CHAPTER 32
SORAYA
DELIA WAS IN THE SHOWER. It was my one opportunity to see if I could locate my phone. She’d agreed to shut off hers, too. We’d been living without our phones for over twenty-four hours, and I was seriously getting the shakes.
Ransacking her purse, I couldn’t believe it was that easy. She’d simply put it in the most obvious place. She must have trusted me when she obviously shouldn’t have.
The apple appeared on the screen as the phone powered on.
My heart sank.
Several missed messages and texts.
They were all from Graham.
Did something happen?
Scrolling up to the top of the text chain, I swallowed nervously as I read from the beginning.
Where are you?
I need to see you. Are you home?
You lied. I figured it all out.
You forgot one very important thing when you did what you thought was right. You can’t make me stop loving you.
If I’m not happy, my daughter can sense it. She already has. I know you think your life would have been better if your parents were together, but did you ever consider that maybe it would have been worse? If your father were physically present but depressed and withdrawn as he longed for another woman?
My daughter will understand that my love for you doesn’t have anything to do with my love for her. Your father sucked at communicating that. I will learn from his mistakes. You will help me. We will do it together.
My heart started beating out of control when I read the next message.
I just landed in Hermosa Beach. I’m coming to you.
Fuck. You’re not home. Tell me where to find you.
I’ll come back.
I’m at the beach. All I can think about is holding you again, kissing you and smacking that ass so hard for ever believing that I could be better off without you.
The last text made no sense but caused me to chuckle.
I just ran into a man walking a fucking goat.
***
POOR DELIA, HER HEAD WAS FULL of shampoo when I burst into the bathroom rambling on about Graham’s texts. I’d expected her to be angry that I had broken our pact to forego cell phones, but she wasn’t. After she rinsed off, she hopped out of the shower and found me rummaging through my suitcase for something other than the grungy, haven’t-been-washed-in-three-days, sweatpants I was wearing.
“Are you okay?”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made the decision for us. I love him, Del. Graham’s right. I wouldn’t be taking him away from his daughter. I’d be giving her another person in her life who loves her. I’m not Theresa. I want to be involved in Chloe’s life. I realized last night that I wasn’t just mourning the loss of Graham. I’d also lost a little girl I loved.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Drop down on my knees and beg for forgiveness.”
Del snort-laughed. “He’s a man. If you drop to your knees, you won’t be able to beg for anything. Your mouth will be too full.”
She had a point. Stripping out of my clothes, I ran back into the bathroom in a bra and panties to wash up. As I used the facecloth to wash my face, under my arms, and all of the important parts, I spoke to Del. “I owe him such a big apology. I hope I haven’t ruined things for us. He seems to understand why I did it already. I just hope I can make things right again.”
Del leaned against the bathroom door as I brushed my teeth. She was holding some of my clothes and held them out to me when I finished. “Here. Wear this. Your tits bulge out of the top of that shirt. That’ll go a long way toward making it right again.”
I smiled as I slipped on my pants. “These tits are how it all started, ya know.”
“And that feather on your foot. I get credit for some of this, too, since it was my husband who inked you with the identifying mark that helped Mr. Big Prick solve the Soraya puzzle.”
The mention of the tattoo on my foot made me look down. My feet were bare, and I stared at the feather. Graham had gotten the same one inked over his heart. How could I have thought that being without him was good for either of us? We’d been together a little over a month when he’d made my name permanent on his body. He was the most romantic, arrogant, stuck-up suit I’d ever come across in my life. And he was perfect for me.
Washed and dressed, I flitted back into the bedroom in search of some perfume. Del continued to follow me around. “Are you going to text him, or just wait for him to show up here again?”
“I don’t know. What do you think I should do?” My heart was racing with anticipation. If I had to wait much longer to get to him, it might explode.
Del was quiet as I brushed out my hair and slipped on my flip flops. Then she picked up the phone and called Tig. I half listened as she spoke. When she hung up, she grinned at me. “I have a plan for you to reunite with MBP.”
“A plan?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then take off your shirt again.”