inherently beautiful about it, too. Kinship and connection born from the worst sort of horror. A little light coming out of all that darkness.
We were silent for a short stretch, sipping our coffee. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was a companionable one. The kind I hadn’t experienced in far too long.
“At least I have the restraining order,” she said finally. “The police will protect me if Donny escalates. Theoretically.”
“Cade said?—”
“Ah yes, refresh my memory… What didCadesay?”
My cheeks flushed at the blatant suggestion in her tone. I immediately amended, “Detective Hightower?—”