Three

 

CRYSTAL

Present . . .

 

Conti carefully guides the young looking girl to the lounge. My gaze slowly takes her in, and it hits me that she’s very young. However, she isn’t young enough to be his daughter which has my mind racing, trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.

Confusion isn’t something I like to feel. The need for answers is tugging at me but I'm unsure on how to ask. Deciding it might take a while to calm her from whatever is going on with her, I offer to go and prepare lunch. Sensing I need some time to wrap my brain around what just happened, Myla reluctantly agrees.

My brain is on auto pilot as I make the sandwiches for everyone. Conti’s voice floats through the open window as he explains more about his sister and her disability. The phone rings, and my breath stops when a woman’s voice comes out loud and clear on the speaker. Conti begins to explain what happened and asks Mari how he can calm her down faster. Nothing is making sense anymore.

As he continues to speak to her about Maddison, my heart begins to beat harder in my chest. The moment I hear Conti end the call, and then explain to Kai that she's his live-in nurse that helps with Maddison’s care . . . dread fills my stomach.

I was wrong about that morning. I fucked up, royally.

We could’ve been together all along. This whole fucking time I wasn’t the other woman like I stupidly assumed. Things would’ve been so much different if I hadn't let my pride and judgements get in the way.

The fucked up thing is, it's all my fault. Knowing I had a way to find out the truth, but I just didn’t want to do it, is now the biggest regret that I’ve made in my life so far. Brittany would’ve cleared everything up, but of course, my stubborn ass wouldn’t speak with her. She called me dozens of times leaving messages to please call her, confused as she didn’t know what was going on. The only thing that stopped me from calling her or answering was my heart. It was pissed the fuck off thinking that she lied to me about how good of a guy he truly was. I'd asked her about him before I went to the hotel room with him.

She said he was an amazing detective, and reminded her a lot of Curt, a man that Conti and she had worked with for years. Explaining how the past few weeks she'd grown to care for him as a big brother and that she trusted him with her life, was a shocker since she doesn’t tend to trust people easily. Those revelations are what had me assuming she would lie for him if I asked her about Maddison and Mari. People lie for their co-workers often, especially ones they feel are like family.

Cutting ties with her without saying a word, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And now one of the worst things I’ve ever done. All because I was too chicken-shit to talk about that night with her. Now, I’m unsure how to make it right with not only her, but also with Conti.

Conti lifts his sleeping sister off his lap and carries her into the room that Kai’s leading him too. She passed out about fifteen minutes ago after eating a bit of food. Myla’s getting her kids down as well. Which leaves me trying to decide if I can make it out of the house and to mine before he’s done getting her settled for a short nap.

“Don’t even think about leaving,” Kai says as I start to move. “You two need to talk, and the sooner you do, the better. This man changed your world, and you left all because of a conversation that should have happened but didn’t.”

“Changed her world? Really? She crushed mine. She said all she needed to when she called my sister special that night,” Conti growls as he re-enters the room.

Confusion fills my mind as I try to figure out what the fuck he’s talking about. It hits me that he got things confused that night after the reception.

Fuck, Kai’s right. We’re going to need to talk.

 

CONTI

 

Hearing Kai tell her that we need to talk brings back all the anger I felt from that one night when I tried to talk to her.

“No, I didn’t . . . I mean, I know it sounds like I meant it as an insult but really, Conti, I had no idea who Mads was, or that she had Autism,” Crystal's sweet voice floats softly to me. My head slowly turns in her direction as I take a seat across from her. From the corner of my eye, I notice Kai exiting the room.

“Really,” I bark at her. “You’re friends with Brittany. You’re telling me that you didn’t ask her about me? She told me you did.” I’m done with this. She’s lying, and she knows I have to know that by now.

“I only asked her if it was a good idea to spend time with you.” Her arms wrap around her middle and something in me wants to snatch her into my arms. Need like never before starts to take ahold of me and it causes me to question everything that I heard.

Could she be telling the truth?

“That morning,” she continues. “I heard you say Mari, and I immediately thought you were married with how concerned you were. Then hearing you talk to Mads . . . well that confirmed my suspicions. At least, in my mind it did. I didn’t want to be the other woman. That’s why I left.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that. But what does that have to do with the fact that you could have asked Brittany who they were? Or what you meant when you sneered out the word special like it disgusted you? I can’t be with someone who isn’t willing to accept my sister.” The tear that starts to run down her face has me itching to rush to her side.

“Yeah, I would’ve called Brittany, but I figured she would lie for you since you both are so close.” Her hand reaches up and wipes away the tears. Standing, she stares at me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know and shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I made a huge mistake that I’ll now regret for the rest of my life.”

My eyes squeeze shut as I realize that everything has changed. Nothing was what she, nor I, thought it was. I didn't know how to begin to even process everything that I'd learned. What she said that night in the parking lot, had me deciding that I was done with women. Living life as a bachelor, and being devoted to taking care of my sister was what I figured my life would be. Nobody else would measure up to Crystal.

“That’s it? You willing to let her get away?” I glance behind me and see Myla in her husband’s arms. Taking in the way he holds her and rubs her belly makes me ache to have that with Crystal. “If you do, then you’re not the man I was beginning to think you are.”

“I want to. God, do I want to,” my voice sounds raw. “But I have to wait until Mads wakes up. If she wakes and I don’t come when she calls out . . . then we have another meltdown on our hands.”

“I’ll go talk to Crystal. Why don’t you and Kai talk while the kids sleep?”

At my nod, she turns in Kai’s arms and whispers into his ear. The kiss he gives her has me turning my head so they can have a moment to themselves.

One thing is for certain, if everything Crystal said is true . . . then she won’t be getting away from me again.