Page 126 of Faultlines
“I have never recited poetry.”
“Not out loud.”
I hate that he’s making me laugh. More than that, I hate that he’s not entirely wrong. The humor leaves his face as he folds his arms, the fabric of his suit jacket creasing with the movement.
“I’m serious.”
“Reid—”
“No. Listen.” He gestures to the sketches covering the conference room walls. “You’ve spent months trying to rebuild things with Ellie. That’s good. It’s important. But you’re all carrying a lot of hurt.” I glance down at the slip of paper with the therapist’s name on it.
Reid’s expression softens, the hard lines around his mouth easing. “If you want any chance of showing Claire that you’re serious about rebuilding, then this is the place to start.”
He taps on the paper. “You don’t have to call today. Just think about it.” He pushes away from the table, gathering his project folders.
At the doorway, he pauses and looks back at the conference room. “If Ellie redesigns my office next weekend, I’m charging her consulting fees.”
A laugh escapes me. “Good luck with that.”
“Why?”
“Because she’ll probably charge you first.”
He grins. “Definitely an architect.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
SETTLEMENT
Claire
“I don’t think he’s expecting me to forgive him.”
The words stop me outside the kitchen, and I freeze just beyond the doorway.
Lucy’s voice is gentle. “How does that make you feel?”
“I don’t know.” Ellie’s answer is so quiet I almost miss it. “He mostly just... listens now.” Another silence. “I still get mad.”
Lucy doesn’t interrupt.
“But...” Ellie sighs. “It’s different than it was.”
“Different how?”
“He doesn’t keep trying to convince me everything’s okay anymore.” I hear the scrape of a chair. “He lets me be mad.”
“And?”
“And...” Another long pause. “I think he finally gets that he hurt me too. Not just Mom.”
“How have the family therapy sessions been?”
Ellie lets out a humorless laugh. “Awkward.”
“I’d imagine.”
A beat passes before Ellie speaks again. “But I don’t hate staying with him every other weekend anymore.”
