A Modern Love Story (38 page)

“Yeah, but why do you think you’re not finding out about it until now? And from
me
, no less. She’s serious about getting you out of her damn life.”

“She’s just pissed. She’ll get over it.”

“Bullshit.”

A touch of panic mixed with the anger, adding fuel to his defenses. “She can’t fucking expect me to abandon—”

“Oh, shut the hell up and think about it. One, Robbie would never ask you to do that, and two, in this particular situation, who abandoned who?”

Luc opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut.
She
fucking walked away from
him
! Didn’t she?

“You selfish asshole. That never even occurred to you, did it?”

He shook his head as he thought it through. “No. I didn’t abandon her, and I didn’t fucking leave her for Payten either—which is what she’s acting like I did! If anything,
she
left
me
because of all this.”

Lizbeth stuck a hip out and propped her palm on it. “Let me ask you this. How often do you see Payten now?”

He immediately got his back up. “She’s pregnant. She needs my help.”

“Pregnant doesn’t mean inept. You don’t have to dote on the woman. Unless she’s on bed rest or as big as a house, she’s quite capable of taking care of herself.”

“I’m not
doting
on her. I’m just making sure my kid is taken care of.”

Her posture eased back into a more relaxed stance. “Ya know, Luc, I admire your dedication, but you really are some kind of idiot.”

He noted her more casual stance, and chose to ignore the dig. “So…you gonna tell me where she moved to then?”

Lizbeth scoffed. “Oh, hell no!” Shaking her head, she stormed off toward the apartment.

Luc’s shoulders heaved as he looked over at Conrad who had nothing to add other than a shrug.

“You don’t have any idea where she moved to, do you?” Luc asked him.

“Nope.”

“Then what the hell good are you?” He snatched his beer and then muttered before taking a pull off it. “Useless.”

Conrad chuckled, twisting the top on another ketchup bottle. “Hey, man, didn’t you say you had an appointment this afternoon?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah.” Luc glanced at the clock. “Doctor’s appointment.”

“You sick or something?”

“No. I have to give a hair sample or something. You remember how I was all fucked up that one night? Well, the doctor said it sounds like I was tripping out or some shit, so he did a blood test. Only it came back negative, so now they want to do a hair test…I forget what it’s called. He figured working in a bar there’s a risks of someone spiking my beer.” He walked around the bar and headed towards the door. “Something to think about though. Don’t leave your drinks unattended, and tell Lizbeth the same.”

“You’re coming back, right?”

“Yeah,” Luc said, pausing with the door half open. “I might swing by Robbie’s place. Maybe give the L’s a call.”

“Robbie’s not there anymore,” Conrad pointed out.

Luc shrugged. “I just want to check it out for myself.”

*****

 
“I almost ran into Luc today,” Robbie said quietly, pulling more plates out of a box.

“What?” Lizbeth exclaimed. “Where?”

“I was heading back to the museum and saw him leaving his doctor’s office.”

“Did he see you?”

“For a minute I thought he did, but I ducked into a bookstore. I lost sight of him after that. Or he lost sight of me. Whatever…I didn’t see him again.” She shoved the plates in the cabinet and stared down at the next box. She really didn’t have the energy to tackle more.

“You okay, Rob?”

“I just can’t do it anymore, Lizbeth. I feel like I’m dying inside.”

Lizbeth brushed her hands off as she walked over. “Maybe you should just call him. I mean, he wasn’t
too
much of an asshole when I talked to him, and he really did seem concerned about you.”

“No. I can’t even begin to imagine being in his life when Payten’s right there, too.”

“You know he’s not
with
her, right? He still has his place, she still has hers.” Lizbeth put an arm around her shoulders. “I really think she’s using all she has on him though. He’s totally devoted to her care and every fucking whim. She’s playing it up bad.”

“Manipulative bitch,” Robbie grumbled. “A part of me feels bad for him, and another part thinks he deserves it. But there’s
no
part of me that wants to sit back and watch.” She glanced around at the mess in the kitchen and sighed. “I have to try and get this done before I go. I can’t leave it like this.”

When Lizbeth gave her a curious look, Robbie realized her mistake and cringed.

“Where are you going?”

“A trip. I leave late tonight. I didn’t wanna tell you until the last minute.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause I don’t want Luc to know, and I didn’t want to put you in a position to where you’d have to lie to Conrad.”

“Don’t be a moron,” Lizbeth huffed. “I wouldn’t tell Conrad, and I don’t have to lie, either. I’ll be straight and say I don’t trust his ass not to tell Luc.”

Robbie smiled and snorted a laugh. “Fair enough. I just have to get away from all this for awhile. Get some distance, maybe a little perspective.”

“What about your job at the museum. You don’t want to give that up.”

“I won’t be. The trip is through the museum. I volunteered to go to a dig in Florida to learn about proper cataloging of artifacts. From there I’m going to South America to study the recovery and preservation of Mayan relics.” She grabbed at another box and dragged it in front of her. “I figured in Florida I’ll shoot over and stay at the L’s for a few days of quiet before I dive into work. They won’t be there, but it’ll be fine.”

“Why won’t they be there? Oh, wait. They’re going on that cruise, right?”

“Yeah. They leave tonight, too. They’re driving down to the Keys and the boat launches tomorrow. I haven’t told them I’m coming yet, but they shouldn’t mind. I have a key, so…”

Lizbeth looked knowingly at her. “You didn’t want them to tell Luc, huh? That’s why with the big secret.”

“I know, I’m being childish. But I know Luc, and if he catches wind of where I am, he’ll hound me.”

“I get it.” Lizbeth stood and took a survey of the area for herself. “How about this? I’ll go get us a couple of coffees, and we’ll hit this like a couple of caffeinated tornados.”

She giggled. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Regardless, you get my meaning. You up for coffee?”

“You are a god, and you should be worshiped.”

“I’ll take that as a
yes
.”

*****

Feeling punchy after his doctor’s appointment, Luc decided to go home and call the L’s. Whenever he needed a second ear—the first having always been Robbie—he knew he could count on Leah and Lawson.

“She didn’t even tell me where she moved to. Hell, she didn’t even tell me she
moved
.”

“I think she’s trying to figure things out,” Leah said gently. “Same as you.”

“You’ve talked to her then?”

“Yeah. When she called about the new job.”

“What new job?”

“Oh…she didn’t tell you? That’s strange. She was so excited…”

“She got the museum position,” he deduced, smiling despite his frustration. Then he sighed. He would’ve loved to have heard it from Robbie herself. “She won’t talk to me, Leah. For two weeks now, nothing. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you, Luc. I know this was a bit of a shock to her, especially coming on the tail of what else you’ve been through.”

“Leah, listen to me. Listen to my voice. You know me almost as well as Robbie does. I love her. I am
in
love with her. Now, do I sound like someone trying to hurt her?”

“Of course not, sweetie. But you already have. You need to give her space to heal. After she has her feet back under her, then you can follow your heart and see where it leads you.”

Luc let her words sink in and, regretfully, agreed with her. If Robbie needed space, he’d give her space. And if being with him wasn’t what made her happy, then she shouldn’t be with him. He’d have to let her go—even though the thought of losing her made him want to fucking puke.

“Hold on, sweetie,” Leah said. “Lawson wants to talk to you.”

“Alright. Oh, hey…have fun on your cruise.”

“Thanks. We will. Love you.”

He heard a rustling as the phone was being passed off.

“Luc, my boy. You hanging in there?”

Luc smiled, appreciative to have such great parents in his life. And then he explained everything to Lawson, in much the same way he had with Leah—albeit with more colorful language, and much more aggression, best-suited to a conversation between two men.

“You’ll do what’s right.” Lawson said after a pause. “I have no doubt. Just follow your gut, son.”

It was the
son
reference that gave Luc pause, and then he quickly, but politely, got off the phone to follow his train of thought.

Lawson was a father to him, even though he wasn’t blood, he was a father to him. Luc knew he could call Lawson at any fucking hour of the day, for any reason, and he’d never be turned away. He could ask Lawson for any damn thing in the world, and if the man had it to give, he’d hand it over. Even living hundreds of miles away for the past six years, Lawson was no less a father to him than if he lived right fucking there in Vermont.

It suddenly occurred to Luc what Robbie had been talking about—what should’ve been obvious to him. He didn’t
have
to be in Payten’s life to be a good father. He didn’t
have
to see her every day to prove he loved his kid,
or
to be in the kid’s life. What mattered was the time he spent with his kid—the time him and Robbie could spend with his kid. What mattered was always being there for the kid,
not
for Payten.

Well, Jesus fucking Christ.

Luc grabbed his keys and strode out the door. Payten’s first, then Robbie’s. No. This time, he didn’t want to wait. Robbie first, then Payten.

*****

As he weaved in and out of traffic on the way to the museum, he thought about what to say. What the hell could he say?!
I’m sorry
…again.
I love you so much
…again. Shit. He knew she wouldn’t want to hear any of that, and he couldn’t blame her. Okay, so he’d just tell her what he figured out and that she was right. And then tell her he wanted to be with her, but understood she needed time. Then he’d have to just wait and see what decision she made.

Crawling amongst the other cars, Luc wondered how he was going to find her at work. That place was fucking huge. He figured he could just wait and watch for her, but that felt a little stalker-
ish
and he didn’t think he’d have the damn patience anyway.

He glanced to the side and saw Payten stroll out of what looked like a doctor’s office. Curious, he jerked the wheel to the side and parked at the curb. Payten told him she didn’t have any doctor’s appointments for a few weeks yet. Squinting against the sun sitting low in the sky, he finally made out the name on the building. It was a clinic of some sort, but it was the picture of a woman cradling a baby that was a dead giveaway.