Kate followed Adrian into the kitchen and took a seat at the table while he pulled items out of the fridge for dinner.
"Uncle Ade?"
The tone made Adrian turn. "What is it?"
Kate sat head down, playing with her hands. Finally she looked up. "Aunt Susan asked about Grandpa Hart. She asked if I'd met him and what you and Dad had said about him." She looked down again. "I didn't want to tell her your secrets, so I said he wasn't well." She glanced at him. "Is that all right?"
Adrian's heart clenched at her loyalty. He should have told her what to say if anyone asked her. He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "Of course. If Aunt Susan asks again, tell her to talk to me. If she's got any questions, I'll be able to answer them."
"Okay." Kate smiled at him. "Are you going to talk to Grandpa Hart now we're back?"
George had asked him the same question, wanting to know whether he would confront his father after all these years.
His twelve-year-old self still cowered at the thought.
His adult self didn't see the point. His father would say what he wanted and there was nothing Adrian could say that would change his mind.
His father could have tried to contact him when he discovered Adrian was a rock star instead of going to the media. George's contact details were listed on Kent's website, but there had been no attempt.
His father had never cared for Adrian as a child and he sure as hell didn't care for him now.
Adrian still needed to answer Kate, though. "I'll think about it." He stood up. "How about I make you some dinner?"
He didn't wait for her response.
Chapter 19
Libby's new job held no interest for her. She caught the train into the city four days a week to cover the maternity leave of the personal assistant to a big mining company executive.
She attended meetings, took minutes, organized any travel arrangements and nagged the executive to sign things like a mother nagged a child to clean up its room.
In the past she'd enjoyed the human interaction in a job like this, and the organizing, but now her mind constantly drifted to Adrian and Kate, the adventures they'd had or the simple ritual of being there when Adrian got back from a concert.
Then one day the news that Susan was suing for custody of Kate finally hit the newspapers and the circus started again.
Many of her new colleagues wanted to know what had happened or what Kent was really like. Libby was polite but told them firmly she wasn't going to talk about it.
The next day Kent was back in the headlines because his father was facing eviction and Kent wouldn't help him.
Libby's heart went out to Adrian. He'd hate the attention, hate the way his father had thrust himself into his life again.
But there was nothing Libby could do to help.
Later that evening Libby was at home working on her new manuscript. The radio was on low and she was having difficulty concentrating. Her cell rang and she was grateful for the interruption until she saw it was her mother. Libby hadn't spoken to her since she'd refused to attend the fundraising event, though she had emailed to tell her parents she was moving. They hadn't offered to help.
She pressed the answer button on her phone. "Hi, Mum."
"Elizabeth, I've just returned from Fiji to read some nonsense in the paper about you and some rock star."
Libby sighed. "Just ignore it, Mum." There wasn't any point telling her about it. It was all over now.
"But why are they mentioning you?"
"I took care of Kent's niece while I was over east. It's not a big deal." Not anymore at least.
Her mother gave a sigh of relief. "I was sure they must have got it wrong about you having an affair with him." She laughed as if the idea was ridiculous.
Libby sat upright, wounded to her core. She'd had enough. "Is it so unbelievable that someone as attractive as Kent Downer might be interested in me? Am I so unappealing?" Libby couldn't hide the hurt in her tone.
"Well, ah … " Her mother had nothing to say.
And that stung just as much. Weren't mothers supposed to jump to your defense, tell you what you wanted to hear, support you when you were feeling low?
"Just because you can't stand to be around me, it doesn't mean I don't have friends." All the years of pent-up hurt came pouring out. "I know I was a mistake. I know you and Dad didn't want me. But that doesn't make me unlovable." She was trying so hard to believe it, but most days she failed.
"The young girl I looked after loved me. She wanted me to move to America." It was just her uncle who didn't want me, Libby thought.
She paused, giving her mother a chance to speak, to say anything, but there was silence. No denial, no anger, nothing.
Libby swallowed down the tears. "Goodbye, Mother."
She hung up.
The last vestige of hope that her parents did love her evaporated. Libby's heart stung but there was a sense of release as well.
As if on cue, Adrian's song came on the radio. She listened to his voice, remembered watching him in the television studio that first day, the absolute attention he commanded from everyone in the audience.
But he was wrong.
He shouldn't be yearning to feel, to be hurt. The absence of feeling was so much better than feeling too much. Loving people who didn't love you was the worst pain of all.
Somewhere deep inside anger stirred, just a tiny rumble, but Libby lunged for it. Anger had to be better than this pain.
She was tired of being ignored, tired of trying to make herself into someone her parents would love, tired of letting people treat her as if she was unimportant. If they didn't care for her as she was, they weren't worth the effort.
The anger turned, directing itself at Adrian. Here he was singing about wanting to feel hurt and yet he had shut down every time Libby tried to get close. Instead of giving her the chance to explain, trusting that she wouldn't have let Kate speak to the media on purpose, he'd believed the worst of her.
And what was even more pathetic was the fact that she'd let him believe it, she'd slunk away with her tail between her legs and hadn't fought for herself. Just like she had with Clint.
Well, damn it, it was time she broke the cycle.
Fuelled by her anger, she grabbed her phone and dialed Adrian's number, not caring what time it was in Houston.
It rang once, twice, three times before going to voicemail. Libby took a breath and at the beep she spoke.
"Adrian, you never gave me a chance to explain what happened with Kate and so I'm taking the opportunity now.
"Kate was angry when the reporters found us and she went outside on her own. I should have kept a closer eye on her and for that I'm sorry." Libby took another breath. "I love Kate and I would never do anything to put her in harm's way. I'm sorry things ended the way they did between us, but I guess it's for the best. You're still trapped by your childhood, shutting out those who care for you. I deserve better than that. I deserve someone who is going to trust me, who is going to love me for who I am. I don't need you in my life."
She hung up and her anger evaporated.
Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision, but she let them fall. She needed to get this out, needed to finish grieving so she could get on with her life. She sat at her desk sobbing until she was dry. Her eyes were tender, her throat was raw and her head pounded.
In that instant she made a vow.
She wasn't ever going to fall in love again.
***
The next morning Libby rang in sick. She had tossed and turned the whole night and her head still ached from her crying jag. She knew if anyone mentioned Kent to her she would burst into tears and she just couldn't handle that at the moment.
Getting changed into her walking clothes, Libby headed out into the gray, drizzly morning. It suited her mood perfectly and the cool, crisp air cleared the cobwebs in her head.
In a better frame of mind when she got home, Libby booted up her laptop, made breakfast and checked her emails. There was one from Kate.
Kate said she was fit to be tied because the court had assigned someone to supervise her time with both Adrian and Susan and they hung around for at least two hours at a time. She said Uncle Ade was a mess because he hated strangers and kept making mistakes.
Kate apologized again for all the trouble she had caused and for making Libby and Adrian fight. She wanted Libby to call Adrian because he was sad, and she was sure Libby would make him happy again. Kate had finished her story and wondered if Libby still wanted to read it. Aunt Susan was being a pain and wouldn't let Jem stay over, but Kate didn't like staying at Aunt Susan's place because she kept asking stupid questions about Uncle Ade.