Page 40 of Hearts Don't Lie
She seemed to have herself under better control, but her eyes were red and her face was puffy from crying so hard. “Okay. I have to get dressed,” she said in a monotone.
“You do that. I’ll make coffee. Where do you keep it?”
“I’m out. I was going to grab some at the Grind before I went into work.” She swallowed nervously. “That’s my normal routine, plus I support my friend Kai. She owns the Grind.” Her voice trailed off, and she inhaled a shaky breath. “Oh shit. Work. I’m a mess.”
She was a gorgeous mess. “When do you need to be at work?”
“Before ten.”
He noted the clock on the microwave. “You’ve a couple of hours.”
“I’ll call Issa.”
“Issa?”
“Stowe’s grandma, one of them. Um—” She corrected herself when noticing the confused expression on his face. “Fictive grandma.”
“Fictive—she is like a grandmother to him? Accepted as his grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“Part of Stowe’s story?”
“Very much so,” she said, smiling softly. “She’s Cori’s mom. A godsend to me.”
“Your business partner?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know about me?”
“Issa? No.”
“Does Cori?”
“No one does. My phone’s in my room. I’ll be back.” Before leaving the kitchen, she turned back. “I promise I’ll tell you all of it.”
He had no words and searched her eyes, then nodded and dropped onto a stool at the island, trying to absorb the fact that he was a father of an eleven-year-old.Hardin felt like he couldn’t breathe. The tears continued to well up and leak out. He wiped at them, impatiently trying to think coherently. His life had just been turned upside down. And what now?
He didn’t know the first thing about being a father. But what Hardinwassure of was that he wanted to know his son, be part of his life. The certainty hit him with a gale force.
He had been cheated. His initial instinct was to lash out at Mac, but he understood her too well to think she’d done what she had out of spite. He surmised her decisions had been made solely from the need to protect their son, herself, and even him. At this moment, he despised his parents and their lies, deceit, and power. They had done everything possible to keep him and Mac apart.
Mac’s voice carried into the kitchen. “You’re a lifesaver.” There were a few beats of silence. “I love you too.” She entered the kitchen, cell phone in hand, having slipped on jeans and a gray T-shirt with the Intrepid Adventures logo on it. Her hair was in ponytail. “Issa’s dropping off coffee. She’ll leave it on the porch in a few minutes since she’s late for a meeting.”
“That quick?”
“Uh-huh. She lives a few doors down. I—”
“We need to talk.”
“I know. But not now. We’re slammed. Cori texted me and asked me to come in early.”
“Mac? This can’t wait,” he said, watching her squirm under his direct gaze. “The cat’s out of the bag.”
“I—”
“Look, I’m not doing anything. Why don’t I come in and help? There’s got to be something I can do.”
