“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I said gruffly, trying to cover the emotion of rejection.
She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.
“How was the job?”
She lifted one shoulder. “Normal.”
“How are you?”
Her gaze narrowed in on mine and she pursed her lips. “As you’d expect.”
“Florrie-”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, turning on her heel.
“Will I see you at home?”
She looked over her shoulder, but not really looking at me. “Sure.”
She was gone just a second later, and I was fucking destroyed. I felt the tears building, but I swallowed them back when I heard the murmurs outside the door. I wouldn’t let someone walk in on me fucking bawling my eyes out. I’d cried over Florrie in the past in front of Cap, not at all ashamed of those tears, but to have it happen twice was just embarrassing. The door swung open and Cap walked in.
“So, I’m guessing all that bullshit about Reid was to taunt me.”
I snorted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You wanted the fight, and you knew I would give it to you.”
“Not much of a fight, was it?”
His eyes narrowed in on me and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I think that was the point. You just wanted to forget, feel something else, right?”
I didn’t say anything. It hadn’t started out that way. It was all a mistake to say anything, but once I knew what was coming, yeah, it felt fucking good.
He sighed and sat down in the chair beside me. “Having your friends beat the shit out of you isn’t the way to deal with this. It’s not going to make you forget and it’s not going to fix things with Florrie.”
Again, I just sat there, staring off at the wall. There was nothing left to say.
“Look, you’re off work for another three weeks. Derek and Hunter are gonna be pissed at you, but that’s the way this is now. Stay the fuck home and get better. I’m fucking serious, if I see you in the training center, I’ll drag you out of there myself, and then I’ll leave you in Florrie’s hands. Am I clear?”
“Yeah.”
I hoped that Cap would leave after that, but he stayed right the fuck beside me the rest of the day, working from his computer and glancing at me occasionally. I wanted to be left alone, but this was Cap, and he was worried about me. There was no getting rid of him now. The only thing I could hope for was that when I got out of here, that would be the end of his hovering.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWOFlorrie
I had hoped to be gone when Alec was released from the hospital. I had my bag flung over my shoulder and I was heading out the door, but Maggie was standing on the other side of the door, all three newborns with her. I wasn’t sure what she thought she was doing, but she shoved one of them at me and then helped herself into my house. I stood there with the little munchkin in my hands, trying my best to keep up my kickass demeanor. But the baby was cute, and just a little snuggle wouldn’t hurt. I shut the door and headed back for the living room.
“So, which one am I holding?”
“Um…” She quirked her lips to the side and examined all of them. “That one is definitely Lily. Or Julia.”
“Well, I figured it was one of the girls. You know, pink hat and all.”
“Right, well, they’re both about the same size, so it’s kind of a toss up most days.”
I stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say about that. “You…you don’t know which one this is?”
She shrugged. “Well, I can tell by birthmarks, but when they’re dressed, your guess is as good as mine.”
I stared down at the beautiful little girl and smiled. It made me sad that I would never have this, but I had resigned myself to the fact long ago. It just wasn’t in the cards for me. That’s why my heart had overflowed when I met Reid. He completed our family, but now that was all gone.
“You know, it doesn’t have to be over,” Maggie said, juggling one of the babies in her arms. “I know you think that with Reid being gone, everything’s different now. But it’s not. You still have Alec and you could still have a family.”
“Would it be so easy for you to replace one of your kids?” I snapped.
“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. Maybe you’ll get Reid back, maybe you won’t. But one thing is for sure, if you keep pushing Alec away, you will lose him and he won’t walk back through that door. There’s only so much shit one man can take. Trust me, I’ve been there and it’s not easy to win back that trust once it’s been broken.”
“He broke my trust, not the other way around.”
“You know, there’s never just one person to blame when things go wrong in a relationship. One person can’t be wholly bad. Now, I’m not saying that I’m taking sides, I’m just pointing out that we all have our flaws. But you can work through those issues with Alec. You just have to want things to get better with him.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then be very clear with him about what you want. But be sure, Florrie. Once you say those words, you can’t take them back.”
I stared down at the baby in my arms and whispered my fears that were tearing me up inside. “I don’t know if I can forgive him for taking Reid away from me. I love Alec so much, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at
