Chapter Thirty-four
For the rest of the afternoon, I wonder about this Brooke she’s having dinner with. She said she’s a client. I’m a client and we text all the time. But something about this Brooke worries me. Ellie seems on edge every time she texts. And more specifically, when I ask about it. And she looked away. It may have been only momentarily, but she did it. She’s hiding something.
Then again, who am I to think Ellie Stone owes me any kind of explanation? We’re not a couple. We go out sometimes. Sleep together occasionally. But other than the way she looks at me, I don’t have any solid evidence she wants something beyond that.
I suppose she could be waiting for me to say something. But somehow I get the idea the enigmatic Dr. Stone waits for no man to take the upper hand. In fact, she’s more the kind of person who says what she means and means what she says.
But, fuck, I’m falling hard.
I keep thinking about what Lucinda said. That ‘the woman in the picture’ should be Maisy’s mother. I look down at Bolt, sleeping at my feet while Maisy plays a game on her iPad. He purrs in response when I reach down and give him a pat. “A match made in heaven,” I say to no one.
I’m just not sure which match I’m talking about: Maisy and Bolt, Maisy and Ellie, or Ellie and me.
Maybe it’s all three. Which makes me wonder why in the hell I keep procrastinating.
I should call someone for advice. The question is, who? Dallas and I were always the closest. But asking him for advice might be like a punch in the gut. Then there’s Lucas. I get that he loves Lissa and all, but he also swore he loved Kaitlyn, Simone, and Veronica. Of course he’d say to go for it. I mean, when has he not?
Dax would know precisely squat on the subject. That leaves Cooper. After everything he went through, he’s exactly the one. He and Serenity getting together made the most unlikely pair. Some people in this town thought it was disgusting the way he ended up marrying his dead brother’s fiancée. Me—I say it was fate.
I shake the table to get Maisy’s attention. “Go see Grandma?” I ask.
Her face lights up. She loves going to Mom and Dad’s house. I get it. It’s a veritable mansion. It’s the only house I remember growing up in. I know they had one before the winery took off, when I was very young, but Montana Manor, as Allie dubbed it when we were teens, is every kid’s dream. It’s great for playing hide and seek. It has a theater room that rivals any commercial cinema. The wine cellar wasn’t appreciated until we got older, but was still impressive to walk through, and always reminded me of the catacombs I’d seen in video games. Our pool was the envy of all high school pool parties, of which we had many, and the full-size basketball court made my brothers and me very popular with the jocks.
Maisy loves the elevator the most. Which is both amusing and sad. Sad because I know she lived in a tall building with an elevator, yet it seems a novelty to her. Did she ever leave the apartment?
After dropping her off, I head to Donovan’s Pub, where Cooper works. It’s not quite dinner time so there are few customers. I get his attention and point to a corner booth. A minute later, he walks over, two beers in hand.
He slides one my way. “What’s up?”
I take a drink and look down into the beer, watching a bead of condensation roll down one side. “I found out I’m going to be a full-time dad today.”
He raises his glass. “Hey, that’s great. I know that’s what you were hoping for. Congrats.”
I don’t tell him it’s only happening because Maisy’s mom is going to die. “Yeah, thanks. I’m still wrapping my head around it. The real reason I’m here is that…” I look in the booth behind me to make sure nobody is close enough to hear the conversation. “Uh… when did you know you wanted to be with Ren, like not just fool around with her, but be with her.”
“Ahhh.” He nods, a wrinkle cutting across the expanse of his forehead. “So this isn’t so much about Maisy as it is her teacher.”
“I… shit, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. How do I know it’s not just because of Maisy? Ellie has helped her in more ways than I ever could. Is this like a patient falling for a nurse or whatever?”
Cooper snorts laughter. “Blake, I’m not sure the universe cares how you met or what you are to each other. I’m the perfect example of that. I mean, all signs pointed to Ren and me being a horrible idea. But sometimes, you look at someone and you just know.”
My eyes snap up to his. “Yes. That’s exactly how I felt when I first saw her. We didn’t even talk.” I snort. “Obviously. And I swear even if she didn’t turn out to be Maisy’s teacher, I’d have found her somehow. But I have to ask… did you and Ren end up together because you had something in common? Because you both lost that one person you loved more than anything?”
“Are you asking me if I think you and Ellie would be together if she and your daughter weren’t deaf—the one thing that brought you together?”
I fold my arms across my body, perhaps an indication that I’m protecting myself from the answer. “I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if we’d have anything in common if it weren’t for Maisy.”
The sharp dip of his brows challenges my proclamation. “So Maisy is there when you and Ellie go on dates? How about when you do the deed?” He winks.
I don’t laugh at his weak attempt at a joke. “Of course not.”
“So you and Ellie do spend time alone without your kid?”
“Yeah.”
“And how is it?”
“It’s…” I think of the dinners we’ve had. The dancing. The no-speaking night that was more than incredible. I think of her kisses. What her lips do to me in bed. How she makes me feel. “…fucking amazing, Coop. I can’t even put it into words.”
He holds his arms out wide. “What’s the problem then?”
“I’m not sure she feels the same way. She was dealt a pretty shitty hand as a kid. Not because she’s deaf, but because her birth father wanted nothing to do with her. What if she’s incapable of”—I wave a hand around— “this. What if I bring up the L word and she runs for the hills before I can break her heart too?”
“Or.” He points the neck of his bottle at me. “You could get everything you want plus the perfect stepmom for Maisy. What have you got to lose?”
I take a drink, digesting what he said. “I suppose it’s time to man up.”
He reaches across the table and claps me on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit.”
“Maybe I’ll do it next week, after all this wedding business with Lucas is over. Which reminds me, are we all set for the bachelor party here on Friday?”
“You bet.”
“How’s Lissa? She quit her job yet?”
“Nah. She’s happy but guarded. She just doesn’t want to be made a fool out of, you know?”
“I guess I can’t blame her. But they’ve been together for years,” I say. “Much longer than any of the others. I think this one’s going to stick.”
A worker behind the bar calls for Cooper.
“You good?” he asks. “Can I have Kelly whip you up something to go? Maisy too?”
“That would be great.” I nod my appreciation. “Thanks for the talk.”
While I’m waiting for the food, I watch one of the many televisions hanging from the ceiling. It’s tuned to some home renovation show. I read the closed captioning scrolling across the bottom—a habit I’m starting to become accustomed to—as a couple tries to make more space for their growing family.
Huh, I think, wondering what kind of makeover I could give my house. I’d love to have a playroom for Maisy. A big pool for her class parties. A craft room to display all her drawings. By the time I’m done dreaming up renovations, I come to a realization: I’m going to have to move.
Then I come to a second one: I want the quiet, blonde-haired doctor to move with me.