his head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling for five and exhaling for five. There was no way he was going to let her get rid of him that easy. This was about more than just about the two of them. This was about Luna, too. He had grown attached to her as much as she did him. Melody couldn’t throw all that away. It wasn’t fair to him. It wasn’t fair to Luna. It wasn’t even fair to her.
He went back inside and grabbed his keys from the tray on the sofa table. When he swung open the door to his condo, he was stunned to see Luna standing there.
“You’re supposed to be at practice. What are you doing here? How did you get here? Are you okay? Does your mom know you’re here?” He threw every question at her that he could think of.
She was just about to speak up when Millie got off the elevator and headed toward them.
“Come in,” he said. “Both of you.”
“You must be Luna,” his best friend said as she sat at the kitchen counter. “I’m Millie.”
“Hi.” Luna waved.
“Hold on a minute,” Jordan said. He pulled a chair out from the dining room table for her to sit. “Let’s get back to my questions.” He sat across from Luna, his brows furrowing.
“I’m good. I took the bus and no, my mom doesn’t know I’m here,” she said. “But I had to come. Since my mom has been crying in her Cheerios all week, someone had to tell you what’s going on.”
“I like her,” Millie said. “Do tell.”
“She thinks you two were a thing back in the day.”
Jordan’s jaw dropped, his brows furrowing deeper.
Millie gave him some serious side-eye. “As if.”
“Obviously, that isn’t true,” Jordan said. “Where did she get an idea like that?”
“You better call your mom to clear up the story, because she told my mom you two were together, and you were going to get married.”
“Huh,” Jordan said, scratching his head. “My mom died three years ago, Luna. I don’t understand.”
“How did this come up now? I’ve known your mom for years. Why didn’t she say anything before?” Millie asked.
“She didn’t know it was you,” Luna said. “Okay, let me start from the beginning. Apparently, when you were kids, you were supposed to come to California to visit my mom.”
“Yes,” Jordan said, nodding.
“But, your mom told my mom that you were dating Amelia, and you were getting hitched. Your mom said you didn’t know how to break it her, so maybe she should try to end it for you, so she didn’t look like such an ass,” Luna explained.
“Language,” Jordan said.
Luna rolled her eyes at him, but she smiled, and it warmed his heart. “My mom didn’t know Millie and Amelia were the same person until last week. She thinks you two have been hiding the truth from her all these years. She feels really sad and really stupid.”
“Your mom was a bitch, Jordy,” Millie told him.
Yes, she was, he thought to himself. Nothing surprised him about his mother. She would do anything to get her way, including getting rid of the only woman he had ever loved.
“Do you mind if I ask you a tough question, Luna?”
“You’re going to ask me about my dad, aren’t you?”
Jordan winced. Maybe he should wait for Melody.
“She wasn’t seeing him, if that’s what you were going to ask. She only told you that because of what your mom said. You guys suck at communicating.” She shook her head. “If one of you would have taken the time to ask questions, to ask what in the ever-loving heck was going on, you would have never spent the last twenty years of your life lost without each other.”
“Yup, I like her,” Millie said again. “You and I are going to be great friends, young lady.” She walked over to Luna and pulled her to her side for a hug. Luna wrapped her arms around Millie’s hips and smiled.
“That’s what I told my mom,” she said. “I told her you were going to be the aunt I always wanted.”
“Oh, stop,” Millie said. “You don’t want to see a grown man cry, do you?”
She was right. Jordan had tears in his eyes at the sight of Luna and his best friend sharing a moment. But he couldn’t let that distract him from what he just heard.
He was furious and relieved at the same time. He felt anger toward his mother that he had never