I applied some make-up, and then attempted to cover up the hickey with said make-up. It was even more painfully obvious. Sighing, I shoved all my hair to that part of my neck and left the bathroom.

Jaxon wasn’t in bed or even in the room. I hadn’t even heard him leave. Prolonging my time in the room, I made the bed and smoothed out the sheet wrinkles that Jaxon had indented into his side of the mattress. I leaned in and smelled his scent, closing my eyes briefly at the surreal feeling it gave me. God, I was getting in too deep.

I left the room and descended the stairs. The smell of bacon hit my nose, and I followed it into the kitchen where Lucinda was standing in front of the stove top, frying up a shocking amount of bacon strips.

“Good morning,” I said half-heartedly.

She turned around and cheerfully gave me a hug. “Good morning, darling. How was your sleep?”

“It-it was… Um… It was good.” I turned away from her curious eyes. “Daniel, the guy I’m seeing, is on his way over. I didn’t know whether it was okay to give him the address…”

She smiled. “Of course it’s okay. I’d love to meet him.”

I nodded. “Okay, well, he’s coming so… Not like there’s, you know, a way out of this inevitable meet and greet. So, yeah, he’s… on his way.” My nerves were through the roof and I was rambling like a mad man. “I’m sure you’ll love him because he’s a really great guy.” A guy I just cheated on. “He treats me really well.” And I just threw that away by cheating on him. “So…Fuck!” I plopped down on a stool around the kitchen island, digging my hands into my hair.

A hand patted my back. “Are you alright, darling?”

“No.”

“What’s happened?”

“You don’t want to know, Lucinda.”

“Tell me.”

“How much of a screw up I am? What mistake do I even begin with? There’s just so many.”

Before she could respond, the doorbell rang. My breath caught in my throat, and I looked up at Lucinda with horrified eyes. “Can you come with me?”

I knew I was freaking her out, but I needed her help. I couldn’t face him right away on my own. I might have died on the spot with guilt.

She nodded. “Of course.”

I let her lead the way to the front door, and I half hid behind her as my stomach continued to sink.

She opened the door and I peered up at the dazzling black haired, brown eyed man dressed in a comfortable pair of trousers and flattering button up shirt with a dark green jacket over. When he saw me, he broke into a huge smile. There was always something so calming about his face, and my nerves died down enough for me to smile back.

“Hey beautiful,” he said.

“Hey, come in!” When he did, I motioned to Lucinda. “This is Lucinda Barlow. I’ve known her all my life. She’s… the best woman I’ve ever known. My second mom.” I didn’t understand why I was explaining that part to him immediately. Maybe because I omitted telling him all about her existence all the years we’d known each other?

Lucinda smiled at my introduction, genuinely touched by my words and gave him a friendly hug.

“This is Daniel,” I told her.

“Yes, you’ve told me all about your lawyer boyfriend,” she exclaimed. His eyebrows rose surprisingly at the word ‘boyfriend’ and I cringed inwardly. “Nice to meet you, Daniel.”

“Nice to meet you too, Lucinda.”

“I’m making us all bacon and eggs, so go on and have a seat while I continue cooking it up.” She hurried back to the kitchen, leaving us by the door.

His smile broadened as he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up off the ground. “I missed you so damn much,” he said, hugging me tightly against him. He set me down and immediately kissed me. There was a hasty eagerness behind it that took me off guard. I can’t say I was just as eager.

“I missed you too,” I smiled against his mouth. This guy gave me so much warmth, and he was so… pleasant. No glaring or snapping. “But I’m really unimpressed you didn’t tell me you were coming.”

He laughed softly. “I didn’t want to wake you at four in the morning to tell you I was on the way. Besides, I’ve been worried about you. You’ve got too much on your plate to handle alone.”

“Well, I appreciate you making the drive.”

He began tucking my hair behind my ear, and I recoiled, fear stricken that he might see the mark on my neck. I played it off by giving him a quick kiss, ignoring his scrunched eyebrows and confused eyes as I led him down the hallway and into the kitchen.

“So are you out of that motel?” he asked me as we entered.

“Yeah, I spent the night here in the guest bedroom upstairs.”

“Good, I’m glad you actually listened for once.”

“Yeah, I should do that more often.” I gulped, and I figured he couldn’t make out the seriousness in that statement. No way did I want to mention last night’s attack. “Have a seat, and I’ll help Lucinda out.”

He sat on a stool around the massive island, and watched me carefully as I pulled out the plates. Even pulling out the fucking plates was a nightmare because I didn’t know whether to grab three or four. Jaxon hadn’t showed up. Maybe he didn’t intend on joining. God, I hoped so. I kept it at three and set them on the island. Then I helped set the paper towels down as Lucinda moved every bacon strip over top of them. I was hungry, but the thought of putting anything in my belly when I had such a huge confession to make to Daniel in a matter of hours made me feel more sick than hungry.

“You have a lovely house,” remarked Daniel.

“Thank you!” replied Lucinda, setting the tongs down as she started on cracking the eggs. “I think it’s too big. If it had been up to me, I would have gotten a little cosy house somewhere quiet.”

“Who was it up to?” My heart tightened at his question.

“My son, Jaxon. It was his surprise two years ago and, well, since he enjoys swinging by his mom’s place regularly, I’d like to think the space was a good thing after all.” It was a joke that had Daniel chuckling and me quivering.

“Talking about me, are we?” said Jaxon as he entered the kitchen.

For me, the whole atmosphere was disturbed by his presence. It had been soft and carefree, now it was tense and joyless and filled with Daniel’s sudden curiosity.