“Careful. All this frowning you’ve done the past couple of days, your face might fall off if you now expect it to perform something resembling a smile.”
“Fuck off,” I fire back.
Stuart’s shoulders shake and then he draws in a breath and sighs as he looks at me.
“Harley?”
“What about her?”
“Your setting is a degree above arctic compared to yesterday. Have you seen her?”
“No.” I look around the room as I lean back in my chair, before bringing my eyes back to meet Stuart’s. “But I spoke to her last night.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“Fine.” He holds his hands up. “Just give me the heads up if your relationship status changes, will you? The press will have a field day if you’re back together.”
“We aren’t.” I take a sip of my coffee, resisting the urge to crumple the cup in my hand at the reminder that we are not together. Not even close.
But speaking to her last night is a start. Hearing the hesitation in her voice and her admitting that she wishes she could talk to me; it’s all the confirmation I needed.
Something is forcing her away from me. And if I find out it’s a who, then they’re going to beg for a quick death.
Nothing in the world is worse to me than Harley’s tears. And I could hear them, clear as anything last night when she was pretending to be asleep. She forgets how well I know her. How many times I’ve watched her fall asleep first in my arms. How many times I’ve woken before her and just laid listening to her soft breaths.
She can’t hide from me.
I know every part of her. Her body and her quirks, what makes her laugh, smile, and feel anxious.
The only thing I can’t read is her mind when she’s closed off from me and keeping her distance. She knows as well as I do that if I were to see her face to face, she would have a much harder time hiding her true feelings from me. And that knowledge is only fueling me further. There’s a reason she doesn’t want to see me. There’s something she doesn’t want me to know.
I intend to find out what the fuck it is that’s got her running.
I spend the morning working on my commissioner and deputy mayor announcement. Stuart heads out early, saying he needs a longer lunch as he has Paige to watch for his sister. Finishing up my speech quicker than I expected, I decide to do the same and leave half an hour after him.
“All right?” Griffin asks as I walk up the steps to The Songbird’s main entrance, toward where he is standing chatting with the doorman.
I greet them both and then the two of us head inside and to one of the smaller restaurants The Songbird has. I wait until we’re sat at the table and the server has taken our order before I lean my forearms on the table and drop my voice.
“There’s something going on with Harley.”
“I know.” Griffin meets my eyes, his mouth turned down as he runs a hand down over his tie.
I pull back in confusion at his bluntness. “What do you mean, you know?”
He rolls his lips, his eyes never leaving mine as he picks his next words carefully. “She came to me for help a few days ago. She didn’t want me to tell you.”
“A few days. Jesus fucking Christ,” I hiss across the table, leaning closer. His words making a realization dawn on me. A few days is before she left… right after the election.
I knew something was wrong.
Griffin’s eyes narrow, but he stays in the same calm, unflustered pose while I’m about ready to leap over the table and squeeze it out of him. It’s been years since we had a fallout that ended in fists. In fact, it’s been since we were kids, but I’m not totally opposed to making him talk.
“Calm the fuck down,” he says quietly, without moving.
I glance side to side in the restaurant. It’s getting busier, filling up with the lunchtime crowd of business guests, and those here for pleasure, their tables surrounded by bags from every store on Fifth Avenue.