Page 125 of The Wrong Groom

I grit my teeth, trying to harden myself. I didn’t have a choice. I tell myself that over and over, like a mantra, but it doesn’t make the knot in my chest loosen.

The front door opens, and Peyton’s voice rings out. “Pepper! We’re home! Where are you?”

Margaret’s voice follows, calm and kind. “Slow down, sweetheart. You’ll trip.”

I set the glass down on the coffee table. On my lap, Pepper stirs, her ears twitching at the sound of Peyton’s voice. She lets out a small, inquisitive meow but doesn’t move from her spot.

“Daddy?” Peyton’s voice carries through the house as her footsteps patter closer. “Are you in here?”

I force myself to sit up straighter, brushing a hand down my face in an attempt to pull myself together. “In the living room.”

Peyton bursts into the room a minute later, her face lighting up when she sees me. She freezes mid-step when her eyes land on Pepper, still curled up on my lap.

“Pepper’s cuddling with you?” she asks in wonder, as if witnessing a rare and magical event. Like she just walked in on me bonding with a unicorn.

“Looks like it,” I reply, attempting a small smile. “She’s been keeping me company.”

Peyton giggles and bounds over to the armchair. She’s still wearing her light-up sneakers. As she leans over to scratch Pepper behind the ears, Margaret appears in the doorway. “Shoes, kiddo.”

“Oh, right.” Peyton straightens up quickly, glancing down at her feet. “Sorry, Miss Maggie!”

She rushes back into the foyer, then returns without her sneakers, her pink socks soundless on the hardwood floor. She jumps up onto the arm of the chair and holds out her hand for Pepper to sniff, grinning when the kitten gives her an approving head bump.

“You’re good to go if you want,” I say to Margaret. “Thanks for everything.”

She gives me a long, appraising look, like she’s weighing something in her mind. I’m not sure how she knows what just happened, but it’s clear that she knows. She’s always had that uncanny sense, the ability to scan me to the core with just a glance.

There’s a softness in her gaze, a quiet understanding, but she doesn’t press me for details. Instead, she nods and steps toward the door.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Margaret calls from the foyer. “I’m just a phone call away.”

When the door closes behind her, Peyton looks up at me with wide eyes. “Daddy, we went to the cat cafe.”

“The cat cafe?” I echo, my words feeling sluggish. “Why go to the cat cafe when you’ve got a cat right here at home?”

“I wanted to see what kind of toys they were playing with,” Peyton tells me. “So that we could get them for Pepper. They had a big wheel that the kitties were running on. And platforms all over the walls for them to climb on.”

“Sounds like a cat paradise.” I scratch Pepper’s chin absent-mindedly, and she lifts her head to allow me access, purring up a storm.

“Do you think Pepper will be lonely by herself?” Peyton asks. “Because all the kitties at the cat cafe are friends, and they cuddled together⁠—”

“She won’t be lonely,” I say. “She’s got her family.”

Family. At the word, I feel as though a ball of lead drops into my stomach. I grimace, turning away so that Peyton won’t see the emotions as they cross my face.

“That’s true,” Peyton says brightly. “I’ll make sure I play with her a ton. And I’ll be like her big kitty friend.”

“How about we go get something together for dinner, Bug?” I start to stand, moving Pepper to the arm of the chair. She lets out a tiny squeak of protest, but she’s so small that it’s easy to shift her off my lap.

“Yes! I’m hungry.” Peyton skips a few steps toward the kitchen, then stops and looks back at me. “Where’s Alexis?”

I freeze. This is the part I was dreading.

Peyton’s only six years old, and she’s already lost so much in her short life. I don’t know how to explain this to her. There’s no way she can possibly understand. Hell, Alexis herself didn’t understand. There’s nothing about this situation that makes sense, and even if it did, that wouldn’t cancel out the hurt it’s sure to cause.

I draw in a slow, deep breath, steeling myself. Then I clear my throat. “Alexis… isn’t here.”

Chapter 41