Page 63 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

“No.” I shook my head. “God no. Thankfully things between us didn’t get that far.” It made me sick to think how close we’d come, though. If Caitlin had been five minutes later getting to the elevator, or if I’d been five minutes later to come down, Brayden and I would’ve gone along on our merry way to dinner and…after dinner. Though I wasn’t about to share that.

“What are you going to do now?” she asked.

“Well, obviously whatever had been going on between us, whatever we’d started, is over. I haven’t figured out what to do about the project we’re working on together.”

Caitlin looked anywhere but at me. It reminded me of when her father and I had first started dating. She’d seen me as a woman trying to take her mother’s place. She’d resented me so much that it took almost a full year for her to look me in the eyes. It broke my heart to think we could be back there now, after all we’d had to go through to get to the other side. Caitlin wasn’t just my husband’s daughter; she was my daughter, and my very best friend. Or at least she was…

I reached across the table and took her hand. “Caitlin?”

Her eyes shifted to me.

“You believe me, right? That I had no idea who he was and would never do anything intentional to hurt you?”

“Why wouldn’t I? That’s what you said.”

Her tone sounded more sarcastic than certain. But I’d had all night to let everything sink in. She was likely still in shock. I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry this happened.”

Caitlin frowned. “Yeah, me too.” She looked over at my plate. I’d ordered an egg-white omelet and fruit, but hadn’t touched a bite of it yet. “Are you finished with breakfast?”

My stomach was tied in giant knots. I couldn’t possibly eat. “Yeah, I’m done.”

“I need to get on the road.” She pushed her seat from the table and stood. “I have a few conference calls this afternoon when I get back.”

“Oh…okay.” I looked around for the waiter and raised my hand. “I just need to pay the check.”

“I’m going to wait for you outside the restaurant.”

I forced a smile. “Sure. I understand.”

After, we walked to the elevator bank. Neither of us said a word. Once we were inside and the doors slid closed, I turned to her.

“I’ll meet you down in the lobby in fifteen minutes to check out? We can walk out together?”

She nodded but kept her eyes pointed at the ground. “Sure.”

Inside my room, I was relieved to have a few minutes alone. It had been hard to breathe with the thick tension in the air. Since I’d been up all night, my things were already packed and ready to go. There wasn’t much I needed to do before going back downstairs. I thought about calling Brayden, or maybe texting to let him know it was done. But that would inevitably cause an avalanche of questions, none of which I felt prepared to answer. So instead, I lay back on the bed, closed my eyes, and tried to meditate.

“Everything is going to work out,” I whispered to myself. “Just breathe. In…and out.”

I inhaled deeply, feeling my lungs fill with oxygen, then attempted to blow out all the tension from my body. But thoughts flooded my mind like a burst dam. What if Caitlin can’t get over this? What if she distances herself? Can I continue to work with Brayden at Ryan’s House? If I don’t, will I ever see him again? That last thought made my chest ache.

I inhaled again, this time making an ohmmm sound. It might be impossible to clear my head, but I was giving it the old college try anyway. Finally, after a dozen inhales and exhales, I called it quits. If I didn’t have to drive myself home, I might’ve resorted to alcohol to take the edge off. I used the bathroom before doing one last sweep of the room to make sure I wasn’t leaving anything behind, and then I headed down to the lobby.

Still in a fog, I wasn’t paying attention to how many floors the elevator car traveled down. So when the doors slid open, I started to exit, assuming we’d arrived at the lobby. But I stopped dead in my tracks when I got a look at the two people standing on the other side of the threshold, waiting to get on.

Caitlin.

And Brayden.

The three of us looked like a trio of deer caught in the headlights. “I, uh, thought this was the lobby,” I said.

Caitlin pursed her lips. “Nope. Second floor.”

Does she think I’m getting off to go to Brayden’s room?

Brayden caught my eye. He looked as heartbroken as I felt, yet he gestured to Caitlin. “You two, go. I’ll wait for the next one.”

Brayden and I stared in awkward silence as Caitlin stepped into the elevator. I didn’t think things could get much more uncomfortable, but they did, once the doors shut and my daughter and I were alone in the car.