The Best Man (Blue Heron #1)(111)

Dang. More tears. “You’re the best, Daddy.”

Her father stood up. “Well. You go to sleep, princess.”

“I love you, Dad,” she said.

“I love you, too.” He paused. “Your mom loved you so much, Faith. You were our little surprise. Our gift.”

The words settled around her like a blanket, soft and warm, keeping her company as she fell asleep in her old room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LEVI’S DAY HAD NOT been good.

First, there was Nina, who’d shown up at his apartment at seven o’clock with donuts and coffee from Lorelei’s, which he hadn’t accepted (though it had been hard...the donuts were still warm). She’d followed him to the station. Bopped over to the post office, where she’d rented a post office box, to demonstrate her intention to stay, she’d said. Mel Stoakes had come in to say she’d been in the candy store, did Levi know she was back? Gerard Chartier had entered just as Mel had been leaving to report the same news. “Hey, Levi, that hot chick you were married to...she back in town?”

So rather than having her sit next to his desk and interrogate him in front of Emmaline and Everett, he’d said yes to lunch at Hugo’s, where hopefully Jess would spit in Nina’s food, and reiterated the fact that he had no interest in getting back together with her.

“That’s the anger talking, querido,” she said, licking her lips.

“It’s the brain talking,” he replied wearily.

“Ah, but what does your heart say?”

“Same thing. As do the lungs, liver and kidneys. You know as well as I do that you’re only back here because you’re at loose ends.” And that was another thing. Had she come back on leave, he might’ve believed the sincerity of her words, not that it would’ve changed his mind. As it was now, he was just a stopgap measure. The second Nina was bored, she’d be off again.

Hopefully, she was bored now.

She wasn’t. At the end of his shift, there she was, coming into the station like she owned the place. He hadn’t seen this much of her during their entire marriage. Ignoring Emmie and Ev, she plunked herself on the edge of his desk as he shut down his computer.

“Wanna get a drink, baby?” she asked.

“Nina, I really would like to go spend some time with Faith,” he said bluntly.

“To make me jealous?”

“No. Because she’s...”

“Sweet?” Nina said, pulling a face and batting her eyes.

“Mine.”

The word surprised him, and it made Nina freeze. But only for a second. “Fine,” she said. “Go to the little princess. Bet she doesn’t know what I know.” She reached for his belt, right there in front of Everett and Emmaline, but he snagged her wrist.

“You’d be surprised,” he growled. “Go back to the city, Nina.”

“I’m not going anywhere, baby. But for now, fly home to your little birdie. Just remember, your g*y best friend had her first.”

There was the Nina he knew. Scratch the surface, and she was meaner than a fisher cat.

He walked across the green, jerked open the door of the Opera House and stomped up the stairs. Heard noises in Faith’s apartment, opened the door.

There were boxes everywhere.

She was packing over by her bookcase, her back to him.

Packing, as in leaving. Moving.

Blue leaped over to him and tried to mount his leg. “Get off, Blue,” he muttered, and the dog slunk away, clearly wounded. “Going somewhere?” he asked Faith.

“Hey!” She was wearing those ridiculous Dalmatian pajamas. “How are you? How’s it going with, um...with Nina?”

“Are you leaving?”

She glanced around. “Oh. Um, I only had this place month-to-month. Sharon Wiles found a permanent tenant. Wasn’t happy about the red wall, either, but she said she’d paint that over. Anyway, yeah, I have to get out.” She seemed nervous, her hands knotted in front of her. “But after San Francisco.”

Coldness filled his chest. She was moving. “San Francisco?”

“Right, right. I guess I didn’t tell you. You’ve been, um, otherwise occupied the past few days. Anyway, I have a job in Oakland, so I’m heading back to San Francisco on Monday. It’s this really nice common area for a condo complex, great view of the bridge, and while I’m there, I’ll—” She broke off, her mood visibly changing. Folded her arms under her chest, tossed her hair back. “Why are you scowling? If anyone has reason to scowl, isn’t it me? Since my boyfriend has basically ignored me since his ex-wife popped into town?”

“You’re going to San Francisco?”

“Yes, and about the ex-wife and potential reconciliation, maybe you could at least talk to me about what you—”

“For how long?”

She threw up her hands. “A few weeks, Levi.”

“How few?”

“Possibly six, hopefully more like four. I’m—”

“Really. And you never mentioned this.”

“It came up kind of fast. Why is the branch back up your ass, Levi?”

“How fast?” he said, ignoring the question.

“Um...I pitched the job in August, but I didn’t hear until about a week ago, and it wasn’t a sure thing until Friday. I would’ve told you—”