The Man Who Has No Love - Victoria Quinn Page 0,76

this altered way, was such a massive improvement for the quality of my life. There was no pressure on my part because I made it clear I wanted us to be together, just at my pace. I’d forgiven her for what she did, and she’d forgiven me for not being there for her. But it would still take some time to get back what we used to have.

And I wanted that…so much.

I missed being that happy. It was like being on a cocktail of antidepressants with the smoothest whiskey, giving me a high that never faded, a drunkenness that never abated. I was addicted to the joy, and that was really obvious once the effect wore off.

I wanted it back.

Kathleen continued to stare at me, her eyebrow slightly raised because such a long period of silence had passed. “Forget I asked.” She smiled. “Have a good day, Deacon.”

I snapped out of my reverie, thinking about memories at the cabin. “Yes, I got her back.”

She nodded slightly. “I’m happy for you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in such a good mood.” She continued her walk down the hallway.

I lifted my papers and got back to work, forgetting the conversation the second it was over.

I worked at the dining table, and before I got up to start dinner, Valerie texted me.

I’m going out tonight. Can you take Derek?

I never said no. This was what I wanted, to have my son on a regular basis, even if I wanted alone time with Cleo. Now, she was right across the hall from Derek so he might ask some questions, but I still wouldn’t turn Valerie down. Yes.

I’ll drop him off in a bit.

When I went into the kitchen, I made dinner for three instead of two.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later.

I opened it and greeted Derek. “Hey, little man.”

He squeezed my waist. “Hey, Dad.” He moved farther into the living room with his backpack on, making himself at home because he was used to being in my condo now.

I turned to Valerie, who was in a long-sleeved sweater dress with knee-high boots underneath. Her makeup was heavy, her hair big. She was definitely going to impress someone tonight. “I’ll take him to school in the morning.”

“Great.” She peeked at Derek over my shoulder since she was even taller than usual in those boots. She still had a prissy attitude, like her annoyance still hadn’t settled.

“Still seeing Jake?”

Her eyes narrowed at the question. “Why do you care?”

Because I hated that motherfucker. He lost all self-respect when he threw Cleo under the bus like that. A man who abused his power over an innocent person was no man at all. I had a small amount of concern for Valerie because she was Derek’s mother, so I felt somewhat obligated to protect her. “I don’t like him.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ironic. I don’t like Cleo.”

“But I have a legitimate reason not to like Jake. You can do better than him, Valerie.”

“A young, hot, billionaire?” she asked incredulously. “Who’s totally sprung on me?”

Was he that sprung if he’d tattled on Cleo? That was petty and clearly an act of jealousy. “He betrayed her when he told you what happened between them.”

“Betrayed? Lovers talk about old flames. That wasn’t a betrayal.”

“He didn’t have to identify her by name. And he certainly didn’t need to rat her out.”

She shrugged. “I think he did this building a service.”

“Well, she’s back, so that was short-lived.”

“What?” she snapped, dropping her arms to her sides. “Why? How the hell did that happen?”

“Because this building fell apart without her, and you know it.” Matt stopped giving me my things on time. My mail was always days late, groceries were delivered at nine in the evenings sometimes. Without Cleo, everything went to shit. I’d just thought Matt wasn’t as capable as Cleo, but in retrospect, I understood what had really happened.

She shook her head. “She slept with two men in the building, and she gets her job back? What kind of place is this? A brothel?”

My eyes narrowed at the insinuation. “Careful, Valerie.” I didn’t want to argue with my ex right in front of Derek, but I wasn’t going to let her rip Cleo apart and stay silent.

“Well, maybe if the owner knew about the other client she’d slept with, he’d feel differently—”

“He already knows.”

Both of her eyebrows rose.

“Because I told him.”

Now, she just looked furious.

“I got her her job back, Valerie. You and Jake can try anything