Page 98 of Love Expert

Jeremy’s brows pinch closer together. “Why are you mad at yourself?”

“Because if I’d stayed home instead of leaving you with our next-door neighbor so I could go on a dumb date, you wouldn’t be here with aburned arm.” He pushes higher and presses a kiss to Jeremy’s forehead. “I’m so sorry, buddy. I lost focus.”

“No, Dad?—”

“I knew it was a bad idea. Right from the start.” Settling back on the stool again, he uses Jeremy’s palm to cup his own cheek. “It’s important we always follow our instincts, buddy. And mine have been saying since the start not to listen to Maggie.”

“Billy,” Ollie growls, folding his arms and stopping three feet back. “Be nice.”

“Iambeing nice.” He forces a smile just for his son. “I won’t be going to any more of my meetings, okay, bud? I promise.”

“But, Dad?—”

“I gave it a good go. I tried. But now it’s done.”

I roll backward and sit up, twisting and setting my feet on the floor. Nerves hammer in my veins as I smooth my shirt down and tuck my hair back. My palm throbs, a deep pain pulsing with every pump of my heart. “I’ll go.”

“No, wait!” Jeremy tears his hand from Billy’s and reaches out for me. He tangles his fingers in the fabric of my sweater, stretching the material and popping threads as he yanks. “Don’t leave, Maggie.”

“It’s time for me to go.” I tamp down the bubbling ache in the base of my throat and gently, so very carefully, pry his little fingers away from my clothes. “But your dad’s here now. And Ollie will be here all night.” I fake a smile and look toward my old friend six feet away. “He said he has to stay all the way until six o’clock tomorrow morning, so no matter how late you’re here tonight, he’ll be here the whole time.”

“I don’t want you to go!” Fat tears dribble from Jeremy’s bright green eyes. “Please stay.”

“Let her go.” Billy reaches across and pries his hand from mine. “Maggie deserves to go home, buddy. She’s entitled to clock off now that I’m back.” His eyes stop on mine. “And since we didn’t even stay long enough to receive our menus, there isn’t really much to debrief about.”

Aka: Get lost, and don’t come back again. We’re done with you now.

“Yeah.” I play with my sweater and drop my gaze. But I’ll be damned if I don’t smile anyway. It’s small and phony and about as successful as my flailing business. “I’ll see you through my bedroom window, okay Jeremy?” I clamp my lips shut, or risk the sob currently battering my chest. Leaning over the bed, I press a kiss to his forehead. “You should ask Doctor Darling for a pudding cup. I heard from a reliable source that youwon’t even have to wait for the cart lady. Doctor Darling keeps them in his coat for moments exactly like this.”

Ollie chuckles, digging a hand into his pocket and coming out with a cup of jelly. “No pudding tonight, but I have one of these.” He wanders around the bed and stands by my side. Setting the cup on crisp white sheets by Jeremy’s thigh, he reaches in again and produces a small plastic spoon. “You can eat this now if you want, kiddo. Maggie.” Changing his tone in an instant, he wraps his hand around my bicep and tugs me along. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Magnolia?”

My heart thrums and sputters, thundering in my chest as Ollie and I come to a stop by the door. I peek back and meet Billy’s tortured stare.

He’s going to say goodbye.

He always says goodbye.

Even when we’re fighting and he’s in a bad mood, he always says goodbye.

“Thanks for calling me when you did.”

“It’s—”

“If you’d listened when I wanted to talk to you earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”

I snap my lips closed and lock my wailing heartbreak inside the tight confines of my chest.

He’s pissed—he’s always pissed—but he’s grown, too. He’s evolved. Instead of shouting in my face and telling me to fuck off, he’s able to land his blow and make it sound almost polite.

Dropping my gaze, I nod and turn toward the door. “Yeah.”

“This way.” Ollie leads me past Luciana and into the hall, then he turns left, along the corridor, and past the nurse’s station. Rather than walking me straight through the front doors, he cuts left again and shoves me into an unoccupied room.

“What are you?—”

He slams the door and tears the curtain across for privacy, then he snatches my hand, flips it over, and snarls at the blistering welts I’ve yet to acknowledge.