By noon his parents were snoozing in the lounge chairs and Rio had taken off to go hang with her friends. Trinity was playing with her new toys and Roan had finished washing the dishes and straightening up.
Trinity had a meltdown over a toy that broke. Her wailing woke his folks who decided it was time to head home. In the meantime, he put Trinity down for a nap and then the house got really quiet.
All he could hear was the ticking of the mantel clock.
He’d almost fallen asleep on the couch when he heard a faint knock at the door. He wasn’t expecting any more guests, although later that afternoon, he and Trinity were having an early dinner with Claire’s family.
Without even looking through the peephole to see who was there, he opened the door.
And found Jazzy standing on his porch, holding the two stockings from her fireplace with his and Trinity’s names on them.
“Hey,” she said, offering up that dazzling Jazzy smile. If he’d broken her heart, she hid it well. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I wanted to give you these.”
“Do you want to come in?”
“Do you want me to come in?”
“You’re here.”
“Okay,” she said, still sunny and sweet.
He stepped aside, waving her over the threshold. “May I take your coat?”
She shook her head. “I won’t be here that long.”
They looked at each other and he saw the same longing in her eyes that he felt in the pit of his stomach. His pulse was a cutting horse, racing to herd a cow to the pen.
“Jazz—”
“Roan—”
“You go first,” he said.
“No, please, you.”
He wanted to tell her what a fool he’d been, but the problems they had were still there. He was settled, rooted. She yearned for travel and life on the road. “I’d like to hear what you have to say first.”
“Why did you block my phone number? I mean I get why you broke up with me, but I don’t understand why you blocked me. What did I do that was so bad?”
“I didn’t block you,” he said. “I blockedmeso I wouldn’t be tempted to text you. I can’t get over you if I’m in contact with you.”
“Seriously?” Jazzy’s smile fell away, and there was a sudden fire in her eyes as she sank her hands on her hips and glowered at him. “That’s your excuse?”
Roan raised his palms, stepped back. “Whoa.”
He’d never seen her fired up like this. Didn’t even know she had a temper. Actually, he was glad to see it. She wasn’t taking his rude treatment lying down.Damn woman, do you know how hot you look right now?
“Whoa? Whoa?” She poked a finger at his chest.“Whoa?”
“Hey.” He stepped away from her. “It was for the best that we go our separate ways.”
“I never took you for a coward, Roan Sullivan.”
“Wh-what?”
“I haven’t texted you once. I haven’t called you. It’s not like I was stalking you or anything. Why did you block me?”
“Jazzy, I—”