“You don’t need to do that, Deacon. I know you’re busy—”
“I need to talk to you every day. Otherwise, I’ll lose my mind.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave her a final squeeze before I stepped back and grabbed my luggage.
She placed her hand on Derek’s shoulder and stood with him, bringing him close into her side. “I’ll take good care of your son, Deacon.”
I had no doubt about it. “I know you will.” I turned and walked out the double doors into the freezing cold.
My driver hopped out, opened the door for me to get inside, and then lifted my luggage into the trunk.
I looked out the tinted windows and saw Cleo and Derek standing there together, looking at the car even though they couldn’t see me. Derek was talking, looking up at Cleo occasionally, like he was saying something pretty long-winded.
She smiled but kept looking at me.
When the car pulled away, I held up my hand to wave even though she couldn’t see me.
But she waved back…like she could.
After a long international flight and a drive from the airport, we checked in to the hotel where the conference was being held. I reverted to my usual coldness the second I was away from my family. Subtly hostile, constantly annoyed, and just generally unpleasant, I was an asshole again. Maybe I was just cranky from the long flight and the ordeal of travel, but I knew that wasn’t the reason.
We said goodbye and headed to our rooms.
I got a big suite just because I preferred to have lots of space. I lifted my suitcase onto the rack in the walk-in closet and opened it, eager to put on something clean after taking a shower.
But Cleo had left me a gift.
It was a picture of the three of us in front of the Christmas tree that Patricia had taken of us. My arm was around Cleo, and Derek stood in front of us, both of us having a hand on his shoulder.
She also wrote a note.
Deacon,
Can’t wait to see you when you get back.
-Your family, Cleo and Derek.
I stared at the picture for a while, a smile on my lips. It was the pick-me-up I needed, a bandage to cover the wound. I carried it to the nightstand and placed it there so it could sit beside my bed for the week.
It was the middle of the night there and the morning here, but I texted her anyway, so she would see it when she woke up. I made it to the hotel.
The three dots lit up instantly, like she’d been staring at the phone and waiting for my text. Thanks.
Thank you for the picture. It’s on my nightstand right now.
She sent three heart emojis.
I wanted to keep texting, but I was exhausted from the flight and eager for a shower, and she needed to get to sleep. So, I left the phone on the nightstand and walked away.
The conference started first thing the following morning, and once I was there and surrounded by colleagues or scientists whose work I was familiar with, I was immediately in my element. I went to lunch with a research physician from Budapest whom I’d corresponded with, and there were always other opportunities to talk to the presenters, to ask questions. Dr. Hawthorne and the others mingled with people they knew in the industry, so we weren’t always together.
There would be dinners in the evenings, hosted in different parts of the city, so every single day was jam-packed with stuff to do. There really was hardly any time for me to call Cleo. I managed to squeeze it in before I went to sleep, when it was the middle of the day for her.
“Hey,” she said excitedly. “How’s it going?”
I lay on the bed in my boxers, staring at the ceiling. “I just got back from dinner. Drank way too much.”
“Scientists know how to party, huh?”
I chuckled. “They just keep refilling your glass, and you’re so absorbed in the conversation, you don’t even notice you’re drunk.”
She chuckled. “I’m glad you’re having a good time.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“I’m at my desk in the lobby.”
“Am I keeping you from anything?”
“No,” she said quickly. “And even if you were, I wouldn’t care.”
I smiled at her response. “How’s Derek?”
“Good. He’s had a lot of homework this week now that winter break is over. Sometimes he has questions, and I have to rely on Google to help him. But we get it done. And then yesterday, I had your mother over for dinner, so the three of us had a good time.”
“You invited my mom?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
“Of course. It’s just…kinda cute.” I was glad that Cleo liked my mother enough to invite her over without my even being there, that she got along with my family…even liked them. Valerie would practically hiss like a venomous snake anytime I wanted to spend time with my family.