The Memory of You (Sanctuary Sound #1)(9)

People hurt each other and made big mistakes now and then, but if they felt remorse, the mistakes shouldn’t erase every good thing they ever did. And maybe if Steffi could help Claire forgive Peyton, then there was hope that Ryan might one day forgive her.



Ryan loved Campiti’s pizza. Salty cheese. Tiny pepperoni that crisped into little shells filled with puddles of spicy oil. Cherikee Red cherry soda, an old favorite and still just as delicious. The smell of tomato sauce and teen hormones mingling together in the venerable joint. All these things triggered a sort of time warp, reminding him of being young and hopeful, for a change.

The place retained its original decor. Black-and-white-block vinyl floors. Bold yellow Formica booth-style tables aligned along a wall with a poorly done mural of a scene from Naples. Pizza still served on waxed paper. He’d spent a lot of time here with his teammates and Steffi. Good memories. The kind that made the bad ones that much harder to understand.

Emmy sat across from him now, her short legs swinging from her bench seat, face smeared with the orange hue of pizza grease.

“Do you like it?” He wiggled his brows and took a huge bite, having waited long enough to know that the cheese wouldn’t burn the roof of his mouth.

Emmy nodded. “Yes, but it’s loud in here.”

“You’re right.” He took another mouthful, noticing the hum of the exhaust fans, the barking laughter of a group of kids, and the cashier yelling a takeout order to the pizza maker. “Fun, right?”

Emmy shrugged. “I wish Mom was here. She might like this pizza.”

Ryan almost choked on his drink, so he pounded the center of his chest. The only food Val liked to consume involved lettuce, sushi, or wine. She might be willing to try fancy artisanal pizza in a high-priced Italian restaurant, but he’d only gotten her past Campiti’s front door one time.

“If she visits, you can bring her here.”

Emmy smiled broadly. “Let’s call her now and ask her.”

He still hadn’t figured out how to handle conversations about Val with Emmy. After explaining the divorce to their daughter, he and Val had told Emmy she’d be living with him for “a while.” He hadn’t liked Val’s hedge, but Emmy had been so distraught that he hadn’t had the heart to take away all her hope at once. Truthfully, he couldn’t bear to see the pain of a mother’s rejection in his daughter’s eyes. For now, he’d let Emmy believe that her mother might change her mind. Maybe Val would surprise him and ask for shared custody.

Ryan pushed aside his pizza, unable to enjoy it, thanks to a healthy case of indigestion. “It’s Friday evening, honey. I doubt she’s available.”

“Try, Dad.” Emmy frowned. “I miss Mom.”

Every time he heard those three words, he disliked Val a little more.

“You’re what?” Ryan sank onto the corner of the bed while his wife packed her last suitcase. He knew he should be unhappy about the end of his marriage, but they’d been treading water for the past three years for Emmy’s sake. This latest pronouncement, however, stunned him.

“I’m leaving Emmy with you. John doesn’t want the responsibility of raising her right now. We’re young. He wants to travel and enjoy his early retirement.”

The forty-two-year-old ex-banker and his golden parachute were making off with Ryan’s wife. La-di-da. He couldn’t give a damn, except that his daughter’s heart would be shattered into pieces he might never be able to mend.

“Val, you can’t abandon Emmy.”

Val zipped up her bag. “I’m not abandoning her. I’m leaving her with her father. I put in nine years here, managing the day-to-day while you pursued law school and your career. Now it’s my turn to have a life.”

“Fine.” He rose from the bed. “But you tell her. I won’t be the heavy.”

He should’ve known Val would wiggle her way out of a confrontation with vague answers that left Emmy with an inaccurate understanding of how her life had been turned upside down. Unfortunately, that small crack had left enough room for Emmy’s hope for some kind of reconciliation to flourish.

“Dad?”

“Sorry.”

Emmy stuck her hand out, palm upward. “I want to call Mom.”

Reluctantly, he withdrew his phone and dialed Val, then handed Emmy the phone and prepared for the worst.

“Mommy!” Emmy’s face lit up as she instantly reverted to the sort of baby talk Val had always encouraged as cute.

He couldn’t make out what Val was saying, but the mere sound of her voice on the other end of the line made his stomach burn.

“Can you come visit us soon?” While Emmy drew a breath, he winced at her use of the word “us.” “We can bring you to this funny pizza shop. It has yellow tables and a bad painting on the wall.”

Ryan watched Emmy’s hopeful expression melt like a candle giving in to the flame.

“Can I come to London? I want to see Princess Kate!” Her little brows puckered as she struggled not to cry. Seeing his daughter tying herself into a pretzel for her mother’s affection snapped something inside.

He gestured for the phone.

“Daddy wants to talk to you. Will you come visit after London?” Emmy’s chin wobbled at whatever Val said next. “Okay.”