Chapter Thirteen
I rehearsed my speech the entire cab ride home.
Leo, this has been amazing, but I think we got caught up in something that wasn’t supposed to last.
Lame.
You’re incredible, but . . .
No. Ugh. Too cliché.
Sure, we had a moment, but maybe that’s all it was meant to be.
Ooh, better.
By the time I climbed the stairs to my apartment, my game face was on and I was ready to set the record straight. Clear the air. Free us both from whatever this was before it went too far.
But when I pushed open the door, I was not met with the quiet sanctuary I’d been counting on for the clean break I’d meticulously plotted out.
Instead, I stood paralyzed, my mind racing but my body immobile.
Sitting on my couch, comfortably sipping tea like they hadn’t just materialized out of thin air, were my dad and stepmom.
“Elliot!” Dad’s booming voice filled the room, his face lighting up like we weren’t as close to estranged as neighbors who’d barely nod in passing.
“Surprise!” his wife chirped, her smile so wide I thought her tight face might crack in two.
I blinked. My brain was misfiring left and right, like a circuit board sparking and smoking before complete combustion.
What. The. Hell.
We were never close. Not the kind of father and daughter who called just to catch up or even remembered birthdays.
After he left Mom and me to build a new life, she broke down and I hardened.
I saw him now and then, but never because I wanted to.
When he remarried a few years after the divorce, after making it clear he was gone for good, something in me closed off.
That’s when I started keeping people at a distance.
Love, too. It felt safer not to need anyone at all.
Behind me, I felt Leo step up, his presence warm at my back. He took one look at my expression, then glanced at them and then back at me. His brows puckered just enough to silently ask: Should we make a run for it? Or should I get some popcorn?
I gave him a look that screamed, Please tell me this is a hallucination.
His lips twitched, but to his credit, he recovered quickly. “Uh . . . does anyone need more tea? Or . . . maybe, should I grab something stronger?”
“Gin!” Dad and I said in unison.
Dad cleared his throat and scratched at his forehead. “I know we should’ve called, but we were in the neighborhood and thought . . . why not pop in?”
“Pop in?” I echoed, my voice a little too high-pitched to be convincing. We didn’t do popping in. He knew it. What exactly was he playing at?
As Leo slid past me to head toward the kitchen, he stepped in close and murmured under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear, “Blink twice if I need to fake a gas leak.”
My eyes caught his, and he gave me a barely perceptible wink and assuring smile, the kind that said, I’ve got you.
And before I could overthink it, Leo’s hand brushed lightly against the small of my back, as if to steady me as I navigated whatever fresh hell this was, and he continued to the kitchen. I expelled a heavy breath, feeling a little bit lighter and more assured with him in my corner. On my side.
“So . . .” I drew out the word, dropping my bag onto the counter like I wasn’t silently eyeing the door to bolt. “What brings you guys to my neck of the woods?”
My stepmom, Shira, beamed. “Oh, we’ve got news!”
I could practically feel Leo’s curiosity spike from where he was hovering by the fridge, but all I could think was .
. . Please, for the love of God, don’t let this be an MLM pitch.
She’s absolutely the type. Oh God. Is she pregnant again?
No, no way. She’s too old for that. Right? My stepsiblings are already teenagers.
Leo cleared his throat, stepping in like the seasoned social buffer he apparently was.
“Here we are . . .” he said as he passed around a mystery drink I could only hope was something and gin in my mismatched crystal tumblers.
Because if life had taught me anything, it was that surprises in the West family rarely came with good news.
“I hope you made mine a double,” I muttered, flashing him a grateful glance before turning back to the lovebirds on my couch, bracing myself for whatever bombshell they were about to drop.
I took a long, desperate pull from the cold glass, the burn of piney bitterness sliding down my chest like dragon fire.
“Thank you,” I mouthed to Leo, and I felt his fingers snake around mine.
“Big news, you say? Okay, so let’s hear it,” I said in a tone that I hoped concealed my uneasiness. My palms felt like they were prickling with sweat, but if they were, Leo showed no signs of it bothering him in the least.
Dad leaned forward, lacing his hands together like he was about to deliver a TED Talk, not the catastrophe I was already bracing for. Beside him, my stepmother (though I still practically choked on the word) smiled like a Stepford wife . . . like this was all perfectly normal.
“Well,” Dad said, letting out that dramatic sigh he always used when he thought something was earth shattering but wanted to act chill about it. “Your mother and I have been talking.”
“Nana?”
“No. Not your grandmother. Your actual mother. You know, the one who raised you and still texts in all caps.”
I gasped mid-sip, the heavy pour of gin searing my throat and stinging my nostrils until my eyes watered. “You . . . and Mom?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, like my mom? Mom? Sonja?”
“Yes,” he repeated.
My voice was growing louder, as if maybe he wasn’t hearing me correctly. “Like your former wife?”
“Yes. Her. That’s the one. The only mom you’ve got,” he answered, clearly unsure whether we were doing some sort of bit that he hadn’t been made aware of.
“Tell me you’re joking. What the hell are you doing talking to her? What could the two of you possibly have to say to one another after all these years? I can’t even imagine!”
“Well, since she and Keith got engaged, we’ve been reflecting on things.
And we realized that we’re both happy now, and that’s something to celebrate.
No more tension, no more history weighing us down.
You know, she and I used to love each other and cheer each other on.
Before we were married, we were the very best of friends. ”
“I’m sorry.” I gestured wildly with a wave to stop him from continuing his stream of lies.
“But was that before or after you cheated and left us? Please remind me where in this fantastical past you’re clocking your infidelity.
You know, the one that tore our family apart, not to mention made mincemeat of the woman you so boldly stand there and claim you loved.
Like, what are you even talking about right now? !”
Shira leaned forward. “Now, wait just a second, Elliot. It wasn’t as black and white as all that.”
Dad rubbed her knee. “Shira, it’s okay, you don’t have to.” His lips drew into a thin slash mark, slightly downturned on his face. “I’m sorry you feel that way, honey, but people change.”
“Well, I don’t think I can.” I snapped the words out before I could stop them.
Leo shifted beside me, his thumb tracing a light, steadying pattern against my hand. I hadn’t even realized I was still gripping on to him.
Dad stood from his chair, and his trusty sidekick followed suit. Popping up to her full height before he’d even straightened, she’d clearly been eagerly awaiting her exit cue.
He fiddled with the buttons on his sleeve and fixed the hem of his shirt. “I just wanted to tell you in person, so our showing up in Belize on your mother’s big day wouldn’t catch you by surprise.”
Now it was my turn to jump to my feet. “Wait, what? Are you kidding?! Tell me you’re kidding.” I turned to Leo. “He’s kidding, right?” I dramatically spun around to Cruella McStepface. “He’s kidding, right?!”
Dad sighed, the patience in his voice faltering.
“Elliot, can we stop with the theatrics and just have a conversation about this? Your mother invited us to her wedding. We thought since you’d be going, it’d be a wonderful way for us to finally put the past to bed and celebrate embracing the new instead of holding on to old wounds.
I called the hotel, and they said you hadn’t reserved a room yet, so I used my miles to book you and Leo into one of the waterfront Coconut Villas.
It’s their nicest room. It even has a swim-up pool. ”
He looked at me as if I should be grateful. One generous gesture does not a reconciliation make! Not when he’d been absent for most of my life.
“Wow. Lovely. The Coconut Villa. That sounds . . . exotic,” Leo said, trying his best to break the tension.
“Thanks,” I spat, making sure to add, “I’m not even sure we’re going to the wedding.”
“Well, the room’s there if you decide to. And you should. For your mother. Plus, Keith’s a really decent guy.”
I was dumbstruck as he and Shira gathered their things, exchanged pleasantries with Leo, and strolled to the door like they hadn’t just dropped a plot twist M. Night Shyamalan would envy.
The second the door clicked shut behind them, I sagged into the couch.
Leo let out a low whistle. “Well, that was certainly something.”
I groaned. “This is a nightmare.”
He nudged the glass back toward me. “More gin?”
I stared blankly, unable to respond.
Leo plopped down next to me and placed a reassuring hand on my thigh. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Tears of frustration stung the corners of my eyes, and I kept my head back against the couch, not able to look at him.
“What? Talk about the fact that my practically nonexistent father and witch of a stepmother showed up out of nowhere and dropped an emotional bombshell? Oh, yeah, totally, let’s unpack that dysfunctional suitcase, give you some more insight into why I’m a train wreck in relationships.
Maybe after we can make vision boards and trauma-bond over chamomile tea. ”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He turned to me. “How about this? While you finish your drink, I’ll go run you a warm bubble bath, light some candles, put on some Enya. You’ll have no choice but to stop bracing like a piano’s about to fall on your head.”
“Isn’t it, though?” I sighed and rolled my head on the cushion to face him, the tears I’d been holding back now streaming down my cheeks. “When you’ve spent your whole life dodging pianos, relaxing starts to feel like negligence. You forget what it’s like to breathe without bracing.”
He wiped the tear with his thumb and looked up to the ceiling. “Nah, the forecast isn’t calling for falling Steinways. Not tonight anyway.” He took me by the hand. “C’mon, let’s go convince your nervous system it isn’t under siege.”
Leo led me down the hall to the bathroom, where he knelt and turned on the faucet, holding his hand under the stream until he seemed satisfied with the temperature.
Then he carefully scooped in two generous handfuls of my lavender sea salt, followed by a swirl of bubbly soap.
While the bath filled, he stood up and lit a few of my vanilla sandalwood candles, setting them on the edge of the tub.
Leo tilted his head toward the door. “I’ll go grab some music and refresh your drink. Do you want a book or anything? That one from your nightstand, maybe?”
“No, this is, um . . . great. Thank you.”
He smiled, clearly proud of his “boyfriend” skills, as he went in search of the Alexa.
The water was hot when I climbed in, the kind of heat that stung at first but promised to soothe as my body adjusted.
I sank in slowly, my skin prickling with goose bumps as I submerged, the foamy white bubbles covering the surface like little bursts of breath.
The candles flickered and their shadows danced on the walls as the scent of eucalyptus and lavender wrapped around me like a soft command to just let go.
But I couldn’t. The fact I’d come home tonight with every intention of breaking things off with Leo still weighed on me. I had rehearsed my speech, crafted it with clean logic and the kind of brutal efficiency I normally reserved for on-air takedowns.
But then my dad and his glow stick of a wife showed up like we were on an HBO drama, and Leo .
. . Leo didn’t flinch. He didn’t hightail it out the front door.
He didn’t stand there like a deer in headlights.
He held the space for me, quietly, calmly, like a guy who knew how to craft chaos into comfort.
Now here I was, water lapping gently against my shoulders, the bathroom tiles aglow with dancing firelight, and I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t pull the pin on something that, despite all my better judgment, felt this safe.
Then again, what was safety compared to all the other things at stake?
My career. The show. The book. My reputation.
No, romance was but a blip on the radar. A momentary refuge. A fleeting illusion.
I had to tell him. When he came back in here, I would end it.
But moments later, with Enya’s “Only Time” cooing out of the Alexa he set down on the vanity, he slipped off his clothes and climbed into the tub, pulling me back into his arms, wrapping them around me, and my resolve faltered. My body, traitorous and tired, settled into his as he held me.
And the words that had been there to end it between us . . . right on the tip of my tongue . . . evaporated with the steam curling off the water’s surface, thin and elusive as smoke.
Bubbles pop. Candles snuff out. And hot water eventually turns cold. Of that much I was certain.
As for the rest . . . all I knew was that he ran me a bath. And we were still sitting in it, cozy and warm and together.
And that had to mean something, didn’t it?
I guess I was about to find out whether staying with Leo was a risk worth taking, or if it would be the gamble that cost me everything.