House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 2) by Kylie Walker Page B

fixed her mother a plate and a cup of tea and she took it into her. She found Crystal laying on top of the bed curled in a fetal position. She was staring at the wall like she wasn’t really seeing it. She looked like she was still in shock and Paige begun to wonder if she should have taken her to the hospital.
    “Mom?” It took several seconds before Crystal’s eyes finally found her daughter’s face and focused there.
    “Hi baby.”
    “Hi. How are you feeling?”
    Crystal pushed herself up into a sitting position and said, “I’ll be okay. I’m so sorry about everything.” Paige sat the tray down on the table next to the bed. She sat down next to Crystal and put her arm around her mother.
    “No more apologies Mom, okay? From here on out it’s going to take all of our energy and all of us banding together to move past all of this. That’s what we’re going to concentrate on, okay? We can’t change the past.” Paige knew that her words made her seem like a hypocrite since she was the one who had gone to New York for revenge. Nothing she did would bring Greg back...but she’d had to go through what she did to really process that in her normally analytical brain. “I brought you some food and tea. You need to eat and sleep and keep your strength up. We’ll have to stay here for a while until we figure out what to do and where to go from here. I’ll go out tomorrow and buy you some clothes and things you need.” Crystal nodded and hugged her daughter. Paige hugged her back. When she left the room, Crystal was sipping her tea.
    Paige passed the office where Roxi had taken Damien. He still hadn’t come out and she was getting worried about him. She passed the door and went in and cleaned up the kitchen. When she finished that, he still hadn’t emerged. Finally, unable to take it any longer she went and knocked on the door. There was no response from inside. She knocked again and waited...still no reply. Taking a deep breath she slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open a crack. The room was dark and it took her eyes a few seconds to adjust and make out the shadow of Damien. He was sitting in an office chair holding something in his hand.
    “Damien?” It was a long moment before his pretty blue eyes finally left the spot he’d been staring at on the wall and slowly moved to Paige’s face. Like Crystal he looked like he was in shock. Paige went over to him and said, “What is it? What happened?” Damien focused on her face and after another long silence he said,
    “My whole life has been a lie. All of it.”
    “I don’t understand...”
    “I need to get out of here. I need some air...” He jumped up from the chair. The letter he was holding fell to the floor. Paige bent to pick it up and he said, “No! Leave it.” He grabbed her hand and took her with him through the house and out the back door. Paige had no idea what was going on with him...but she was smart enough to know that what he didn’t need right now was pressure. She quietly followed him as he found the jogging path and began walking the same route Paige had taken earlier today. That had been merely hours ago...but now it seemed like days or weeks had passed since she’d taken that jog.
    Paige looked up at the sky, it was just past dusk and the stars were just beginning to come out. They looked huge tonight in the absence of the moon. Damien pulled her along as he walked like a man on a mission. She wanted to do something for him but right now it seemed like what he needed was just a brisk walk in the cool night air and silent company. They walked until they came to the bench where Paige rested earlier that morning and received the phone call that her mother was there. Damien dropped down on the bench and pulled her down next to him. The wind was blowing softly and other than the sounds of the crickets chirping and the soft sounds of the ocean that was only a few blocks away, it was a quiet night.
    Damien slipped his arm around