me feel closer to him, and let’s face it, I can use all the luck I can get.
Because Sterling finally knows.
The thought is as comforting as it is nerve-wracking. Deep down I know where Sterling went, which is why, after I throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I get in my car and drive aimlessly through Nashville. I feel the tug on my heart, drawing me toward Valmont and Windfall and the truth. But the idea of facing them both is too much. When I find myself pulling into Poppy’s building. I’m not sure what I plan to say to her. By the time, I reach her unit and knock, the whole twisted story is on my tongue ready to spill out of my mouth.
“Adair!” Cyrus’s eyebrows raise when he finds me on his doorstep. His jacket is off, shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows and top button undone.
“Is Poppy here?” I ask hurriedly, peeking past him and praying to hear her soothing accent drift down the hall.
“She met her mom for a fundraising meeting. She’ll be back in a few hours.” He steps to the side. “You’re welcome to hang out.”
Cyrus takes a deep breath, moving into the doorframe. His hands slide up the metal threshold, and he leans closer. I catch a hint of whiskey on his breath. I bite my lip to keep back a sharp response and shake my head.
“I don’t bite,” he murmurs. “What’s wrong with two old friends hanging out?”
“I just needed to talk to her,” I say, bypassing his question. It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s more that I know how easily alcohol muddies up his brain. “Can you tell her I stopped by?”
“Sure.” He straightens up, his mouth drooping at the corners. “I’m your loyal servant.”
“Thanks.” I hurry away before he can draw the conversation out any farther. I might have known him since we were kids but there’s no way I’m going to talk to him about what just happened. For one thing, I don’t exactly trust Cyrus Eaton. We might have grown up together, but being privy to his adolescence didn’t instill a lot of confidence in me. For the other, I don’t think he’d be much comfort to me. Poppy definitely would be. She’d promise me that everything would turn out fine. She’d tell me whatever it took to soothe the frenzy vibrating inside me.
But I can’t deny that in the end, she’s not the person I need to talk to about this. There’s only one person that can help me make this right. There’s only one person I need to explain myself to—only one person who needs to forgive me. And I know where to find him.
Percy is on duty when I arrive at Twelve and South. He greets me with a tip of his hat. “Miss MacLaine.”
I smile warmly, doing my best to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.
“Lovely evening,” he says as I step inside the elevator. “But I don’t believe Mr. Ford is home.”
“I’ll wait,” I say firmly, more for my benefit than his. I’m going to park myself in front of Sterling’s door because I can’t stand this secret burning inside me any longer. I’ve kept my mouth shut for years like I had to, but it’s killing me.
“If you promise not to tell,” Percy says in a whisper, “I’ll let you in. I’m sure Mr. Ford won’t mind.”
I wish I shared that confidence, but it’s not as though Sterling would just leave me standing in the hall. Whatever reckoning is coming between us, we’ll do it in person this time. He says he still loves me. I don’t know how he can. After he sees her—our daughter—that’s going to change. He’s going to realize that I fucked up. Big time.
“Are you feeling okay, Miss MacLaine?” Percy asks, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening under the brim of his hat.
“It’s been a long day.” It’s the truth but not all of it. The truth is that it’s been a long four years.
When we reach the top floor, Percy whistles as he takes out a master key and opens the door a crack. A second later, Zeus’s nose shoves through the door.
“I think he’s happy to see you,” Percy says. “You know where to find me if you need me.”
“Thank you.” I wait until he’s back inside the elevator to open the door the rest of the way, so Zeus won’t bound down the hall after him. He’s all over me