26. Daphne
Chapter Twenty-Six
DAPHNE
“Mom, why are you here?” We were having a video call. I’d finally called before I knew she was due to fly out.
“You’re my daughter, and I would like you back home. It’s important to your father and me for things to finally get back to normal. We’ve indulged you through this difficult year, but it’s time to come home,” she explained as calmly as ever.
Ever since my mother had shown up, I’d felt off-balance, and I was scrambling to get it back. I was cold all the time again and felt slightly sick. It brought up uncomfortable memories. In the first few weeks after Brandon’s death, I could hardly eat. Of course, his death came after the hardest months of my life, during which I barely ate either. I’d lost more weight than was healthy.
I curled my hand around a cup of tea, needing the warmth but also needing something to hold. “Is Pete still working there?”
“Of course he is.” My mother didn’t even try to keep the exasperation out of her voice. “You know our two families are too intertwined for us to sever that business relationship. I am, of course, disappointed in him, but chin up and carry on.”
“Oh, my God. Disappointed? You’re disappointed in Pete for having an affair with one of my friends while our son was dying?”
My mother arched a brow and let out a controlled sigh. Everything she did was controlled. “You need to get over it. If it helps, Natalie was fired. They dated for about six months afterward, but they broke up after you left.”
As if that would make it better. My mother was freaking incredible. “So Nat deserves to be fired, but Pete doesn’t?”
“Her family has no stake in the company the way Pete’s family does. It’s time for you to get over these frivolous pursuits and get back to doing what you’re meant to do.”
I stared at my mother on the video screen on my phone and swallowed the scream in my throat.
* * *
That night, I lay gasping on Flynn’s chest after another intense bout of sex. In my body, in my mind, in my heart, and in my soul, I felt that we were making love every time. Except I didn’t think that’s what Flynn considered it.
For the past few days, he’d been withdrawn, just the slightest bit more distant than before. I didn’t know whether to attribute it to my mother’s unexpected visit or something else. He’d gone to Anchorage for the day to do some errands. I found out by chance from Elias that they’d encountered my mother, and Flynn sort of told her off. When I’d asked him about it, he’d simply shrugged.
I didn’t know what to think. Although I didn’t intend to go home and return to the life I had before, I did need to return to tidy up some details.
Lifting my head, I rested my chin on my palm on his chest. As if he could feel my gaze, his eyes opened. “If I needed to take a few weeks off, would that be okay?” I asked.
I didn’t know how to read his eyes as they searched my face. “Princess, you can do whatever you need. I know you don’t need this job for the money. We’ll make do. Are you going home?”
“Not to stay. But I do need to go deal with a few things.”
A part of me wanted Flynn to ask more, but he didn’t. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I did recall waking during the night as he slipped out of bed. I lay awake in the darkness, knowing he was returning to his bedroom. We had an unspoken agreement that whenever Cat was home, which she was last night, I didn’t sleep there. Although she knew about us, I didn’t feel right spending the night there when she was home. Because I didn’t know how to define what we were.
A few days later, I searched Flynn’s eyes. “I’ll be back.”
Flynn’s touch was light as his hand brushed my hair away from my forehead. “You don’t have to make promises, princess.”
“I’m not leaving for good,” I insisted. Because I meant it. I truly did.
He was quiet, and the space around us felt crowded with so many unspoken emotions. I had fallen in love with Flynn. I sensed he might return the feeling, but the distance that had arisen between us after my mother showed up was still here. I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Call me,” he said softly. “We’ll miss you.”