Page 45 of The Lonely Hearts Book Club

Hey, Maisey. It’s me. Cap. Bella’s dad.

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Cap had always been garbage at communication. He could sing straight from the heart, but I’d never been able to get anything else out of that organ.

Yeah, um, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Penelope got a great job offer with some agency in LA. You know how hard it is to get your foot in the door for these things… They’re starting her off with a small client list and letting her build it up from there. She’s super stoked. She’s—

I recognized the sound of his wife’s voice in the background telling him to stop procrastinating and come out with it. Like I said—she was great, and even more to the point, she was great for him.

Okay, long story short. We found a place. It’ll take a few weeks to pack up the house and get everything shipped, but the school district is top-notch. Bella already started the transfer paperwork, so she’ll be ready come fall. Penelope thinks she’ll really take to life down there. Sun, sand, opportunity…It’ll be good for her. And us. And you, I think. Right? Right. Right.

He kept repeating that last word so many times that it started to twist inside my head. Right. Wrong. Right. Wrong.

Wrong.Wrong.

“Please don’t say it, Maisey.” Bella’s voice was almost unrecognizable in its sudden, tense weariness. “I can’t have this argument right now. There’s too much to do getting everything ready. We’re barely gonna have time to get things packed up for the movers as it is.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, and I didn’t—I really didn’t. Cap wanted to move our daughter over a thousand miles away? And he hadn’t thought to run it by me first? “When did this happen?”

Her eyes didn’t quite meet mine. “It’s been in the works for a while. We didn’t want to say anything until we knew for sure. You know how you get.”

I didn’t understand that, either. How was the way I got different from literally every other mother on the planet when her child wanted nothing to do with her? Protective? Concerned?Sad?

“Okay,” I said, reminding myself to breathe. It was funny how you could forget something like that. My whole life, my lungs had been doing just fine on their own—in and out, full and empty—but now they seemed as shell-shocked as the rest of me. “I’m sure there’s some kind of legal action that should be taken, even with the amended custody arrangement. I’ll need to talk to my lawyers, and—”

“Ohmigod. I knew it. Iknewyou were gonna be like this.” The momentary lapse into weariness was gone; all that was left was the Bella I knew well. Angsty and irritated, a chip on her shoulder the exact same size as me. “For once in your life, Maisey, can you please act like a normal person? It’s California, not the moon, and Iwantto go. I’m sixteen years old! I’m not some kid you can dress up and carry around like a doll anymore.”

“I only meant that we need to update the arrangement—” I began, but it was no use. Bella had drawn the lines of battle between us. If I was being perfectly honest, she’d drawn them a long time ago, determined to place herself as far on the opposite side as she could get.

“I’m just here for my stuff, okay?” She pushed her hair out of her face. “Not to chat about old times. Not to gossip over a cup of coffee like some soccer mom you roped into friendship.”

“But, Bella, I’m not—”

“I live with Dad and Penelope now. Real parents.Normalparents. The kind who don’t need me to hold their hands at all hours of the night and day because they’re too scared to be alone. The sooner you accept that and get a life of your own, the better it’ll be for all of us.”

“But Greg is in your room—” I tried again.

“I’m done. She’s safe to head in now.” His quiet voice sounded from behind me. I had no idea how long he’d been standing there or how much he’d overheard, but from the perfectly bland expression he was careful to wear, it had been long enough. He’d thrown a shirt on, but the fact that he was young, barefoot, and grumpily sleep-rumpled wasn’t lost on Bella.

“Ew,” she muttered as she pushed past us both, the larger of her two suitcases thumping behind her.

I watched her go with a sinking heart, repressed pleas so thick on my tongue I could taste them. Not surprisingly, they were bitter.

Greg moved wordlessly into the kitchen. I followed him, more out of a desire to get out of the hallway than because I wanted the company. There was something calming about the way he set about preparing the pot of coffee. He didn’t say a word, his feet moving so soundlessly over the floor that he was like the ghost of a man rather than the real thing. It was the exact opposite of what I’d do in that situation, offering a ceaseless prattle of conversation to cover the pain, but it worked. By the time he held out a steaming cup of coffee, split fifty percent with my favorite caramel creamer, I was feeling much calmer.

“Okay, I think that’s everything.” Bella popped her head around the corner, her lips pursed tightly. “There wasn’t much here to begin with. Just some winter clothes and my necklace organizer.”

“You don’t want to take your photo album?” I asked, unable to help myself. “Or any of your posters?”

“Ugh. Those are like five years old. I’m not intoHaikyuuanymore.”

“Oh. Right.” The dignified thing to do now would be to give her a hug and send her on her way, offering nothing but my unquestioning support for the months ahead, but I couldn’t. I justknewthe second I opened my mouth, nothing but my emotions would spill out. So I channeled my inner Greg and sipped my coffee, waiting for her to make the first move.

But she wasn’t the one to break the tense silence.

“We found your great-aunt Portia’s treasure,” Greg said, and in a conversational tone designed to entice. “In case you were wondering. It was in the attic.”

I hid my smile behind my cup of coffee and waited to see if Bella took the bait. Even now, even after Greg had seen and heard how little she wanted to do with me, he was still willing to try. To keep her on the hook, to give her an opening so she could always come back home again.

“Great-Aunt Portia?” Bella echoed. For the longest moment, I thought it was going to work—that she’d take a step closer, let down her guard, say goodbye in a way that wouldn’t break my heart—but all she did was frown without understanding. “Why would I care anything about her?”