Millie sighs. “I know.” She turns and studies me with her bright blue eyes, the ones she got from my dad, while I got my mom’s hazel. “But that’s what it feels like.”
I hate that I can’t fix everything. For her, for Maddie. But I have to keep trying.
“So anyway…” Millie shrugs and leans back in her chair. “This is his punishment.”
Patrice and the woman at Millie’s feet nod their approval of my current chastising.
I bite the inside of my cheek. I’m outnumbered here. Quite literally. I’m the only male in this entire salon. There’s no point in fighting. The only thing I did wrong was lead Millie to believe we could afford the house in the first place. But did I truly deserve to suffer so deeply for my errors?
The reason we are in our current state of misery is because one of Millie’s coworkers gifted her this pedicure appointment to do with her fiancé. Lucky me, Justin couldn’t make it, and I dug myself a hole with only one way out.
“Also, don’t think I’m letting you off the hook for what you did to Maddie on Tuesday.”
I blink. “I didn’t do anything to her.”
She turns so she can face me better. “You told me she’s afraid of crowds. Why would you drag her into your class when she’s still getting used to the volleyball team?”
“I did not drag her in.” She came mostly willingly. “And I made her mad, so she wouldn’t focus on everyone else.” Like I did in law school. I was the only one she could ever look in the eye, so I made sure she always did.
“You embarrassed her.”
I frown at my feet. Are they supposed to be all wrinkly and crumby like that? “I didn’t mean to embarrass her.”
“That’s your problem,” Millie says. “You don’t think. You just act. Like a jerk.”
Ouch. This from the one person on earth who’s supposed to love me. I guess she’s right, though. I tried to satisfy my guilt by getting a rise out of Maddie by whatever means necessary. But I know her fear of crowds, and simply being in the room made her uncomfortable.
I scratch my chin. Every time I promise myself I’m going to stop acting like a jerk with Maddie, I end up being the same self-absorbed idiot I’ve always been. I can’t force her to talk to me. I’ll have to wait until she’s ready. Which means I’ll have to give her a reason towantto talk to me.
I lean back in my seat, more uncomfortable by the moment. “Well, thanks for the free therapy session, but I give you zero stars.”
“Oh, come on.” Millie shoves my shoulder. “Don’t be a baby and take criticism like a man.”
“Would you like a color?” Patrice asks.
“He wants pink,” Millie says.
“No.” My jaw clenches. I want this torture to end. “I’m here. That’s all you’re getting from me.”
Millie smirks and buries her face in her phone. Thank goodness. Her astute observations were getting out of control. I may have fallen into my old habits with Maddie without even realizing it. I can’t help it, I crave her little digs and glares.
Patrice rubs lotions on my feet, and I twitch. I never knew I was ticklish on my feet, but it’s a new sensation that is extremely uncomfortable. I’ve been fighting it well for the last thirty minutes, but this stuff is smooth and—
I jerk. My foot pops up and hits Patrice in the nose. Patrice makes a sort of strangled sound and loses balance on her stool.
“Connor!”
I barely register Millie’s shout as I vault over the basin of water below me and attempt to catch Patrice before she falls to the ground. But my well-intentioned efforts are ineffective as my foot gets trapped under the tub, and instead of saving Patrice from a bad fall, I full on tackle her.
Thankfully, I’m able to keep most of my weight off her, but she still hits the ground with a thud. And so do I. A sharp pain slices through my side.
“What is wrong with you?” Millie’s yell cuts through the eerie silence of the salon.
I wish Ihaddied here.
Millie hops out of her chair—very gracefully, I might add—and straight to Patrice’s side. “If you didn’t like the pedicure, you could have told me instead of kicking a woman!”
“It obviously wasn’t intentional,” I growl. I haul myself up and reach for Patrice. “I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?”
