Ignite (Cloverleigh Farms #6)(82)

At the sight of her, my heart caromed in my chest and I nearly side-swiped another vehicle—I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She wore jeans and a fuzzy white sweater that looked soft and cozy. Her hair was tucked into a nest on the top of her head. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her close, bury my face in her neck and beg her not to go. Tearing my eyes away, I pulled into our garage and turned off the car. Took a deep breath.

“Can we give it to her now, Daddy?” Hallie was already unbuckling her seatbelt.

“I guess so.” Steeling myself, I helped Luna out of the car. They grabbed the gift shop bag and went racing out of the garage.

Slowly, I collected their backpacks from the back seat, stuck them inside the back hallway, and made my way out of the garage. As I walked across to Winnie’s driveway, I could hear a delighted squeal of surprise—Winnie’s—and childish laughter.

“Oh my goodness, I love it!” Winnie’s entire face was lit up as she looked at the mug. “Thank you so much.”

I watched as she gave them each a hug, feeling jealous and hating myself for it. She noticed me approaching over Hallie’s shoulder, and her face changed immediately, the smile fading into nothing.

“Hey, Dex,” she said coolly, placing the mug back in the bag.

“Hey, Win.” I stuck my hands in my pockets. “You like your gift?”

“I love it.” She looked at the girls before smiling again and holding the bag to her chest. “I promise to use it every day. And I’m so happy you came by, because I have something for you too.”

Hallie and Luna exchanged an excited glance. “You do?”

“Yes. Want to come inside?”

They looked at me. “Can we, Daddy?” Hallie asked.

“Sure. I can wait out here.”

Winnie met my eyes, hers carefully neutral. “You can come in too.” She shrugged. “If you want.”

Her icy demeanor was making me angry—I wanted to take her by the shoulders and kiss her until she loved me again—but I nodded and followed them through the garage into her condo.

The place was almost completely empty.

“Your stuff is all gone!” Luna said.

“Yeah, the moving guys were here this morning and got it all loaded up.” Winnie sounded a little wistful.

“But where’s Piglet?” Hallie sounded worried.

“She’s here.” Winnie smiled. “She’s been hiding out in the pantry all day because of all the commotion. You know how she is with strangers.”

“But we’re not strangers,” Luna said adamantly. “We’re friends.”

“Maybe she’ll come out if you ask her.”

Luna went over to the pantry and got down on her knees, while Hallie continued to look around. “Is your bed still here?”

“Nope. My bed is on its way to Rhode Island.” She smiled ruefully. “I have to sleep at my parents’ house tonight.”

“You could sleep at our house,” Hallie offered. “Daddy can sleep on the couch. You might not even hear him snoring down there.”

Winnie and I exchanged a glance—did I imagine the flicker of warmth?

“Thanks,” Winnie said, “but I’ll be good in my old room. Since it’s my last night here, my family wants to be with me.”

I wanted to be with her on her last night here—I wanted it so badly I had to press my tongue to the roof of my mouth or I was going to say it aloud.

Luna came out of the pantry holding Piglet. “She let me pick her up,” she said softly.

“Good job.” Winnie smiled at Luna. “She knows you now.”

“Do you think she’ll miss us?”

“Definitely. So you better be sure to email me, okay? I’ll read your messages out loud to her. And send pictures too, so I can show her.” Winnie went over to the counter and picked up two little white plastic bags. “Here. I have something for each of you.”

Hallie went rushing over, and Winnie handed her one of the bags. After Luna gently set Piglet on her feet, she eagerly reached for the other.

“Oooooh!” Hallie pulled bright blue nail polish from the bag along with a pair of fluffy lavender socks and a little notebook with a cat on the cover. “Thank you!”

“For when you want to show off your toes and when you want to be cozy,” Winnie said with a smile. “And for writing your stories.”

Luna stuck her hand in her bag and pulled out cotton candy pink polish, fluffy white socks, and a box of princess Band-Aids. “Thank you! Now I don’t have to wear Daddy’s boring brown ones.”

“And if you run out,” Winnie said, “just let me know. I’ll send you another box.”

Luna threw her arms around Winnie’s waist and Hallie followed suit. Knocked off balance, Winnie laughed and embraced them. I stood ten feet away with my arms folded over my chest feeling sorry for myself.

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Hallie said.

“Me too,” added Luna. “Are you sure you have to?”

Winnie’s eyes closed a moment. “I’m sure.”

“But don’t forget us, okay?”

“I won’t.” Releasing them, Winnie took a breath. “I should probably get going. I have to drop Piglet off at my mom’s house, and then I’m meeting a friend for dinner.”