The buzzer to the gate rang, giving them a momentary much-needed break from this topic. Coming here tonight, Addison had no idea she’d be in for such an intense discussion. She could only hope that, now that she explained, he’d drop it, let her deal with this her way, and not push for more information. There were things she knew she needed to be honest with him about, but others she still wasn’t willing to disclose, and it was all for the sake of protecting Clair. No matter what, she would not back down. The thought of having to argue or, worse, him giving her some kind of ultimatum had the emotion already creeping up on her.
Chapter 20
AJ
“Fred what?” AJ asked as soon as he was back in the kitchen with the food. Addison stared at him apprehensively. “Is he still playing?”
She shook her head, and if he weren’t mistaken, her eyes glistened. “No, he’s not?” He set the food down on the center island and peered at her when she didn’t answer him. “What’s wrong with you? Are you crying?”
“No,” she whispered, but clearly she was close to it. “I meant, no, please don’t ask anything specific about him. None of that matters, and for over seven years, I’ve managed to keep him anonymous. I don’t even like referring to him as her dad. He’s so undeserving of the title.”
Grinding his teeth, AJ decided he’d let that part of this go. Only because he could see how much this was upsetting her. But he still needed to get to the bottom of a few other things. “So what did you meet with him for?”
“To call his bluff,” she said, breathing in deeply and appearing a little more composed.
“What bluff?”
“He’s still claiming he’s really checking into moving out here and says if I cooperate with his requests to spend time with her he’ll keep things out of court.”
“And you’re agreeing to this?” AJ asked, his insides really lighting up now.
“I’m going along for now, AJ.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m telling you I don’t buy for a minute he’d move out here. Even today, he hardly inquired about her. All he wanted to discuss was the possibility of us.”
“Is that right?” AJ asked, cracking his fingers one by one in an effort to calm himself because he could feel himself crossing over to that place. “So are you going along with that too?”
“No, of course not. I—”
“Where’d you meet him?”
“Lou and Mickey’s down at Gaslamp.”
“You met him at a bar?”
“It’s a steakhouse too.”
“So you were on a date with him?” AJ paced the kitchen, trying desperately not to lose it.
“No,” she insisted adamantly, walking over to him and touching his arm. “I remembered the place is kind of dark, and I didn’t wanna be seen with him, but at the same time, wanted it to be somewhere public so I knew I’d be safe?”
“Why? You feel threatened by him?”
“No,” she said again, slipping her hand into his and squeezing. “I just figured it’s always safer to meet someone you don’t trust entirely somewhere public, especially when no one knows you’re meeting him. He’s never given me any reason to feel threatened, but he’s not exactly on the top of my list of people I trust. I was just playing it safe.”
AJ searched her eyes, breathing in deeply in an effort to remain calm, but one thing was for damn sure. The food he’d ordered was a waste. At least for him it was because he’d completely lost his appetite. In fact, he’d had visions of knocking the whole fucking bag off the counter more than once already, but he was determined not to let Addison see that ugly side of him, not this close up. “Alright, so what now? Anytime he calls and says he wants to meet with you, you’re going to go running to him?”
“No.” She shook her head, almost annoyed.
Damn straight no. There were things he might go along with—for now. This was not one of them.
“He’s gone now. He had a plane to catch just a few hours after I met with him.”
She brought her hand around his waist, forcing him to lean back against the counter, and stared up at him. AJ did his best to relax his already overworked tense muscles as he stared down at her.
“After the second time he brought up the possibility of us, I told him there was no possibility and, if he was going to insist we discuss it, that I was leaving. We then discussed his meeting Clair. He wants to arrange something where he’d come out here and Clair and I could spend the day with him at the beach or something.”
“Fuck no!” AJ said, straightening out suddenly, done with trying to remain cool about this. He pulled free of her embrace and stormed away. It felt impossible to stand in one place anymore. He ran his fingers through his hair before turning back to face her. “The three of you spending a cozy family day at the beach? That’s not happening.”
“I’m not leaving her alone with him,” she said firmly.
“You don’t have to. I’ll go with you guys, but you’re not spending the day with a guy who’s in love with you and just using her so he can be around you. I can be reasonable about some things, Addison, but this is bullshit!”
“I’m still holding out for the possibility that he’ll just drop the whole idea,” she said, her eyes glistening again. “I actually thought for a moment when he kept changing the subject back to the possibility of us working things out, that maybe if he met her and saw how high maintenance she is with all her allergies he’d bail for sure. I’d hate to do that to her, but if it means getting rid of him, I’d be willing. He’s that self-absorbed and has never wanted to be bothered by anything.”
“Are you kidding me?” AJ asked because that last comment infuriated him as much as it worried him. “He spends a couple of hours with her, and he’ll be in love. You’ll never get rid of him.” This was a fucking nightmare. AJ’s worst. “Promise me you won’t do anything without at least telling me first. I know I’m not her father, Addison, but I love that little girl as much as I love you. I think I deserve to at least know what you plan to do. And I’m sorry. I’ll deal with not knowing who this guy is, but I will not tolerate you lying to me again.”
“I won’t and I’ll tell you before I decide anything.” She walked up to him, her lip quivering now, so he pulled her to him. “I love that you love her as much you love me.”
“How could I not?” he said, squeezing her tighter and kissing the top of her head. “She’s impossible not to love and she’s a part of you.”
The sound of Isaiah’s crutches got their attention, and they both turned to see him entering the kitchen. “Everything okay?” he asked when he saw Addison wiping away the tears.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, walking over to grab a paper towel.
Isaiah peered at her for a moment, noticeably unconvinced, but when he glanced at AJ questioningly, AJ shook his head in a silent gesture to let it go.
“Is that Chinese?” Isaiah asked, turning his attention to the bag on the counter.
“Yeah, Lucky Dragon,” AJ said, turning to the untouched food. “Help yourself. I ordered a lot.”
They made small talk about today’s game and Isaiah’s physical therapy as Isaiah munched on some of the Chinese food straight out of the boxes. After a short while of chatting, Isaiah finally excused himself, saying he shouldn’t eat too much because he had a dinner date. That instantly annoyed AJ. “You’re not supposed to be driving,” AJ reminded him.
“Who said I’m driving?” Isaiah smirked, winking at Addison, saying it was nice to see her again as he hobbled out of the kitchen.
“Seriously,” AJ muttered under his breath as he grabbed two beers from the fridge. “What’s so hard about staying put for a few weeks? Would it really kill the guy to just relax and enjoy being catered to? I told you he let go of the nurse I hired to wait on him, right?”
“I probably would’ve too,” Addison said with a sympathetic pout. “It’s a broken leg, baby, not a brain injury. Thank God. And obviously he’s well enough for extracurricula
r activities; it’s why he probably felt guilty having you spend money on someone to wait on him hand and foot.”
“He knows money is not an issue.”
He handed Addison a beer and then grabbed one of the Chinese takeout boxes and told Addison to grab whatever she wanted. They were moving this into the bedroom. AJ still wasn’t done with the conversation Isaiah had interrupted. Not by a long shot.
Just as he put down his beer and the takeout box on his nightstand, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He was ready to ignore it until he saw it was from his sister Emi. She didn’t call too often, usually just texted if it were something quick she needed to ask or tell him, so he answered it.
“What’s up, Em?” he said, tossing the remote closer on the bed for Addison.
“Where are you?”
“Home,” he said, instantly feeling slightly alarmed. She sounded weird. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Is anyone within hearing range?”
“Addison’s here.” Addison glanced up curiously at the sound of her name.
He heard Em smack her lips. “Can you go somewhere where she won’t hear your conversation?”
That got his heart going again. What could Emi have to tell him that she didn’t want Addison to hear? The possibility that maybe she’d seen Addison today with her ex or maybe knew something about it got him moving.
“I’m not sure,” he said, motioning to Addison that he’d be right back as he headed for his bedroom door. “I’ll check if it’s here.” The moment he was sure he was far enough, he slowed down. “I’m in another room now. What’s going on?”
“Are Nathan or Isaiah anywhere nearby?”
“Nathan’s at work,” he said, already losing his patience. “Isaiah’s on a date. What is it, Em?”
“You gotta promise you’re not gonna do what you always do and start interrogating anyone, because I don’t have all the facts yet.”
“I promise,” he said, knowing full well that was bullshit, but she was making him nervous, so he needed her to spit it out already.
“This has nothing to do with Addison,” she said, relieving some of the new tension he’d begun to feel. “Only reason I don’t want her to hear is because she was there last night when I told Isaiah I’d keep something to myself, and I don’t want her to think I’m ratting anyone out. I’m just worried.”
“Jesus, Em, can you just tell me already? You’re worrying me now.”
“Okay, okay,” she said quickly.
She told him about seeing Isaiah and Kelli chatting last night on her way to the ladies’ room. How Kelli had given her some lame excuse for why she’d taken so long to get to the cocktail party and how Isaiah had asked both her and Addison to keep what they saw to themselves. That alone annoyed AJ. Why the hell was he asking Addison to keep shit from him? Even if it were nothing since Em explained Isaiah’s reasoning.
“I hadn’t said anything to anyone because I felt bad even thinking it, but way back the first time we all met her, you were out of town, and we were all over at Uncle Manny’s for his birthday. Nathan said they had other plans nearby that evening but wanted to stop by and see Manny for a little bit. She was sweet enough, and there was nothing strange or off-putting about her behavior until Isaiah arrived. I happened to be talking to her when he walked out into the backyard, and the girl looked like she’d seen a ghost. I almost asked her if she knew him, but Nathan beat me to it and introduced them, and they both acted like they’d never met. After that, it was weird city. She seemed really uncomfortable; then she started saying they should get going, so they leave on their supposed date, and Nathan comes back to the party not a half hour later and said he took her home because she was feeling sick. Nothing major, right?”
AJ nodded as if his sister could see him taking in what she was saying. “Yeah, so what are you getting at?”
“I didn’t think it too big a deal until the next time I saw Nathan and he mentioned he wasn’t seeing her anymore. It’d only been like a week since Manny’s thing, and while I thought it odd because I didn’t think he’d ever bring anyone around us unless it were more serious, I didn’t make much of it. I hadn’t put any of it together until last night when I started watching her a little closer. I wanted so bad to get a moment alone with her so I could interrogate her a little, only they didn’t stick around, but I did watch her as they said good-bye. There was something so poignant in her eyes when she said good-bye to Isaiah and something so strangely uncomfortable in Isaiah’s. I started wracking my brain.”
For a moment, AJ had started losing interest in his little sister’s hair-brained suspicions. But then he remembered and told her about the strange exchange he’d witnessed between Isaiah and Kelli last night too.
“You see!” Em practically squealed. “Oh thank God it’s not all in my head. I felt so guilty even thinking Isaiah might be keeping something bigger from Nathan than just the fact that she’d asked him for advice. It wasn’t even until I told Sydney today about what I thought I might’ve imagined yesterday or maybe it was just a harmless touch.”
“Touch?” AJ asked, feeling even more annoyed with Isaiah now, but he waited because she did say she still wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it.
“Yeah, when they said good-bye and she gave everyone that obligatory friendly hug, maybe it was coincidental, but she hugged him last. I was busy watching the way they looked at each other, when I happened to glance down, and she slid her hand over his discreetly and he flinched. It happened so fast I couldn’t decide if I’d actually seen something incriminating or if at that point I was just making myself crazy trying to see something that wasn’t really there.”
“So you think maybe they knew each other before Nathan met her?” AJ asked, as confused by this as Emi sounded. “Isaiah never mentioned a Kelli in the past.”
“I know it’s weird, but it got me thinking about everything else. Nathan had asked me if Sydney or I wanted to come out with him to your Los Angeles game last month, the one Isaiah ended up going to. He said you’d already gotten him suite tickets, and Kelli, who’d previously agreed to go with him, couldn’t make the game after all. Neither could we, and then Isaiah got the day off at the last minute, and lo and behold, at the last minute she shows up too. I don’t know.” She exhaled loudly. “Am I looking too deep into this?”
“Oh shit!” AJ felt his eyes go wide. “Did either of them tell you what happened out there?”
“No, what happened?”
“She left.” He stopped mid-thought when it came to him. “That little conniving bitch!”
AJ explained about Isaiah and Kelli disappearing for a good ten to fifteen minutes and how Isaiah came back alone.
“He said she got a call about her mom being in an accident. Her mom’s dead by the way,” he said, pressing his lips together, not sure what the hell to make of all this. “Isaiah said she’d been upset and she left. She didn’t even bother to come back and say good-bye to Nathan. Then get this.” AJ opened the freezer and grabbed an ice cube then rubbed it on his neck. He could feel himself getting hot again. “She calls him a few minutes later and breaks things off.”
“Get out!”
“No. She fucking breaks up with him just like that over the phone then calls him again about a half hour later to say she was upset and not thinking straight. That’s when I knew I couldn’t stand her.”
“You’re kidding me,” Emi said, sounding as annoyed as he felt. “Why is Nathan still seeing her?”
“That’s what I want to know. He said just two weeks ago at the hospital he was done with her. It was why I was so pissed last night when I saw him show up with her.”
“Oh my God.” Emi gasped. “You think maybe it was why she went with Nathan? So she could try and get a moment alone with Isaiah? That sneaky little bitch!”
“I’m gonna ask Isaiah,” he said as he started back to his room.
“Don’t tell him I told you. There’s still a possibility I could be totall
y wrong about this.”
“I won’t,” he said, walking into his bedroom.
Just seeing Addison struggling but so determined to eat her noodles with the chopsticks made AJ smile, despite the exasperating evening he was having. He told Emi not to worry; he’d keep her name out of it. He’d talk to Isaiah the next time he got the chance alright, but at that moment, he needed to deal with something far more pressing first.
Chapter 21
Addison
“At the risk of sounding like a dick,” AJ said the moment he was off the phone, “can I ask you to please not keep anything from me, even if it is one of my siblings asking you to?” Addison stared at AJ as he moved his neck from side to side like he had a stiff neck. “I have this thing about us keeping shit from one another. I’m already making a huge exception when it comes to your ex.”
“The donor,” she said, pushing her box of noodles away. “I don’t think of him as my ex or her father. We weren’t even together that long—”
“You called the relationship beautiful, Addison. You said he was the reason why you took the job in Chicago—”