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I paused at her words, and it took me a minute to pull myself together.
Parenting was not for the weak.
“She’s got a big heart. But I’m the lucky one. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I question every day if I’m failing her.”
Why was I even sharing this? We hadn’t talked in years, yet it had always just been easy with Presley. Like she understood me in a way that no one else ever had.
“I mean, all you have to do is look at her. She’s bursting with joy. You’ve got yourself one happy little girl. Why would you even question it?”
I scrubbed a hand down my face.
“Remember how you always liked to be at my house when we were teenagers? You liked the stability you felt there. There were two parents and a lot of love under that roof. You said you didn’t have that kind of joy at your house, and I guess it worries me that she doesn’t have that perfect family setting.”
Her gaze narrowed before softening so much that if I were standing up, it would have dropped me to my knees.
“Cage, I didn’t like being at your house because you had two parents. I liked being at your house because it was full of love. My house had two parents, too, but it was filled with staff, and it was run more like a business. You have a pet pig staying here, and your daughter is a bundle of happiness. I’d say you’re giving her exactly what you had as a kid. A fairy-tale childhood. And she knows how much you love her; it’s impossible to miss.”
“All right, that’s enough about me. How about you tell me the truth about what’s going on in your marriage?”
I didn’t know why I’d asked, but I wanted to know.
Needed to know.
She blew out a long breath. “I’m not hurt the way you think I am, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Your husband knocks up his assistant and the whole world knows, and you aren’t hurt? That doesn’t sound like you. I know you’re strong, but you always had the capacity to feel things deeply.”
“Maybe you don’t know me anymore.” Her expression hardened, lips in a straight line, and I could tell she was trying to keep it together.
“You might be right. But not being hurt doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
At that, her shoulders sagged the slightest bit, and her eyes welled with emotion. “I didn’t have a very happy marriage, Cage. Ironically, I ended up living in a home that was similar to the one I’d grown up in.”
Presley had hated that her parents had a notably loveless marriage. It was more of an arrangement. Her father tried, and he was a good guy, but her mother was not a warm person. They appeared to be wealthy people living their own lives and throwing money at their daughter to overcompensate for their lack of family. She’d always been drawn to my family. My parents. My siblings.
Me.
My chest tightened at her words, because as much as I hated the idea of her with someone else, I hated the idea of her being sad or lonely more.
I reached for her hand, and my eye caught on a tiny tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It looked to be a small bird.
Raven.
I forced my gaze back up to meet hers. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know that all you ever wanted was a big family.”
She shook her head and shrugged. “Well, in his defense, he tried. He tried harder than I did, if I’m being honest. I mean, outside of having an affair. I didn’t want kids, and he did, but things were fractured long before that.”
“You always wanted kids. What changed?”
“I rushed into marriage because I was hurting.” She pulled her hand away from mine and straightened her shoulders. “It was the end of a long-time fairy tale when you and I imploded.”
Her words startled me because she appeared to move on so quickly from where I was sitting at the time.
“You didn’t wait long to get married.” My tone was harsh because the sting was still there. All these years later.
“Well, you were a new dad. That ship had sailed. We just hadn’t pulled the bandage all the way off before that. Are you really going to point the finger at me?”
“Fuck, Presley. It was a messed-up time. I don’t think either of us knew what to do. Things don’t always work out the way you expect, but I think we’re way past pointing the finger.”
