“Of course, you do. Why not have a drink while we wait? You can tell me all about how Hunter has grown this past month. He seems so much bigger than when I left.”
She opened her mouth to decline the drink when Veronica’s phone rang.
“Excuse me,” she said, striding back to her lounger to grab her cell. “Hello, Walker,” she said when she answered. “How’s work going?”
Clara jerked as if she’d touched a live wire. Walker was calling Veronica?
Unable to help herself, she fished her own phone from her purse and looked at the notifications.
No missed calls. No messages.
“Hunter is beautiful,” Veronica said as she moved back to Clara. “We spent the day getting reacquainted. Yes, yes, we did all that. No, he’s doing just fine. Do you want me to put Emily on the phone to confirm? Good, I promise he’s in safe hands.”
Walker wanted an update on Hunter, and he’d called Veronica. How many times had she said all those same words? His daily check-ins had become routine. Only now it seemed the routine didn’t include her.
Oh my God. She’s right. About all of it.
Walker didn’t need her anymore. Neither did Hunter. They’d be fine now, even if she disappeared. They’d go on to have a happy life as a family. A real family.
The Christmas cards she’d get would be of the smiling couple holding their bouncing baby boy. But the woman at her lover’s side wouldn’t be her. She’d had ten years to catch his eye, and they’d never been more than best friends. Not until circumstances had forced them to adapt.
I’m temporary. Replaceable. Walker was right all along. This was just stress. Just a reaction to our circumstances.
And the real match for Walker had finally shown up. Just as Clara had always feared she would.
“Sounds great,” Veronica said into the phone. “I’ll be waiting. Hurry home.” She hung up the call. “Sorry about that. Where were we? Drink?”
“No,” she whispered, a numbness seeping through her limbs. “No, thank you. I should be going.”
Veronica’s eyes widened. “But Walker will be home in twenty minutes or so.”
“It’s all right,” she said. “You two should have some time together. There’s a lot you need to discuss.”
“That’s true but it doesn’t mean—”
“I think it’s better that I not be here,” she said, her voice growing firmer. “Excuse me. I need to get a few things from my room before I go.”
She turned to leave before her feet rooted her to the ground. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the worried look in Veronica’s eyes. “They are wonderful,” she said, feeling as though she was watching the scene play out at a distance. “Both of them. If you get the opportunity to love them, then treasure it. You’ll never find anyone like Walker or Hunter ever again.”
Veronica nodded solemnly. “I swear to you I won’t mess up again. I will protect my family with everything I have in me.”
“Good.” This time when she started walking she didn’t stop. Not when tears gathered in her eyes, not when she dragged her suitcase from her closet and started throwing all her belongings into it. It took practically no time to pack up her life at Walker’s. Further proof of how temporary a fixture she’d been.
Dumping her armful of toiletries into the suitcase she looked around the suite. That was everything. All her clothes, books, and necessities. The room was sterile once more, ready for its next occupant.
Opening the closet to double-check she hadn’t missed anything, her eyes landed on the shoebox filled with her emergency overnight items. Inside her chest her heart twisted in pain. Reaching down, she took the box with ginger fingers. She’d liked having a tiny mark on his home. A little piece of it that had been hers.
She ran her palm over the lid. Its time had passed. Just as hers had. Just as she’d always known it would.
Closing the closet, she pushed the shoebox into her suitcase. This wasn’t her home anymore, and despite Veronica’s promises, she knew her friendship was over. She didn’t have it in her to pretend they could ever salvage what they’d had. She couldn’t picture herself having brunch with Walker and Veronica. Seeing him look at the other woman the way she’d always wanted him to look at her.
No, better to make a clean break.
Leaving her suitcase at the door, she pulled a pad of paper from her nightstand and sat on the bed. If this was the end of everything, she wanted one last chance to say goodbye to the man she loved.
Before she walked out of his life forever.
Chapter Twenty-One