Happily This Christmas (Happily Inc #6) - Susan Mallery Page 0,38
room.”
“Game night?”
“His favorite. But I won’t complain. His grades are good, and he’s keeping his sassing to a minimum.”
“Hunter doesn’t strike me as a kid who sasses you much.”
“I know. I’m lucky.”
She collected two glasses and joined him. Garrick had turned on a couple of lamps in the corner of the room but not the ones on the end table, giving the space a more intimate feel. She set down the glasses and hesitated only a second as she tried to figure out where to sit on the sofa. Not next to him—that would be weird. But not at the far end, either.
She settled about a cushion away, angling toward him as he poured cognac into each of their glasses.
“How’s it going with Joylyn?” she asked, touching her glass to his.
“Better.” He took a sip. “Maybe. I hope. I took her to The Boardroom last night, and she had a good time.”
“What was the game?”
“Chutes and Ladders. She laughed a lot. We sat with Jasper and Renee. They were both friendly, which helped. I think Joylyn forgot to be mad at me for at least a couple of hours. It was nice to have our relationship back.”
“Have you thought about asking her what happened to change things in the first place?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him. “And?”
“I’ve asked but she won’t give me a straight answer.”
“Did you do anything horrible to her?”
“What?” He blinked in surprise. “No. Of course not. I would never hurt her.”
“Exactly. So ask her why things are different. Maybe there’s no reason, but what if there is? Maybe it can be fixed and you can be close again.”
He looked doubtful. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, but I get your point.” He cradled his glass. “I’ve been trying to remember the exact sequence of events. It was six or seven years ago, right around the time Sandy and I separated and then divorced.”
He glanced at her. “I’d been starting my undercover work, so I was gone for days at a time. Sandy wasn’t a fan. She’d been okay when I’d talked about joining the unit, but when she found out what was entailed, she was pissed.”
“Didn’t she know that would happen?”
“Sure, but I think knowing and living were different. She wanted me to quit and go back to regular police work. I wanted to stay the year I’d committed to. She said she wasn’t going to have kids with me until I was done playing at being a bad guy.” He grimaced. “Those were her exact words.”
Without thinking, she reached out and took his hand. “That had to be tough for you.”
“It was.” He squeezed her fingers before releasing her. “Plus I couldn’t help thinking her complaints were all an excuse to end things. I started to wonder if she’d been looking for an out and my work gave her one.”
“Was she close to Joylyn?”
“No. They got along, but it wasn’t a great friendship. I don’t think that’s what set her off.”
“It doesn’t sound like it,” she said. “That’s when the DEA work started?”
He nodded. “The first time I went to Colombia, it was for three months. Joylyn had already started refusing to see me. I told her I had to be gone for work, and she said she didn’t care.”
Wynn heard the pain in his voice. “I know that was hard.”
He looked past her. “It sucked. I came back and tried to get her to hang out with me, but she continued to refuse. So I took another assignment. This one lasted over a year.”
“I didn’t know you were gone that long.”
“I didn’t mean to be. Things got complicated.”
She thought about the scars on his torso and wondered if they had anything to do with the “complications.”
“Does Joylyn know why you were gone for so long?”
“She knows it was work. Or at least she knows that’s what I told her. Based on a more recent conversation, I’m not sure she believed me.”
Men, Wynn thought with a sigh. “Were you more specific with her? Does she know you were undercover, working a dangerous assignment?”
His gray gaze settled on her face. “How do you know it was dangerous?”
“Oh, please. I watch TV. Drug cartels aren’t known for their philanthropy.”
“I’ve never talked about it with her.”
“Then maybe you should start there. If she knows what you were doing, she might be more forgiving of your absence. Assuming that’s what she’s upset about.”
“I don’t think it is. She was mad at me before I left.” He set down