AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s important to her?” he asks.
“That’s a good question. Let me think.”
For the next thirty minutes, Grayson and I strategize my desperate, last chance effort at saving something special. When we finally hang up, I get straight to work. I’ve never backed down from a challenge. This is just a different type of negotiation, and this time I’m putting everything on the table.
???
The next morning, I knock on the door of Sloane’s house. A truly massive man opens the door, powerful arms folded across his chest. It’s her father. While hints of grey sprinkle his hair, it doesn’t look like age has slowed him down at all. It takes a concerted effort not to back down from his glare.
“Greetings, Mr. Sullivan.”
His eyes narrow. “Are you the reason my daughter cried last night?”
“Yes, sir. I came here to apologize.”
He grunts and looks me up and down. I’m pretty sure he’s considering whether or not he should beat me to a pulp. My heart pounds as I wait for his response.
“Sloane is in the backyard with Rosie. I’ll be watching. If you hurt her again…” He lets his sentence end, but it’s easy to fill in the blank. If I hurt Sloane, her father is going to fuck me up.
And I would deserve it.
“Follow me.” He leads me around the side of the house through a gate in the fence. He gestures for me to go through first. As he probably intended, I’m uncomfortable having him at my back.
As we round the back corner of the house, I come to a halt at the beautiful sight in front of me. Sloane faces partly away from me where she sits on the lawn slightly downhill from the house. Her long hair covers her face as she pets the black tuxedo cat in her lap.
“Baby girl.” Mr. Sullivan’s voice easily projects over the distance. “This man says he came here to apologize. I can toss him out or you can hear him out. It’s up to you. If he stays, I’ll be right here on the porch.”
Sloane looks at me. For a minute, I’m lost in the sadness of her sapphire eyes. I have no idea what my expression is, but after a minute of searching my face, she gives a small nod.
“I’ll be right here, baby girl.” Her father points to the porch with a supportive smile. His expression changes when he leans into my face and hisses. “Don’t screw this up.” I hear the “or else,” and stumble forward as he slaps his hand on my back, pushing me in the direction of his daughter.
I sit down on the grass in front of her, not caring if my suit gets ruined. She keeps her head down, petting the cat and silently waiting for me to begin.
“Sloane, I made a terrible mistake. I apologize.”
She still doesn’t look at me, but I see a tear run down her cheek.
Shit. It’s not enough. Internally, I’m topsy turvy. This is the first time I’ve ever apologized to someone and I’m fucking it up. But a lifetime of proper behavior and protecting myself creates habits that are difficult to break. In desperation, I fall back on my default persona—asshole.
“Your brother, Liam, called me. He’s a bit perturbed. However, I was able to mollify him somewhat when I explained my intent to come here and apologize.
“Paige refused to come to work today, even though we’re already behind schedule.
“I reached out to Penny earlier today. She accepted my regrets, as she should.”
That one gets a response. She doesn’t look up, but she asks, “You reached out to Penny?”
“I did. We had an interesting conversation. I believe her mother was also there when I called.”
I hear a tiny puff of laughter from behind the veil of hair. Apparently, Sloane has some familiarity with Penny’s mother and both of their tempers.
I wait for a response, but continue on when she remains silent. “Actually, it was a very productive interaction. Not only did I call to express my regrets, but I decided to adopt the kittens.”
Sloane’s head raises in surprise at my admission.
I allow a small smile as I continue. “The adoption rate Penny quoted was a tad bit higher than I expected. One bit of good news she shared—she now has plans to expand her services.”
Sloane’s lips quirk up on the side. When she notices, she immediately looks away as if remembering she doesn’t want to share her smiles with me, not anymore.
