Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,101
was. If this was from Cox, it meant he was finally reaching out. But was this what he thought I wanted? Gifts to make up for what had happened?
Still, I was careful. I put the box on my desk and gently opened it.
Whatever it was inside, it was covered in bubble wrap.
I unwound all the packaging and stared through the tears suddenly filling my eyes. Oh my god. It was my mother’s music box.
All the damage had been repaired. In fact, you almost couldn’t tell where it had been broken. I set it down gently and ran my fingers over the top and sides. It wasn’t just repaired. It looked better than it ever had.
Holding my breath, I turned the handle. The notes tinkled, playing the sweet little tune.
A few tears ran down my cheeks, but I couldn’t help it. My mom had loved this music box. It was one of the few things I had that was hers—one of the only links I had to the mother I barely remembered.
I opened the lid and a note was tucked inside. It read, Can I please see you? He’d written an address underneath, but it was way out in Woodinville. That was odd. It was probably thirty or forty minutes outside the city. Why did he want me to meet him there?
I caught sight of Mr. Calloway leaning against the doorway to his office. He had the hint of a smile on his face.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to quickly wipe away the tears.
“Everly is working from home today,” he said. “Her back has been bothering her, so I think I’ll go home for the afternoon. You might as well leave early.”
“Are you sure? I missed last week and—”
“Sophie,” he said, cutting me off. “Go.”
Did he know what was going on? Had he talked to Cox? I had so many questions, but instead of blurting them out, I swiped my fingers beneath my eyes again. “Thank you.”
I gently packed up the music box and carried it down to my car. Then I plugged in the address. It seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere.
My heart didn’t stop racing the entire drive. Why did he want to see me? What was going on? Had he hired a new lawyer and wanted me to meet him in person to finalize the divorce? That thought made my stomach churn, although logically I knew it didn’t make very much sense, not with where I was going.
But I was so afraid to get my hopes up.
The map had me exit the freeway, then took me down a long two-lane road. It reminded me of the drive we’d taken in the McLaren.
Finally, I turned onto a long driveway. At first, I couldn’t see anything. Just trees on either side. Then the view opened onto the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. It looked like a country estate. Behind it, the blue water of a small lake sparkled in the sun.
Parked in front of the house was Cox’s car.
I got out and looked around. Birds chirped in the surrounding trees, and frogs croaked in the distance. The air was fresh and the sun was warm. It was like something out of a fairy tale.
Cox got out of his car and my heart leapt at the sight of him. A flurry of emotions hit me all at once. I was hurt and angry, but I’d missed him so much.
I wanted to believe he’d missed me too. I wanted it so badly. To be enough. To have this one thing in my life not end in disaster.
Was that too much to hope for?
“Hi,” he said, his voice tentative. “Thank you for coming.”
“I just realized your note didn’t say what time. But you’re here.”
“I’ve been here since this morning. Figured I’d wait as long as it took.”
He shut his car door, so I did the same.
“Thank you for getting my music box repaired. Whoever you took it to did an incredible job. It’s better than new.”
“I didn’t take it to anyone. I fixed it.”
“You did? Since when do you know how to fix music boxes?”
He shrugged. “It was mostly the wood that was damaged. I’ve done that sort of thing before. Sometimes working with my hands helps me think.”
“So you really do use that workshop in your garage.”
He nodded. “I was afraid you’d notice it was gone before I got it finished.”
“No, I thought it was still put away.” I glanced around, increasingly confused as to why we were