Page 83 of Perfect Fit

Everyone scrambled to see what had Simon so upset, Mike heading out first.

“You aren’t welcome here,” Simon said, and Mike’s gut twisted into a painful knot as his gut told him exactly who the unexpected visitor was.

Sure enough, Rex stood in the doorway, his gaze running over Simon. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“Rex!” Ella said, her dismay at seeing him as obvious as Simon’s.

“Hey, beautiful! You look even younger in person than you did online.”

Cara sidled up beside Mike and slipped her hand into his, silently offering her support, but Mike had a feeling it was Ella who was going to need it.

“You’ve seen her online?” Simon asked, his suddenly wary gaze shooting between his wife and his former best friend.

Mike drew a steadying breath. “How about we do this inside?” He didn’t need the neighbors witnessing this spectacle.

“You’ve got five minutes,” Simon muttered and stepped aside so Rex could enter.

Mike felt his brother’s and sister’s gazes darting from Rex to Mike, as if looking for the similarities, and Mike’s skin crawled in fear that they’d find some.

“Could we get some privacy for this meeting?” Rex had the balls to ask of Simon.

“No. This is my home,” Simon said, his voice clear and strong. “My wife and my children. My son,” he said, his gaze falling pointedly to Mike. “You’re interrupting a family dinner, so we’d appreciate it if you had your say and then were gone.”

Rex’s face flushed. “I heard you had cancer. I wanted to come see that you were okay.” He shifted on his feet, obviously surprised he hadn’t been welcomed with open arms.

There was a narcissistic bent to Rex that Mike hadn’t been aware of before now. Rex had honestly thought Simon and Ella would be happy to see him after all these years.

“You heard about me how?” Simon asked.

Mike’s heart pounded in his chest. Both he and his mother had avoided telling Simon anything about being in contact with Rex. They’d agreed to wait until Simon didn’t have so much to worry about, until the cancer was gone. But Rex’s timing took that choice away from them.

Ella placed a hand on Simon’s arm. “He reached out on Facebook a few weeks ago,” she said.

“Then I went to Vegas to run down a lead on that cold case I’d been asking you about,” Mike added, refusing to let his mother take sole responsibility. “I mentioned not wanting to burden you because you had too much going on.”

“So when Rex asked me what was up with you, Simon, I told him,” Ella said. “Mike and I decided we’d tell you everything once we knew you were healthy. I had no idea Rex would just show up here after all these years.” She scowled at the man who, though he was Mike’s father, had intruded on them all.

“But apparently we ran out of time,” Mike said, shooting Rex a disgusted glare.

“You’ve been in touch with him,” Simon’s gaze dulled as he looked at his wife. “And you went to meet him.” He turned that disappointment on Mike.

And he didn’t like the sick feeling in his gut caused by hurting the man he considered his father.

“Simon—”

“Don’t worry, Ella. We’ll talk later.” To Mike’s relief, he didn’t sound angry with his wife. “And son, so will we.” He turned an understanding gaze on Mike.

That was Simon. Angry for an instant, calm and understanding for a lifetime. More than anything, Mike wanted to be like him.

“As foryou.” Simon jerked toward Rex. “What makes you think we want you here after all this time? My wife says she didn’t expect you. Mike, did you invite him?” he asked, his tone completely neutral.

If Mike said he had, Simon would have accepted it. God, Mike admired the man even more—and he hadn’t thought such a thing was possible.

“No.” Mike folded his arms across his chest. “I didn’t. I asked him a few questions, then made it clear I wanted nothing to do with him.”

“Guess those are the only people in the room who get a vote where you’re concerned, and they stated their choice. I appreciate that you made the long trip, but there’s nothing here for you anymore. That wasyourchoice almost thirty years ago.”

Rex shook his head in denial. The complete shock on his face told Mike he’d really expected to be welcomed. “I came because you have cancer. Because we go way back. And because we have history.”