“Sorry.” I buried my face in my shirt again and wiped the mixture of tears, snot, and mascara off again. Or tried to. “Zoe is asleep. Has been for a few hours. I’m not drunk. I swear. Totally sober. Unfortunately.”
I stood, shuffled over to grab my phone, and headed for the stairs without once looking at Kingston. I got all of two steps away when his hand grabbed mine, pulling me to a stop.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head, still refusing to look at him. “Not even a little.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No,” I whispered. “It’s fine. I mean, I’ll be fine.”
Kingston made a rough sound in the back of his throat. “I was married, remember? I know exactly what ‘fine’ means.”
“Then you should know it’s best if you just leave me alone.”
“I should. And yet…” He sighed.
I finally looked up to find Kingston staring back at me with a concerned expression. Something about having all his focus on me did something to me. I didn’t want to think about it or examine it. I just needed to get upstairs and hole up in my borrowed bedroom. So I shrugged despite his hold on me. “Some wounds just take longer to heal.”
“Believe me, I’ve been there. It’s kind of trite, but it does get better. It won’t always hurt this much.”
“Thanks.” I took a shuddering breath and then my mouth opened and something I never should’ve said poured out. “How long did it take you to get over…”
I closed my eyes and winced.Think before you speak, Briar. Think!
Kingston let go of my hand and took a step away.
The whole time, I was calling myself twelve kinds of moron. I opened my mouth to apologize.
“I didn’t really keep track. But it was months. Almost a year, maybe. It helps to have something else to focus on and keep your mind off of…them. Definitely stay away from the press, or social media, in your case. Delete all that shit off your phone so you’re not tempted. Just keep pushing on and stay in the moment. Before you know it, you’ll be saying asshole who?”
I choked. Legit swallowed wrong and choked. Then I had a huge coughing fit—my face no doubt a bright red. Kingston bent toward me, but I waved him off as I coughed.
Finally, when I could breathe, I wiped the best kind of tears from my eyes. “I cannot believe you just said that.”
“What? It’s true. Your ex has all the markings of an asshole. I should know—I work in Hollywood.”
I smiled at his weak joke. Because it was sweet, and I still couldn’t believe we were talking. Who was this man infront of me? He couldn’t be the same man who had mostly communicated in grunts or to Zoe for the past three days.
He dipped his head. “I’m going to turn in. I already locked up, so don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks, Kingston. ‘Night.”
“Goodnight, Briar.” He gave me a half smile then turned and headed for the stairs.
Leaving me to stare in bewilderment after him. Who was that version of Kingston? I’d never met him before, but I could almost believe I’d be friends with him one day.
* * *
Despite our odd bonding moment, we were back to grunts and him only addressing Zoe as we sat at the table the next morning. The charming, relatable, and curiously vulnerable man from the night before was long gone. This morning Kingston had said exactly five words to me in an hour.
I was keeping track.
“Do you want some pancakes?”
It took me a beat to realize he was talking to me. “Uh, yes. Please.”
He grunted in response, and that was it.