Page 12 of Manhattan Kiss

“Chloe! Can we focus.”

“Okay,” she says. “What’s going on?”

I give her the rundown about how Brian wants me to go to a conference and how it would be good to meet up with ABC Inc.

“That isn’t it,” Chloe says.

“I really think it is.”

“It’s really not,” she says.

“How do you know?” I bark.

“Why on earth do you think you’re calling me? You’re calling me because you’re pissed off and you can’t figure out why. And I can always work it out. I know you better than I know myself. What happened before your call with Brian?”

“I spilled coffee on the girl.” The more I think about it, the worse I feel. I basically blamed her for not looking where she was going when I ran into her. And I covered her in coffee. “I was a dick to her.”

“Aha!” she says, like she’s in a comedy mystery. “So it wasn’t Brian. You were in a bad mood before that. And it wasn’t the girl, because you were a self-confessed dick to her.”

“I was annoyed that I spilled my coffee,” I say, my tone verging on a whine.

“Not so annoyed that you’d be a dick to the person you spilled it on. I know you, remember. What happened before that? You handed Willow over to Gabby, right?”

I pull in a breath. My morning hadn’t gone as I’d been expecting. Sundays are always the same. I leave the townhouse just before eight and I go and drop my bag off at the hotel, then I head to the office. I don’t have a conversation with my ex about her relationship status.

I hope Willow took the news well. I hope she doesn’t think that this means anything will change. Because it won’t. I won’t let it.

“So, was everything okay at the townhouse?” my sister asks.

“Gabby got engaged.” I push my hands through my hair. Of course I know that’s why I’m pissed off. I just want Chloe to tell me I don’t need to worry. “You think that’s why I’m pissed off?”

“Oh god, every time I think you might be smart, I’m reminded that you’re an idiot. Of course that’s why you’re pissed off!”

“But why? It’s not like I want her back.”

“So you thought you’d call me to externally process the situation?” I can see her roll her eyes through the phone. “Maybe part of you does. Or maybe part of you just wishes you wanted her more. I think you still wish the three of you could be a family.”

Chloe probably has a point. Even though my setup with Gabby works, I would never have designed my daughter’s life like this.

“And Willow’s going to take it well, right?” I ask. That’s the real question I want answered.

“Willow loves Ray,” Chloe says. “But you need to be prepared.” Her tone’s serious, and I fiddle with the side of my phone, to make sure the volume is up as high as it can be. “Gabby’s engagement has implications for the way you and Gabby arrange things with Willow.”

My stomach falls to the floor. “No it doesn’t. Why would it?”

“Deacon…” She says it like I know I’m not being honest with myself.

“We’ve agreed to this arrangement. Why would things need to change?” Gabby and I both agreed that this was how things would be until Willow left home. She made that commitment. That’s why I gave Gabby a huge down payment on her townhouse, despite her having family money. I wanted everything to be set in stone. And it has been. Everything works perfectly as it is. It doesn’t need to change.

“Deacon, she’s at least going to want to spend every night with her husband.”

“Not necessarily.” Even to my own ears, I sound defensive.

“Maybe they’ll be happy to come to the townhouse with Willow.”

“I haven’t agreed to that. Ray can’t just move in.” As I say it, I realize I’m probably being a little naïve. But Gabby has to talk to me about stuff. She can’t just assume. We had an agreement. I’m not suddenly okay with that agreement being shredded just because Gabby’s decided to upend her life and get married.

“He’s going to be Gabby’s husband. Willow knows him and likes him.”