Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Claire?”
“Hey!” Her voice was barely audible with background party noise. “What are you doing?”
I glanced at the clock. “It’s five a.m., so I figured I’d sleep while I can.”
“Oh! Late night?” A door shut, and the background noise dropped exponentially.
“Obviously.” I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Look, I just got home from work, and I know you didn’t call to talk to Fin, so what’s up?” My voice was as gentle as I could make it, but I was fucking exhausted.
“I can’t just call to say hello?” Her little laugh was tinged with sadness.
“Sure you can. Just not at five a.m. when you’re clearly still out for the night.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“I guess…” She sighed. “I guess I just miss you, Jax.”
Five years ago, those words would have meant the world to me. They would have kept me hanging on for her next phone call, hanging on to her.
“Claire, it’s not me you should be missing. It’s Finley. She hasn’t talked to you in two months.”
“If I knew I was going to get a lecture, I wouldn’t have called. It’s not my fault that my filming schedule isn’t conducive to calling.”
The urge to tell her off was rising, but Fin was the one who’d suffer if I pissed Claire off and she chose not to call again. “I’m not lecturing you. I’m just being honest.”
“How is she?” Her voice softened.
“Good. Happy. Healthy. Everything you want to hear.” I blinked hard, trying to stay awake.
“Does she ask about me?”
“Of course she does. You’re her mother.”
“Don’t you miss me even a little, Jax?”
My stomach sank. “Don’t.”
“I heard your new neighbor is pretty. Brie told me that she met her at one of your barbecues. Said you seemed pretty…what was the word she used? Entranced? Enamored? Enchanted. That was it. She said you seem enchanted by her.” Her tone turned sharp.
Hell no.
“She’s not up for discussion.”
“Oh, so she is pretty. Does Finley like her, too?” She bit the question out.
“She is none of your business.” I snapped each word, hoping she’d get the point.
“I think I have a right to know who my daughter spends time with, don’t you?”
She took the words straight out of Brie’s mouth. Exhaustion stripped me of my usual caution.
“Do. Not. Start. I haven’t slept in thirty hours, and I don’t have the patience to do this with you. Go back to whatever party you’re at, Claire. I’m going to sleep because our daughter will be up in a couple of hours. You might want to call her sometime.” I chugged the rest of the water bottle.
“Jax, don’t be mad at me.” Her voice dripped with sugar. “You know how much I love Finley. She’s the most important thing in my life. I’m working my ass off to make it out here, and it’s all for her. For all of us! It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I miss you. I miss our life.”
I tossed the bottle in the trash can and looked up at a framed picture of Fin and me on the beach. “You want to be a part of Finley’s life? Make the effort. She’s amazing, and you’re missing it.”
“What about yours?” Again, that damned teasing little lilt of her voice had me shaking my head.
In the past, I would have said something like, “We’ll see.” I wouldn’t have shut any doors on Claire that would have given Fin a chance at having that picket-fenced family I’d mistakenly thought she was being born into. But that dream was just that—a dream. And the reality of it was that I deserved to be happy. Fin and I both did.
“Jax? Did you hear me? I asked about being a part of your life.”
“Claire, I think we both know that ship sailed a long time ago.”
She gasped. “But Jax—”
“I gotta go, Claire. If you want to call back in a few hours, Fin will be up. Bye.” I hung up the phone before she could beg me to change my mind, to assure her that we’d be waiting here with open arms if she ever decided to come back.
She’d always be Finley’s mother, but she wasn’t her mom. Not in the ways that mattered.
…
“Thank you. I really appreciate this. Sarah needed the day off,” I told Christina as I picked up Finley from her shop the next day.
“I really don’t mind,” she promised as Finley got her fingerprints all over the farthest display case in Christina’s jewelry store. “It’s honestly wonderful to have her. She sells a surprising amount of pendants. Seriously. Besides, it’s good practice for when Peter and I decide to have kids. Not that I’m in any rush for that,” she added quickly as she knocked on a piece of driftwood. “I mean, we’ve only been married a couple years. I’d like to have him all to myself for a bit longer.” Her brown eyes widened. “Not that Fin isn’t great. Shit. Did I just put my foot in my mouth?” she finished in a whisper.