“Well, I am.”
“Then why have you been here for the past two weeks and not stayed with Rhodes at all? Did something happen?”
“No . . .”
“Dee . . .”
“What?” I snap.
Flynn’s eyes soften. “Talk. To. Me.”
“I can’t. Harvey will come in soon, and—”
“Our son is in the shower. So, you’ve got a good ten minutes until I have to drag him out to save all the hot water. What’s wrong? You’ve been . . . not yourself.”
“It’s dumb.”
“Nothing’s dumb if it’s bothering you.”
“Okay. You’ll think it’s dumb.”
“Try me.”
I tilt my head. “Aren’t you going out tonight?”
“Nope. So, you’re stuck with me. Now tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help untangle whatever it is that’s tying you up in knots.”
“I’m just being a silly girl who can’t stop thinking that sometimes things are too good to be true.”
“You mean Rhodes?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
I scrunch my nose up. “What do you mean why?”
“I mean exactly that. Why are things too good to be true?”
“You wanna know?”
“Wouldn’t have asked otherwise, sweetheart,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I can’t explain it.”
He huffs out a breath. “Then don’t explain it. Tell me. Break it down. Does he make you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Did something happen that made you unhappy?”
“Well, no, not really . . . Maybe?”
Flynn shakes his head and reaches out to touch my arm. “Now that you have to explain.”
“I’m just struggling with the idea that our situations are different.”
“Us?”
“Well, no. Mine and Rhodes.”
“You’ve lost me. You’re both single with kids. You like each other, you spend time together. Harvey loves seeing them and staying over. I’m not seeing the problem here.”
“Isn’t it strange for you, seeing me move on?”
“It was, but I’ve been waiting for you to get out there and go after what you want for a while. When we spilt up, it was because we loved each other enough to want the best out of life, and we knew that it wasn’t going to happen by staying married. Now, I’ve moved on, but you’ve been in limbo.”
“But—”
“Then you met Rhodes, and I started to see that old Dee that you’d lost over the years. The one who lights up a room whenever she walks into it. The one who smiles at a man and makes his day. You had a new spring in your step, and you seemed like you’d finally found your happy.”
“Flynn . . .”
He shakes his head. “No. You’re missing my point. This isn’t about knowing I couldn’t give you that anymore. That ship has sailed. Rhodes helped you find yourself. He was the kind of happiness you’ve been looking for. And don’t say he’s not, because I know that man loves you. It’s clear as day whenever I see him look at you. So I have one question, and I’m invoking the honesty policy, because we’ve never lied to each other and we’re sure as shit not gonna start now.”
“Okay . . .” I hold my breath as I wait for the proverbial axe to fall.
“Why are you not letting yourself have that? What’s changed?”
I look down at my hands, my mouth suddenly dry as I try to breathe through the tightness in my chest.
“You and I chose to separate. We chose to not be together anymore.”
“And . . .” Then his eyes flash as realization dawns. “You’re shitting me?” he says in disbelief.
“I told you it was dumb.”
“It’s not.” He leans forward and places his finger under my chin, lifting my eyes to meet his. “What’s dumb is that you’re sitting here talking to me when you should be talking to the man in question.”
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“Why?”
“Because what if I’m right? What if he tells me he could never love me as much as he loved Lily? What if—as much as he wants to, as much as he tries—I could never be that woman for him?”
“You’ll never know unless you talk to him, and avoiding the issue is just making it worse because it’s going to fester and turn bad. Don’t let that happen, Dee.”
“I’m trying not to.”
He glances at my phone then back to me. “By making excuses not to see him?”
My eyes jump wide. “How do you—?”
His lips curve into a knowing smile. “’Cause I know you, Dee. You don’t spend over a decade with someone and not know everything about them. Rhodes has had four months. He’s still learning about all the little nuances that make up Delilah Baker, and unless you stop avoiding him and start talking, that man has no idea what’s going on in that cute little head of yours. Right now, he’s probably just as confused as you are and wondering what he’s done to push you away.”
“But he hasn’t done anything.”
Flynn leans in, eyes still locked to mine. “Exactly,” he says before moving to his feet. “Now. I’m going to save our water-heating bill from further damage, and you can think about the fact that maybe—this time—your issue, while valid, is also all in your mind. You can’t work through it without talking to the man himself. Believe me, putting your head in the sand doesn’t solve anything. We both know that. We did it for the whole last year of our marriage when we knew things had changed but couldn’t admit it. Don’t make the same mistake twice, Dee. Rhodes is everything I could’ve ever wanted for you. Let him be the one to fix this.”
“You mean fix me?”
“Whatever it takes, sweetheart. But this time, I can’t do it. It’s down to you. Any answers you need, he’s the only one who can give them to you. Not to freak you out even more, but I’m starting to think he’s the only man who can give you everything you’ve ever wanted. And, Dee?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted for you.”
Chapter 21
Rhodes
Enough is enough. I’ve tried to give Dee space. I’ve tried to be understanding. But after almost two weeks of Dee not being herself, it’s time to call her out on it. I’ll use our damn honesty policy
