CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Nora
“OH SWEETIE, WHAT happened?” Zoe asks, seeing my tear stained face standing at her door.
“I saw Hank with another woman.” I sniffle. This has been one of the worst days of my life. I barely made it out of the house before I broke down in tears again. I’m surprised the neighbors couldn’t hear me crying in my car as I was driving away. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but it was the right thing. I can’t go through the heartache and lies again.
Zoe takes the suitcase from my hand and leads me inside her apartment. She leaves my bag by the door then walks into the kitchen and grabs a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Sit down and tell me everything that happened.”
I take a seat on the couch. Zoe hands me a glass of red wine and sits down next to me. I twist the stem of the glass between my fingers, staring down at the crimson liquid rippling inside the glass. “I went to meet Hank for lunch this afternoon, and, when I got there, he was sitting at the table with another woman. She had her hands on him and then . . .” My voice cracks and the image of her kissing his cheek flashes in my head.
“Then what?” she asks from behind her glass.
“She kissed him.” As the words come out my heart breaks a little more.
“That bitch kissed him, like straight up put her tongue down his throat?” She slams her glass down on the coffee table. “I’ll cut the bitch,” she growls.
“She didn’t put her tongue down his throat. She kissed him on the cheek.”
Zoe’s face turns from angry to confused. “She just kissed him on the cheek. That seems pretty platonic. What did Hank say about it?”
“I didn’t give him the chance to lie to me,” I reply.
“This doesn’t make sense, Nora. He knew you were coming to meet him for lunch, so why would he risk getting caught if he was cheating on you?” she asks.
“Charlie openly flirted with women when I was standing right next to him.”
“Nora, I love you and will always support you, but do you think you are overreacting to all of this? Hank doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would ask a woman to marry him then turn around a day later and cheat on her.”
“Zoe, I saw what I saw, and I’m not going to risk giving my heart to another man only to have him tear it apart again.” How dare she tell me I’m overreacting, she saw first-hand what Charlie did to me. She was the first person to tell me what he was doing behind my back. Now here she is defending another cheat.
“If you keep running away from guys who talk to other women, then you are going to spend the rest of your life alone. You need to give Hank a chance to explain what happened. I don’t think it’s as bad as you think it is,” she says.
“Why are you defending him?” I snap.
“With Charlie I could tell with one look that he was a cheat and he would always be one. I look at Hank and I see a man who loves and adores you. That man worships the ground you walk on. Don’t let what that asshat Charlie did to you keep you from getting the man of your dreams. Just give Hank the chance to explain his side of the story. For all you know, that woman could have been someone he helped at the precinct and she was just thanking him.”
“I don’t know. I just need some time to clear my head.” I let out a sigh. She might be right. It could have been an innocent kiss on the cheek. I will never know if I don’t give Hank the chance to explain.
“Stay here as long as you need.” Just then, there is a knock on the door. “Who the hell could that be?” Zoe gets up from the couch and walks over to the door. “Oh shit, Hank.”
My head snaps toward the door just as Hank pushes his way inside. My glass of wine falls out of my hand as I stumble up from the couch in surprise. “Hank, what the hell are you doing here?” He barrels straight for me with an intense, dark, possessive look in his eyes. He grabs me by the hand and lifts me off the ground, throwing me over his shoulder. “Hank, put me down right now,” I shout.
“Nope, I am taking you back home. You can kick and scream all you want, it won’t make a difference. You’re mine, and I’m taking back what’s mine,” he says with a possessive growl as he carries me toward the door.
I look up and see Zoe giggling at my current situation. “Zoe, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me?”
“Sorry sis, you’re on your own.” She waves at me. “I’ll drop your stuff off tomorrow,” she shouts as we walk out into the hallway.
“Hank, seriously, put me down. I promise I won’t run away.” Where would I run? Obviously, he can find me no matter where I go.
“I like you right where you are.” He tightens his grip around my legs.
The elevator doors open and I can hear people inside chuckle at the sight of us, and what a sight we must be. Thank God I chose to wear pants and not a dress today.
Hank comes to a stop in the parking garage. I hear the car door open, and the next thing I know, I’m in the back of Hank’s police car. “Seriously Hank, your squad car? I’m not a criminal.” He thought of everything.
“You already ran from me once, and I didn’t want to take any chances. You are going to sit back there and listen to what I have to say.” The engine roars to life and, as Hank pulls out into traffic, I accept my fate. I will give him the chance to explain himself, I owe him that much.
“The woman you saw me with was my cousin, Lucy. She’s my mother’s niece, and the only one in my family, other than my mom, that I like and respect. I helped Lucy and her daughter after her husband passed away. My mom gave her the startup capital to open her coffee shop, Lucy’s Books and Coffee.” As the words come out, I feel like a gigantic idiot. “I wanted her to meet you and what you saw was her congratulating me on finding you. You know, the woman I love. THE only woman I love. I will admit, I should have given you fair warning about what you were walking into, and I am sorry for that.” He looks up at me through the rear view mirror. “I love you, Nora, and when I promised you that I would never do anything to hurt you, I was telling you the truth.”
I am a fool, a fool who almost let the most amazing man slip through her fingers. “Hank, stop the car,” I demand. I need out of the back of this car. I need to hold him, tell him what an idiot I’ve been.
“I’m not going to let you run from me again, Nora.”
“Just let me out of the fucking car Hank.” I slam my hand against the bulletproof glass divider. Hank brings the car to a stop in an alley and climbs out of the driver’s seat. He reluctantly opens the door, and I leap out into his arms.
“I’m so so sorry. I let my past with Charlie cloud my judgement.” I sob into his shoulder.
“I should have told you we were meeting with Lucy. It was stupid of me, especially after everything that went down with that asshole.” He holds me tight in his arms and I feel safe again.
“I was so scared, and all I wanted to do was run to protect myself. Except, I was running away from the one thing in this world that makes feel safe. I don’t like feeling this way. I saw you with a strange woman and I freaked out. I should have talked to you.”
“I don’t want you running every time I talk to women, it’s kind of a part of my job. If you start to feel like running, I want you to come to me and we will work it out together. We’re a team now Nora, and we need to work together if we are going to make this work,” he says. He tracked me down, carried me out of my sister’s apartment, and locked me in the back of his police car. If that doesn’t scream love, I don’t know what does.
“I promise, no more running. Can we go home now?”
“God yes. There is a little girl anxiously awaiting your return.” I didn’t just hurt Hank by leaving, I hurt Colby. I promised her I was going to be her new mommy. She had one mother leave her at the hospital when she was a baby, and just when she opens up to the possibility of a new mom, I run. I hope she will be able to forgive me.
* * *
I stand outside Colby’s bedroom door with my stomach in knots and my palms sweating at my sides. I thought facing Hank was going to be hard, but this has nothing on that. “Colby, it’s Nora, can I come in?” I ask through the wooden door.
The door slowly creaks open, and Colby’s head appears through the opening. My heart sinks knowing how much I hurt her. I drop to me knees and take a deep breath. “Colby, I’m so sorry for leaving the way I did. I was really sad and that is no excuse for what I did. Adults make stupid decisions sometimes. I promise you, I will never leave you again. Will you forgive me?” I ask, holding my breath. I wouldn’t blame her if she hates me forever.
Colby steps out of her room and stands in front of me. I can’t get a read from her face. “Did Daddy say he was sorry for hurting your feelings?” she asks.
“He did, but it wasn’t all his fault. I was being silly and left before we could talk. We worked everything out and I’m not going anywhere,” I promise. I’m never leaving Hank and Colby again. They are my family, and I can’t let my fears take me from them again.
“Are you still going to be my mommy?”
“I want to be your mommy, if you will still have me.”
She steps closer to me, filling the space between us and slings her arms around my neck. “I wuv you, Miss Nora.”
“I love you, too, my sweet girl,” I say then kiss her cheek.