Chapter 77

“Barnett, open up!” Lily called.

Barnett sighed and got out of bed. It was still early in the morning, early enough that he wanted to yell at her through the door and tell her to go away. He hardly slept as it was. The last thing he needed was an early morning wake-up call.

He pulled on his robe and stomped over to the door.

“Barnett!” she called again.

He yanked open the door and scowled down at her. “Do you know what time it is?”

She smirked and shoved past him into his apartment. At least she had two coffee cups with her. She handed him one and he took a sip. It was still hot, and it burned his tongue.

“It’s a beautiful day,” she said.

“Is it?”

He sank down onto his couch and pulled his robe tighter around him. Lily didn’t sit down, she just started pacing back and forth in front of him. He was much too tired to deal with all her energy. Lily wasn’t much of a morning person either, but today she was clearly on something.

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Like a baby,” she said, her grin widening.

He sighed, long and heavy. “Is there something I can do for you this morning?”

“There sure is,” she chirped.

“Please, for the love of God, sit down.” He couldn’t handle watching her pace for one more minute. It was giving him a headache. Though that might have been the bottle of bourbon he drank the night before. Drinking away his sorrows was becoming something of a habit for him, one he knew he needed to get a handle on.

Sometimes things didn’t go his way, and he just had to accept that.

Lily finally sat down. “I have some great news for you, dear uncle of mine.”

“Is that so?”

“Sure is.”

He couldn’t fathom what would be great news for him. Most of the news he’d seen recently had just sent him into even more of a spiral. He knew Anna was back in the city, but he didn’t know where or for how long she was staying. He figured she’d want to be with Arthur when the babies were born, whether that meant he was coming back here, or she was going to him he didn’t know.

He supposed it was none of his business. Though he couldn’t stand to look at his phone anymore and see the pictures of them together.

“Any chance you’ve watched Anna’s vlogs recently?”

He just shook his head. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to elaborate.

“She posted an interesting one yesterday.”

“This is what you woke me up for?” he grumbled.

She frowned at him and threw her phone. He caught it at the last minute. It was open to one of Anna’s videos. She was sitting in front of the camera, a white wall, and a bookcase the only things in the background behind her.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Just watch it.”

He sighed, but pressed play. He didn’t know why Lily insisted on torturing him, but he knew she wouldn’t leave until he watched it. And the sooner he could get her to leave, the better. He didn’t have much on the books, and he meant to sleep most of the afternoon away.

He watched the full video in silence, Lily staring expectantly at him. When he was done, he handed her phone back to her and walked into the kitchen.

“Well?” she said, following him.

“Well, what?”

She frowned and put her hands on her hips. “You and Anna need to talk.”

“I don’t see how that could make a difference.”

He dumped the rest of his coffee down the drain and threw out the cup. He suddenly wasn’t feeling very well. That Arthur wasn’t the father changed nothing. Anna had moved on and he’d vowed to himself that he was going to respect that.

She stood in his way, blocking him from leaving the kitchen. “You’re both so stubborn it makes me want to scream,” she said. “You’re going to the office today.”

“I didn’t plan–”

“You’re going to the office,” she repeated, cutting him off. “Anna’s going to stop by this afternoon so you guys can talk.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

She gave him a long look. “Trust me, I just know.”

• * *

The moment Lily hung up the phone, I forced myself to get up and change. I knew that if I didn’t go over to his office right away, I never would. She was right that I needed to tell him, but nerves fluttered through my stomach and up my throat. What if it went horribly? I didn’t think I could take another rejection. It was hard enough to find out he wanted nothing to do with me the first time.

I dressed in a flowy purple dress and put on some simple makeup. My hair was already curled from the day before, and I just fixed a few of the strands. When I was done, I put on my boots, grabbed my purse, and threw on a light trench coat.

I took the elevator down to the garage and got in my Corolla. I’d need to get a bigger car at some point, something that would comfortably fit three growing boys, but for now the Corolla was fine.

I drove over to Barnett’s office building, surprised to find security outside the parking lot. The whole thing had been gated off.

I told the security guard my name and he let me in right away. I parked in my regular spot and walked across to the front doors. A sleek red sports car was parked in Barnett’s regular spot, and my heart rate kicked up. So, he was really here. It was surreal after all that time spent looking for him.

The receptionist looked up when I walked in and gave me a kind smile. “Mr. Cogsworth has been expecting you,” she said, gesturing me forward. “He said to go up to his office.”

I swallowed hard. My voice wavered when I finally answered her. “Thank you,” I said.

I had a feeling this was all Lily’s doing. Clearly, he was expecting me to come by today. Whether Lily just called him, or had this whole thing already planned out, I didn’t know. There was no going back now, though. The receptionist was already calling up to his office.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The ride didn’t last nearly as long as I hoped it would, and soon I was walking out into the large room. Barnett’s secretary wasn’t behind her desk, but the door to his office was propped open.

I took a deep breath, then forced myself to walk over and knock lightly on the door.

“Come in,” Barnett called. Just the sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine.

I walked in and stopped a few feet from his desk. He stood up from his chair, a nervous look on his face. “Anna,” he said.

I couldn’t seem to speak. He looked as perfect as I remembered.

“Barnett,” I breathed. The sound of my voice seemed to pain him. I forced myself to ignore it. “We need to talk.”