Mid Life Love (Mid Life Love #1)(75)

“I’m not the ‘keep asking’ type, Claire. You have twenty minutes.” He hung up.

What?!

I lay on the floor, confused—processing what the hell was going on. I had plans for today—concrete, definite, no-Jonathan-allowed plans. I couldn’t let him keep doing these spontaneous things to me. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Then again, I wasn’t even sure what “this” was.

“Ten minutes.” Jonathan.

I sighed. I didn’t want to know what he would do if I didn’t meet him outside. I rushed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

I slipped into a pair of loose fitting khakis and a slimming red shirt, pulling a thin gray sweater over it. I went down to the kitchen and left a note on the fridge for Ashley and Caroline:

“I hope you both enjoy your off day today, but please make sure all the dishes are done by this evening. I left thirty dollars for lunch and dinner on my dresser. If your grandmother comes by for her mixer, it’s in my trunk. Love you! See you later, Mom.”

I grabbed a box of breakfast cookies and made my way outside, rolling my eyes once I saw Jonathan step out of the town car.

He held the backdoor open and smiled as I approached. “Good morning, Claire.”

I didn’t respond. I slipped inside the car and slid over to the other side.

“Are you ignoring me?” He cocked his head to the side.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the door. I was too tired to engage in a conversation with him. I couldn’t believe his nerve—to think he could demand to go out with me at any hour of the day, to show up where I was and simply assume that I was willing and ready to follow him wherever he wanted to go.

“Mr. Statham?” His driver’s voice came over the intercom. “Are we set to go sir?”

“Yes, Greg. Thank you.” He slid close to me and whispered, “Talk to me. Are you upset?”

“Yes...”

“What’s wrong?” He slid his fingertips across my cheek.

“You should’ve told me about this yesterday...You could’ve at least asked. What if I had important plans?”

“You don’t.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?”

“What the hell are we doing, Jonathan? What the f**k is this? I need to know right now. Where are you honestly expecting this to go?”

He sighed and reached over the seats ahead of us, grabbing a pillow and a blanket. He placed the pillow in his lap and pulled me down onto it. He draped the blanket over my body and shook his head.

I groaned. “Are you going to answer my questions?”

“No.” He fluffed the pillow and planted a kiss on my forehead. “It’s going to take us a while to get there and you seem tired. Go to sleep.”

I looked out over the balcony and sighed as sheets of rain fell over the distant city. I was sailing on Jonathan’s newest yacht—an all-black luxury liner with six levels, and I’d spent most of the morning letting him give me a tour.

“Why do you always cut your sentences off like that?” He handed me a cup of hot coffee. “Are you scared I’m going to use your stories against you or something?”

“No, I’m sorry...What was I saying?”

“You always thought you and your ex-husband would—”

“Right...I always thought we would be together forever, you know?” I shook my head. “I gave him every part of me when we were married, and when it was over I didn’t have any pieces left for myself...And the one person who should’ve had her shoulder ready and waiting for my tears was lying in bed with him...”

“Did she say anything to you after the grocery store incident?”

“No.” My heart ached. “We never spoke again after that...And whenever my daughters come back from seeing their dad they know better than to give me a full recap.”

“Hmmm. Do you still have feelings for your ex-husband?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still think about him or wish that you could’ve gotten back together if the circumstances were different?”

“I think there’ll always be a part of me that’ll love the ‘old him’ and miss the magic I thought we had but....a part of him always belonged to Amanda so...I’m sorry for bringing this depressing stuff up I just—”

“Don’t be.” He kissed my cheek. “I’m glad you did. Did you ever talk to anyone else about it?”

“I went to therapy sessions at Sandra’s practice...I had to force myself to go for the first few months, but after a while I started seeing how beneficial it was...”

He sighed. “If me and my mom could get through a complete hour of therapy without pissing each other off maybe it would be beneficial for us too...”

“Do you still talk to your foster parents?”

“I haven’t said one word to them since I ran away.”

What? “They never came looking for you?”

“Of course they did...The state police showed up to my dorm once I started taking classes, but I was eighteen so they couldn’t force me to go back.”

“They didn’t ask you for any money once you became a billionaire?”

“They didn’t need to.” He paused. “I’d always dreamed of getting them back for treating me so terribly, but I realized it was easier to forgive them and forget they ever existed. I took care of all their debts and gave them enough money so they won’t have to work for the rest of their lives.”