Garnet Flats (The Edens)

Weren’t confessions supposed to make you feel better? I’d expected to feel lighter after confiding in Talia. But there was no relief. I was fucking miserable.

The pit in my stomach felt miles deep. My head throbbed and I couldn’t focus. This morning’s breakfast had come up ten minutes after it had gone down.

It reminded me a lot of the days after our breakup. The days when I’d hardly been able to get out of bed. Lying to her, telling her I was marrying Vivienne, had been unbearable. But the real agony had come later, when I’d gone to Vivienne’s apartment and found Talia’s room empty.

The walls had been bare. The carpet clean with vacuum tracks. The coconut and citrus scent already fading.

Vivienne had found me in that room, standing in the middle of the space. Lost and heartbroken, knowing I’d never see Talia again. Knowing that the blame was mine.

I’d stood in that empty room for hours, reliving the breakup. Hearing the lies that had spewed from my mouth. Wondering how she could have believed them so easily.

I have feelings for Vivienne I can’t keep ignoring.

She’s the one.

I’m asking her to marry me.

Utter filth to drive Talia away.

I’d never forgive myself for those words. For those lies. But standing in that empty bedroom, I’d promised myself that if I ever had the chance to make it right, I’d tell Talia the truth.

After she’d basically kicked me out of her place last night, I’d spent the midnight hours tossing and turning on the couch. Replaying the conversation. Reliving the shame. Realizing how livid she was with Vivienne.

When I’d finally given up on sleep, I’d spent the morning tidying up the apartment and cleaning the already clean gym. Six miles on the treadmill hadn’t helped clear my head. Neither had a shower and lunch before I’d climbed in my truck to head into town.

The sun streamed through the clear sky. The river rambled over smooth rocks beyond the road. A beautiful January day in Montana.

Had coming here been a fool’s dream? Had it all been in vain? Seven years I’d spent wishing for this chance.

Had it been doomed from the start?

Talia was right. She’d deserved the truth seven years ago. But the threats Arlo had made still echoed in my mind. Talia’s safety was everything. That was why I’d lied, not because I hadn’t believed she could handle the situation. But instead of sharing the burden, I’d shouldered it.

Another mistake.

There was more to tell Talia. More to explain. But Vivienne had begged for the chance to do that herself. It was part of this arrangement.

Vivienne wanted to tell her side of the story, and I’d promised her that opportunity to try.

So I would keep Vivi’s secret—our secret—unless it meant losing Talia. Then Vivienne would have to deal with my broken promise.

My phone rang, Vivienne’s name flashing on the truck’s center screen. “Hi. Where are you?”

“Almost there.” She had a smile in her voice. “Ten, fifteen minutes.”

“Drive safe. There’s still some snow and ice on the roads outside of town.”

“Jasper is driving and he’s being very careful,” she said, then lowered her voice. “Did you, um, talk to Talia?”

“Yeah.”

“And? How’d it go?”

“Not great.”

She sighed. “She hates us, doesn’t she?”

Did I think Talia hated me? No. She was angry, but hate? I doubted Talia would have had sex with me at the gym if she hated me. Not that I’d share that detail with my ex-wife. But did Talia hate Vivienne? Maybe.

“She needs time to let it sink in,” I said. “And she needs the whole truth.”

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Vivienne asked. “You promised.”

“I know. I didn’t tell her.”

“Thank you.” Vivienne had her own wrongs to right. I wouldn’t steal that moment from her unless I had no other choice. “Still want to meet at the hotel?”

“Yeah. I’m going to grab a coffee, then I’ll see you there.”

“Okay. Bye.”

My fingers tapped on the wheel for the rest of the drive into town, the nervous energy needing an outlet.

Today was another beginning. It would be okay, right? This wasn’t a horrible decision. I was doing the smart thing by moving us here.

My self-assurances landed flat.

Please don’t let this be a mistake.

I made it to town and parked close to the hotel before jogging across the street and walking three doors down to Eden Coffee. I needed more caffeine if I was going to make it through the rest of the afternoon and evening.

A group of teenagers clustered at the counter when I strode inside, kids probably enjoying the last day of winter break before school started again tomorrow.

Would she like this town? Would she like the gym? I’d been so focused on getting the place in decent shape I hadn’t let myself worry over those questions. But she was almost here and now nothing I’d done seemed like enough.

The furniture I’d bought was nice but it wasn’t super expensive. The bedroom was half the size of what she had in Vegas. There was a single movie theater in this town, and it was nothing like the eighteen-screen cinema close to our neighborhood.

“Does the movie theater here have peanut M&M’s?” I asked the teenager in front of me in line. She loved getting a large popcorn and dumping in a box of peanut M&M’s.

“Huh?” The teenager looked me up and down.

“Never mind,” I muttered.

We’d sneak candy into Quincy’s theater if necessary. We’d have a good life. A simple life.

And maybe, if I could score just one more miracle, that life would include Talia.

The teenagers shuffled out of the way, their arms laden with pastries and lattes.

“Americano, please,” I told the barista, glancing past her. Was Lyla here? But if Talia’s sister was working today, she wasn’t out front.

I’d just fished a twenty from my pocket when a hand clamped down on my shoulder. I turned, my face splitting into a huge grin when I saw Jasper at my side.

“Hey.” I gave him a quick hug and back slap. “You were fast. Thought I’d see you at the hotel.”

“I dropped off Vivi so she could get checked in, then parked. Figured I’d find you here and I need some coffee too. That was a long-ass drive.”

“Tell me about it.” I chuckled. “It’s good to see you. Thanks for coming. And thanks for driving up with Vivi. I felt better knowing you were in the car too.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

I nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“We’re really doing this?”

“We’re really doing this. Back to the basics. On everything. Life. Training.”

He smirked. “You’re too old and too rich for basics.”

“Probably.” I laughed. “But it’s worth a shot.”

“Could I get a black coffee?” he asked the barista.

I glanced to the door, ready to get to the hotel. “Vivienne said ten or fifteen minutes. You made fast time.”

“Anxious to get out of that car,” he said, taking his coffee from the barista and giving me a nod of thanks when I paid for the cup. “How’s it going with Talia?”

“Not great,” I admitted as we walked outside and headed across the street. “But the fight’s not over yet. I’m not giving up.”

“This is where she grew up?” He glanced around, taking in all of Main. “It’s quaint. Definitely not like Vegas.”

“Which adds to the appeal.”

“Think you’ll get restless in a town this small?” he asked.

“Nope.” I’d never cared for neon lights and swanky crowds. Traffic was a pain in the ass and there were too many bad memories in Vegas. “Glacier National Park is close. This summer we’ll have to go hiking. There are a couple bars on Main, one on each end. Not exactly a nightclub on the strip, but they’ve got cold beer. Maybe I’ll take up fishing.” I’d never been fishing.

“I’m in for the hiking and cold beer. Not sold on the fishing but ask me again later.”

“Will do.”

Jasper would only be in Quincy temporarily. He’d found a vacation rental to stay in while he helped me train, an A-frame cabin on the outskirts of town. After the fight was over in March, I expected him to stay in Vegas while I returned to Montana. Not sure how that would work for future training but I’d keep him on as my trainer for as long as he wanted the job.

Jasper’s Yukon was parked next to my truck. I quickened my steps as we approached the hotel, eager to get inside.

We were just about to the hotel’s front doors when two women rounded the corner of the brick building.

I came to a dead stop.

Shit. Lyla hadn’t been in the coffee shop, because she’d been with Talia.

Why wasn’t Talia at the hospital? She’d said last night she had a twelve-hour shift today. She shouldn’t be downtown. She couldn’t be downtown, not yet. I didn’t want her bumping into Vivienne, especially after how she’d reacted last night.

“What?” Jasper stopped when he realized I wasn’t moving. Then he followed my gaze as Lyla and Talia passed by the hotel’s front doors, walking our way.

Talia glanced up, and the moment her blue eyes met with mine, my heart skipped. Pretty sure it always would where this woman was concerned.

She was dressed in scrubs and tennis shoes. Her black coat was zipped up and her hair was in a ponytail. Her stride changed, slowed for a couple of steps, then she closed the distance between us. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Stay inside, Vivi. Stay inside that hotel. Please.

Talia and I stared at each other, the rest of the world becoming a blur, hazy on the edges.

“You okay today?” I asked.

She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m mad. I’m frustrated. It’s a lot to take in.”

And there was more. “Can we talk? Tonight? Please.” I wanted to at least warn her that Vivienne was in town.

“Okay. I’ll be at the hospital until seven.”

“I’ll come over around eight.”

Jasper cleared his throat, and I tore my eyes from Talia’s. He and Lyla were studying us both.

Lyla was scowling. The glare she sent my way was the one I’d expected from the start. Talia must have told her about me. Thank fuck. I’d rather be an enemy than a nameless stranger.

“Talia Eden, meet Jasper Vale,” I said. “My trainer and friend.”

He held out a hand, shaking hers. Then did the same for Lyla. “Jasper.”

“Lyla.” She smiled for him, but when she faced me again, that icy glare was back. Lyla could rake me over the coals later. When we weren’t within fifty feet of Vivienne.

“Tonight?” I asked Talia again.

She nodded, then she and Lyla took a step, ready to pass us on the sidewalk.

Except a voice rang out from behind them. The hotel’s door was pushed open by a little girl.

My little girl.

“Daddy!”

Kadence streaked down the sidewalk, her chestnut hair streaming behind her as she raced my way with a beaming smile that had lit up every one of my dark days.

I thrust my coffee into Jasper’s free hand just in time to catch my daughter as she launched herself into my arms. “Hi, little bug. Oh, I missed you. So, so much.”

“Missed you too.” She hugged me so tight around my neck it was a chokehold.

There were eyes on us, but I held on to Kadence, breathing her in. Never again would I go this long without her. The daily calls and FaceTimes hadn’t been enough.

I kissed her temple, then set her down, crouching so we were eye to eye. “How was the trip?”

“Really, really long.”

“Where’s your mom?”

Kadence hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Inside.”

I glanced past her, not seeing Vivienne. “Does she know you came out here?”

“No, but I saw you from inside the windows, so I thought it was okay.”

“Kadence, you can’t leave a building without telling her.”

“It was an accident.”

That was her excuse for everything these days. It was an accident. We’d be working on the difference between accidents and mistakes.

I touched her cheek and stood, holding out my hand for hers. If Vivienne noticed Kaddie was gone, she’d freak.

“Let’s go inside.” I was about to take a step, when I saw Talia’s face.

The color had left her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and her mouth parted, shock etched on her beautiful face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Talia stared at Kadence like my daughter was more of a surprise than anything I’d told her last night.

Wait. Hadn’t she known about Kaddie? I’d talked about my daughter, hadn’t I? I was sure I’d mentioned her. Our conversations streamed through my mind too fast to analyze but the sinking in my gut was telling. Mostly, we’d talked about the past. I’d been focused on explaining the time before Kaddie was born.

I’d just assumed Talia knew. She had to know.

How many times had I googled Talia over the years? How many times had I gone to the Quincy Memorial Hospital’s website just to look at her photo in the staff directory? How many times had I pulled up her Instagram account to look at the profile picture?

At some point in seven years, she’d done the same for me, right?

My social media accounts were public because my manager and agent had encouraged me to build a following. To have a presence. Most of my photos were of me in the gym, training, but every now and then, I’d add something personal.

And usually those photos or stories were of Kadence.

If Talia didn’t know about my daughter, that meant . . .

She’d blocked me out completely.

“You didn’t know,” I murmured.

Talia didn’t so much as blink.

Fuck.