Chapter Twelve
Elise
Leaning toward the mirror, I slicked some gloss across my lips and stood back to admire my handiwork.
I was about to go outside to join everybody for Kennedy and Kit’s party to celebrate their wedding, and my stomach was jumping with nerves.
Adele and Freya had arrived at the clubhouse earlier that day, ready for a weekend of wedding festivities. I’d been avoiding the bar like the plague because I was so nervous about the reception I’d get. Adele wasn’t exactly a friend of mine, but I liked her, and we’d come to an understanding a long time ago. I’d never wanted to encroach on her marriage, and had stayed out of it, even when gossip in town about their marriage was rife.
The last thing I wanted Adele to think was that I was trying to replace her.
Things between John and I were even more complicated than they were before. As much as I wished the feelings I had for him would disappear, they wouldn’t. I thought I’d gotten over him years before, but seeing the man he’d become threw up so many emotions that my head spun.
John had been wonderful with me; attentive, sweet, and patient. He listened to me in ways he never did before and took what I had to say seriously. He was everything I needed him to be thirty years ago, which made him hard to resist. Add on the muscles, swagger, and beard, and he was almost irresistible. But resist him I did, though I had to admit, it was becoming more difficult by the day.
A loud knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I called out.
It opened to reveal John standing at the threshold. “You gotta minute to talk?”
My heart fluttered as I took in how his black jeans molded to his thick, muscular thighs and the way his black, short-sleeved Henley did the same to his wide chest and huge biceps. John was always well-groomed; his beard—although long and thick—was always trimmed neatly, and the only time I’d seen him with a hair out of place was when he came upstairs from the gym one time after he’d been sparring with Atlas.
He’d had his hair trimmed a little shorter and slicked it back from his face, and had even cut his beard an inch or two.
I had to consciously refrain from fanning my face; he looked so damned hot.
“Hi!” I squeaked.
“Hey,” he rumbled, his warm, appreciative gaze sweeping over me from head to toe, then back again. “You look pretty.”
Cheeks heating, I ran my hands nervously down the sides of my tight jeans, avoiding my fitted, white linen shirt.
I’d been doing a lot of online shopping in the last week. I’d come to the clubhouse with nothing, and even though the girls were happy to lend me their clothes, they were younger. I needed to get back to my own style, though my days of having to wear knee-length skirts, blouses, and tailored pants were well and truly over, thank God.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “You look handsome, too.”
He gave me a sexy, crooked smile, and I felt my cheeks grow hotter.
Stepping inside, John closed the door gently behind him. “Need to talk to you ‘bout a few things.” He held up a familiar large envelope in his hands.
I gasped quietly. “Where did you get that?”
“Kit retrieved it from the mansion before it burned down.”
Ignoring the hammering of my heart, I angled my face up, cocked a disdainful brow, and grated out, “So much for privacy.”
“Didn’t know what was in it until we looked inside. Kit knew it must’ve been important to you by the way you hid it, and to be fair, the photographs are of my daughter, too.”
He had a point, but it wasn’t the photographs that concerned me. My embarrassment came from the other item in the envelope, an item I’d cherished for more than thirty years because it represented the only time in my life I’d been happy. It was silly, but it somehow made me feel close to him in the times when I needed him the most.
“You kept it,” he rasped.
I took the envelope from John and dropped it on the desk before turning back to him and jutting my chin up.
“Don’t give me the ice queen act, Leesy,” he said quietly. “You kept it, and I know what that means.”
My heart raced, but I kept my composure, not trusting myself to speak in case my voice cracked and gave my emotions away.
John reached out and caught my pinkie with his.
My mouth fell open slightly, my throat tightening at the sensation of his warm skin touching mine.
“Forgive me,” he said huskily.
My stomach fluttered at the pleading tone of his voice. “There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t know.”
“I knew you,” he insisted. “Knew you loved me, knew you’d always stand by me, knew that if you married somebody else, it was ‘cause you didn’t have a choice. Should’ve dug, baby. Should’ve made you tell me, should’ve worked behind the scenes to find Sophie and make you both safe. My pride got in the way. I wanted to punish you for makin’ a fool of me, but all I did was punish myself. I’ve been happy over the years—my kids brought me joy—but there was always somethin’ missing.” He brought my hand up to his mouth and gently kissed my knuckles. “You.”
My breath caught in my throat.
I loved the way John took responsibility, even though he didn’t need to. The second I married, I signed my life away. I was young and extremely vulnerable at the time, and my mental health had suffered in my grief at losing key figures in my life in such a short space of time.
But underneath it all, I still knew marrying Robert was wrong. If I was honest with myself, at the time, I lost all my fight and took the easy way out, even though it didn’t turn out to be easy at all. I didn’t deserve what Robert did to me, but I made my own bed the instant I’d said I do.
“You didn’t believe in me, John,” I whispered. “But in a way, I didn’t believe in you either. You told me whatever happened, wherever you were in the world, you’d always come home to me. I should’ve waited longer.”
“Don’t take the blame for that shit,” he bit out. “You were told I was dead. What were you supposed to think? You were a kid who’d just lost her dad, my mom, and me. It was no wonder you were confused.”
I smiled sadly up at him. “I don’t blame myself, but I also need to stop blaming you. We were victims of manipulation. We were both young, John. We reacted when we should’ve taken time to think things through, but that’s what kids do. Neither of us had the experience to see through Robert’s bullshit. I want to move forward, but holding onto all this resentment isn’t allowing me to.”
John tugged me closer and rested his hands on my shoulders. “That’s good, healthy. We should move forward, but I wanna do that together, baby.” He lowered his head and touched my mouth with his.
My eyes snapped shut at the feel of him, at his scent.
When I closed my eyes, I could forget. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine I was eighteen again and had my John by my side and the world at my feet.
But it wasn’t real.
“John,” I whispered.
“Don’t push me away,” he begged.
“It’s not us anymore, John,” I insisted.
“It could be,” he pressed, his eyes darting between mine. “This could be us every day for the rest of our lives. I won’t let you down again; I swear on everything that means anything.”
I gazed up at him, noting the sincerity in his eyes and the reverence in his tone.
It would be so easy to fall back into what we had. The problem was, we weren’t those kids anymore. So much had happened, and we’d caused each other so much pain. I wasn’t sure I could take the risk.
If we tried and it didn’t work out, I wouldn’t survive it again. I was already a shell of who I used to be; if I lost John for a second time, I’d give up completely.
Shaking my head, I went to open my mouth, but John pressed his finger gently to my lips to stop me from speaking.
“No, baby.” His tone was heavy with emotion. “Don’t answer now. We’ve got the party today and the wedding tomorrow. Let’s just take the pressure off ourselves and have a good time. I wanna get to know you again, wanna find out what makes you tick. And I want you to get to know me, too. We’ve both changed, and although I know my Leesy is still there, I want to learn about the woman, too,” he bent his neck, rested his forehead against mine, and told me in a guttural tone, “’cause I gotta say, baby. I like what I’ve seen so far. I like it a whole damned lot.”
His gaze locked with mine, gold and green, just like they used to when we belonged to each other. My heart leaped as John lowered his face to mine and took my mouth again.
Something tugged in my lower stomach, something primal and hot. I had to stop myself from moaning against Stone’s mouth as I felt his whiskers against my chin.
“Do you feel it?” he said huskily, his words reminiscent of the night at the hospital when the twins were born. “Every time you walk into a room, I feel you before I see you. It’s us, baby; we’re connected in ways I can’t explain, and it’s goddamned beautiful.”
“Johnny,” I breathed. “I’m cold inside. I don’t know how to be that girl anymore. It’s as alien to me as breathing underwater.”
“You’re not cold,” he argued gently. “It’s a mask you had to wear to make it through. You’re so conditioned to wearing it that you don’t know how to take it off. I’ll teach you, my club, Belle, Sophie, the kids, we’ll all teach you. My Leesy’s still there; we just need to find her.”
My stomach churned.
I didn’t know if I could live up to what John wanted. It had been so long since I’d been able to trust anybody that I wasn’t certain I had it in me.
“What if I can’t, John?” I asked. “This is me now, so if you think you’ll get back the eighteen-year-old, you’ll be disappointed.”
Stone’s eyes darted between mine, confusion flashing behind them. “Jesus, I couldn’t think of anythin’ worse.” He stepped back and swept a hand down his body. “Dunno if you’ve noticed, but I’m not twenty-one anymore. We’ve both grown up, Leesy. When I say I want the girl I knew, I mean your sweetness and trust. That was what drew me to you and kept me enthralled. I fucked up all the time, baby, but you always had it in you to forgive. Us Stone men tend to fuck up quite a lot. We need women like you to put up with our ridiculous asses.”
I couldn’t help laughing softly.
“I mean it,” he insisted. “It started with Bandit, but even that asshole would be spinnin’ in his grave at the ones who came after. Have you not heard about the ‘Days of Our Biker Lives’ shit my idiot boys rained down on our asses? It began with Bowie. He lost a woman when he was young, and his grieving process took about ten years, during which he proceeded to rail through the majority of Southern Wyoming before Layla came along. She put him on the right track eventually, but not before he fucked and chucked her, too, then lived to regret it. The Church meeting when I found out my boy had dicked my goddaughter before throwin’ her out and making her walk home alone was a fuckin’ hoot.” He shook his head frustratedly. “Then there’s Jailbird Joe, aka Cash. He’s got granddaddy issues shootin’ out of his asshole. Thought it would be clever to get caught in the act of railing a club girl by his woman, all ‘cause he was butthurt. Then, to get Cara back, he decided to knock her up by secretly pulling the wrap off his dick. It was a whole world of fun when she found out what he’d done.” His face deadpanned. “Then there’s GI Joe, Breaker, who’s got a touch of the psychopaths and likes blowin’ shit up—hence your house that’s now rubble. If he was let loose in the real world, he’d probably be languishing in top security for slitting throats and arson. He left his pregnant girlfriend holdin’ twins years ago. Then lo and behold, years later, they meet up again at Atlas and Sophie’s weddin’, creating the biggest Maury Povich moment in club history.” He pointed at his hair. “See that grey? I blame them. Those boys are lucky Bandit wasn’t around to fill their asses with buckshot for their antics.”
I couldn’t help chuckling at the memory of John’s dad shooting at the prospects back in the day. Then my thoughts flashed to the time he almost put a bullet in my head, and my chuckle died.
It was bittersweet because even though we weren’t exactly friendly, I got closer to Bandit before he died. I’d even go as far as to say I loved him, but that love was mixed with a little sadness and a lot of distaste. It was hard to have good thoughts about a man who always saw the worst in me. He regretted his actions later in life, and we came to an understanding. Still, it didn’t stop my stomach twisting every time his name was mentioned.
“I see she gets it,” John murmured to himself.
“Hard not to,” I replied gently. “Your dad had his own way of doing things, but for him, family always came first. Bandit wouldn’t have shot your boys; he probably would’ve clapped them on the back and got them a beer for being studs.”
“And that’s the problem,” John explained. “My dad believed the Demons could do what they wanted with no consequences. It affected me and my boys and didn’t do us any favors whatso-fuckin’-ever. My boys learned their lessons with the help of their women. I had to learn mine alone, but one day, I hope you reap the benefits. Not sayin’ I’m perfect, Leesy, ‘cause I’m far from it. I make mistakes, huge ones, but at least now, I learn from them and take responsibility. Can’t say I did when I was twenty-one, when I left you behind to go conquer the world. It took losing you to see that I wasn’t always honest and respectful. Not blaming my dad—I was my own man after all—but when you grow up amongst men who think they can do what the fuck they want with no comeback—especially with their women—it tends to rub off.”
I studied John, thinking back to when we were together.
It was true, he only thought of himself and to hell with the consequences. Looking back, it was easy to see he was as much a product of his environment as I was, an environment that later extended to his sons.
John standing before me, talking about his shortcomings, was something I never thought I’d see. In the past, he swept anything that made him uncomfortable under the rug, especially when it came to me.
He’d not only grown, but he also trusted me enough to be vulnerable with me, and I had to admit, I liked it a lot. I’d always loved him regardless of his shortcomings, but now I was seeing the new and improved version. If I were honest with myself, I’d noticed it already, but I just didn’t want to admit it. How could I hold on to my anger, not get emotionally invested, and keep my heart safe if I warmed to him?
John jutted his chin toward the door. “You ready to go out there?”
No . Out there is your ex-wife and a daughter who’s a momma’s girl. I’ve been happy in my bubble since I’ve been here, and I’m not ready for it to burst just yet .
But I kept my inner thoughts to myself and nodded amiably.
John offered me his arm.
I looked at it, dazed.
“Won’t bite, Leesy,” he rumbled before muttering under his breath, “Not unless you ask.”
I rolled my eyes, and then I placed my hand on John’s arm and let him lead me through the door and down the corridor.
The louder the music got, the more my stomach churned because it meant we were nearing the bar and Adele. Common sense told me to stop wigging myself out. Adele and John had been divorced for years, and she was happy with another man.
But a tiny part of me felt as if I was an imposter. Adele had been an ol’ lady for a long time, and the men thought the world of her. I couldn’t help worrying that she’d think I’d swooped in to get John back and take her place in the club.
“You’re shaking,” John pointed out, stopping and gently turning me to face him. “What’s goin’ on?”
“I’m nervous,” I whispered, glancing up at him. “I haven’t seen Adele for years. I don’t want her to think I—that we—oh, you know.”
John’s eyes rounded. “Jesus, Elise. So what if we were, it’s nobody’s damned business. Dell moved on from me years ago. She met a guy while we were still married, and I gave her my blessin’ even then. She only stayed around for the boys and ‘cause Freya was finishin’ up high school. My girl showed promise even then, and we didn’t wanna rock the boat by upsetting her. We lived the final years of our marriage as friends. It’s all we really ever were.”
I lifted my chin to look him dead in the eye. “I know, you said that already, but maybe she felt compelled to leave because your heart wasn’t in it. She may have loved you all along.”
To my shock, he threw his head back and barked a laugh.
“John!” I exclaimed, slapping his arm angrily. “It’s not funny.”
He looked down at me and chuckled. “It’s fuckin’ hilarious, Elise. You have no idea.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall. “I get I’ve made you feel insecure, and I know it’s my own damned fault for goin’ there with Adele in the first place, but honest, babe, you’ve got shit all to fret about.”
John pulled me into the bar, which was packed with men and women all shooting the shit and having a good time. Laughter filled the air as some of the guys egged on the kids who were breakdancing and spinning on their heads in the section cordoned off to make a dance floor.
We headed toward a table near the bar, where I spotted Sophie, Kennedy, Cara, and Layla sitting with Iris, Adele, and Freya.
It was as if she sensed me staring at her because Adele stretched her neck up, saw us, and her eyes narrowed.
“John,” I whisper-shouted as I felt my heart sink into my stomach. “Stop it. I don’t want to do this. It’s embarrassing.”
“Babe,” John replied, pulling me adjacent to the table. “I’ve told ya about me and Adele, but you still don’t believe a damned word I say. I’m thinkin’ it’s best you hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
“That better not be me you’re calling a horse, John Stone,” Adele grated out. “I’ll kick your ass.”
John grabbed Freya’s arm and hauled her from her chair. “Missed ya, Princess,” he crooned, pulling her into his arms for a bear hug.
“Hey, Daddy,” she murmured, pushing her face into his chest. “Missed you, too.”
I smiled at them fondly.
Colt told me what happened before he left. Honestly, I didn’t know what to think about it. If Colt had gone behind Bandit’s back, he would’ve shot him dead. What John did sickened me, but another side of me was grateful he didn’t kill Colt for betraying him and the club.
Maybe it was because I knew how brutal the club used to be, because even though I didn’t condone John’s actions, I understood them. He was an MC prez and had to command respect amongst his brothers. If one of the men betrayed the club, he’d have to take action, or else the others would think he was weak, and he’d lose all respect and, ultimately, all control.
The club had come a long way in recent years, but it still had strict rules around traitors and betrayal. Add on the fact that Freya was John’s daughter, and I could understand how he’d lost his shit. I was there when Iris was kidnapped and assaulted. I knew how vulnerable the women of the club were, especially living in the same town as a mayor who ran a trafficking ring and worked with the same club that took Iris on that awful day.
I’d do worse if I thought Sophie was in danger.
A hand took my elbow just as a husky voice murmured from behind, “Let’s go get a drink.”
I whipped my head around, my throat drying as Adele pulled me toward the bar.
“Wait,” Sophie called after us. “I’m coming with you.”
“Down girl,” Adele called back. “It’s all good.”
I gulped as my stomach began to jump with nerves at the mere thought of the conversation I was about to have.
Adele knew everything, including the fact that her husband had carried a torch for me throughout their marriage. It wasn’t something I felt good about; if anything, I carried guilt for it. Knowing I was a factor in the breakdown of their marriage didn’t feel good at all.
“Red or white?” Adele asked as we approached the bar.
“Beer?” I replied, question in my tone. “I’ve tried the wine in this place. It’ll take the roof of your mouth off.”
Adele laughed. “The girls drink it from boxes,” she explained, amusement evident in her voice. “Though, if I was married to one of my boys, I’d be chugging it from boxes too.”
The server placed two bottles of Bud on the counter, popping the tops off.
I gave him a nod of thanks, grabbed a bottle, and followed Adele to an empty table, while trying to calm my racing heart.
This conversation was going to be awkward.
Adele took a seat and nodded to the one opposite her. “I dunno why you’re looking so nervous. It’s me who needs to apologize.”
I sat before asking, “Why do you need to apologize?”
She leaned forward, her eyes cast down as she picked at the label on her beer bottle. “I married John knowing he was in love with you. The night we met, he told me everything. He was so cut up about you; I could hear the pain in his voice. Deep down, I think I knew even then that something must’ve happened to stop you from being with him.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” I insisted gently. “You weren’t involved in our situation.”
“I know, but I didn’t help your situation, either.” She sat back in her chair, her eyes glazing over slightly as she thought back. “When I met John, I was grieving my mom’s death. I saw him sitting at a bar, and he just seemed lost. I think it drew me to him because it was exactly how I was feeling, too. I didn’t really have anyone I could talk to, so I approached him, thinking he’d get it.”
It shouldn’t have hurt—I mean, thirty years had gone by—but every word was like a knife stabbing my heart. “It’s not my business,” I breathed.
“You have to know,” she asserted. “That first night—we—well—” she sighed, “I think we both needed comfort. He didn’t make any plans to meet up the next day, and I was okay with that. I never expected to see him again, but then later I found out—”
Understanding washed over me. “You were pregnant,” I whispered.
She nodded, her stare glued to mine. “I knew from day one John wasn’t mine. I also knew you’d married somebody else, so I sought him out and gave him the choice.”
My heart sank. “And John married you.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I knew he loved you, and he’d never feel that way about me. I made him promise that if I ever met my person, he’d let me go. He agreed, so we went to City Hall and did it. It felt weird, and I knew in my soul it wasn’t right, but I was scared of being alone and pregnant, and terrified of raising a kid alone,” she shrugged, “so I threw caution to the wind.”
My brain whirred with questions.
John had told me what happened with Adele, but he’d left a lot out of the story. Hearing it from her point of view cemented what John had implied. Their marriage was based on friendship, and it only took place because she was pregnant with Xander.
I knew back then I’d shattered him by marrying Robert. Not only that, but I’d also damaged his ego when I wouldn’t go with him the day he turned up at the mansion. John had swallowed his pride to come and get me, even though, in his eyes, I’d gone off with another man within weeks of him apparently dying. He’d had enough faith in me to believe my baby was his, too, and I’d still rejected him outright.
How could I blame John for seeking comfort somewhere else?
What happened wasn’t my fault, but it wasn’t his either. Okay, so I had to watch him build a life with another woman, and it broke me, but I never thought about the fact that he had to watch me do the same.
“At the time, I wanted to include you,” Adele continued, pulling my attention back to her. “I used to go into Main Street with Iris, trying to catch a glimpse of you. My intention was to march over and make friends, but you used to turn the other way, and I knew you were in pain. Do you remember the time we met in the coffee shop?”
I nodded.
“I wanted you to know Xander and the new baby because I had a feeling, one day, you and John would make your way back to each other. I wanted my kids to know you so it would be easier on them when I left, and I didn’t want any bad feelings when the time came. Then Iris was taken, and it made me stay closer to the club because I wanted the kids safe, so it never turned out the way I planned, and I felt terrible about it. I used to see John sitting on his bike, staring toward the creek, and I knew he was thinking about you. Iris told me the story about John making you his ol’ lady down there. Even though he loved you, the stubborn fool would’ve never left me because it meant leaving the kids. If I wanted a clean break, it was obvious I’d have to be the one to leave. Eventually, I met Tim, and John let me go like he promised. It all worked out in the end, except for one thing.” She cocked her head questioningly. “You two didn’t get your shit together like I planned.”
For a second, I was taken aback. “Like you planned?”
“Well, yeah,” she admitted. “We were all with the wrong people. I thought by leaving that you and John would have an easier road back to each other.” She winced. “I just didn’t factor in John’s stubborn pig-headedness.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “It wasn’t just that. I had a job to do; I thought Robert had my daughter, and I had to find her. Then the FBI got involved, and we had a strategy I couldn’t deviate from. I didn’t really give him the chance to start anything because it was the wrong time to leave my husband.”
She cocked an eyebrow knowingly. “But you’ve left Henderson now, and you walked in here with your hand tucked in John’s arm. You’re exploring things, right?”
“We’re not together,” I stated, willing my cheeks to stop heating.
Baring my soul to John’s ex-wife wasn’t exactly top of my ‘things to do’ list. It was bizarre.
“Is this weird?” I asked her.
Adele’s eyebrows drew together. “Why would it be weird?”
I studied her briefly, taking in her quizzical expression. “You’re John’s ex-wife, the mother of his kids. I’m his ex-girlfriend. Of course it’s weird.”
She smirked. “I guess it is a bit weird, but I’m not the evil other woman here. I genuinely want John to be happy, and I don’t think he ever will be until you’re back in his life, the way you were always meant to be.”
God only knew why, but I trusted her. Maybe it was because she had no agenda, perhaps it was because she was being real and vulnerable with me, but something made me want to give it back.
My eyes met hers. “I’m scared, Adele.”
Her forehead creased in confusion.
“John was my world,” I continued. “I’ve never been more whole than when I was with him. Even when we argued, we were amazing. I’ve never known a feeling like it, he was everything to me. Then it got ripped away, and I was never the same. I lived a long time knowing what my life should have been because, just for a while, I lived perfection. Then suddenly, I didn’t, and nothing felt right again. My world was dark without John. One minute, I had a man I loved with my heart and soul, and in a split second, he was pushed away, and I was left empty inside.”
Adele’s eyes misted. She reached out and took my hand. “Oh, Elise.”
“Now I’ve got Sophie and Belle, and even though I’m empty inside, there’s something left in me to offer them. I need to preserve it. I need to keep what little I’ve got left for them and for myself.”
Adele leaned toward me across the table. “Bullshit.”
My head reared back slightly.
“What an utter crock of shit,” she went on. “From what I’ve heard on the grapevine, you’ve been working for the FBI to take Henderson down. Am I right?”
I nodded confusedly.
“So, you’ve put yourself in danger every day for years, but you’re a scaredy cat when it comes to John? Please .” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve taken on the leader of a sex trafficking ring, and you’ve come out on top, so don’t try and tell me you’re scared of falling back in love with a man who worships the ground you walk on. You left John back then, he never left you, and he wouldn’t leave you now, just like he wouldn’t leave me years ago. I was the one who had to do the walking, and he wasn’t even damned well in love with me. You’ve fought tooth and nail for a lotta years, so why are you letting your douchebag ex-husband win now? He took your family and your man from you, and I can’t believe you’re still letting him do it.” She picked up her beer bottle, took a swig, and cleared her throat. “I get it, Elise; Henderson traumatized you, but why have you been fighting for all these years only to give up at the last hurdle? If you need help dealing with everything that happened, get it, but stop rolling over, honey. That asshole’s taken enough from you, don’t let him take your future as well.”
Sitting back, I reached for my beer bottle and took a sip, allowing myself time to think over Adele’s words—or dare I say it—mini-rant.
She had a point. I had fought for a long time, and now I was almost free and clear, I was taking a backseat. Fighting for everything was getting old. Just for once, I wanted it to come easy. The thought of being with John filled me with a hope I thought had deserted me, but I didn’t want to jump back into it with him just because we loved each other as kids.
Maybe Kennedy had a point that day in her office. She said I should stop putting pressure on myself and just get to know John again. Had I been so hell-bent on protecting myself that I’d gone too far and pushed good away?
Glancing up, green clashed with gold, and my lips curved involuntarily at the warmth sliding through me.
You okay? John mouthed, inclining his head toward Adele.
My heart swelled at his care.
I had no doubt John had kept an eye on me and Adele while we’d been talking.
It felt nice and simple, and the ease of it touched me somewhere deep. It was such a small thing, but I hadn’t been cared for since before my momma died.
It was the little things that meant everything.
My smile widened, and my heart fluttered inside my chest.
I’m fine , I mouthed back.
And then something suddenly struck me.
For the first time in a long time, I was.