Do I Wanna Know?

Chapter 17

I filled my time without Harry easily enough by trying to recall everything I used to do without him. That meant going on my morning runs when he wasn't there to wake me up with sex or breakfast or both, laying out on the beach, and getting dinner with Claudia.

She told me that everything was going great with Zayn, and apparently they had sex after their first official date with just the two of them. I won't lie, I was curious to hear how that went and it sounded like he was a lot like Harry—dominant, possessive, and great in the sheets.

But tonight, Harry would be coming home and I couldn't wait. In reality though, waiting was all I really could do. A massive storm had rolled in late last night, and it didn't show any signs of stopping until at least tomorrow or maybe even the next day. That's what the news said anyway.

"Do you think his flight will get delayed?" I asked Maria, staring out through the glass wall to the ocean while she used her quiet vacuum on the couch cushions.

"I think if Mr. Styles wants to come home today, Mr. Styles will come home today. Somehow, he will."

I scoffed a laugh at that as I sipped from my red wine. It was only 4 PM, but I had been drinking since 1:00. It's not like there was anything else to do in this weather.

"You know you're welcome to stay here tonight again if you don't wanna drive in this mess," I said.

"Oh, that's very nice of you but my husband is already on his way to come get me. You'll be alright until Mr. Styles comes home, won't you?"

"Yeah, of course," I refilled my wine glass and started grabbing everything I would need to make a charcuterie board for dinner. Cooking wasn't exactly my forte, and I wasn't about to ask Maria to stay late in the middle of a storm to make me something.

"Thank you for keeping me company the last few days though," I told her. "I like talking to you."

She smiled without her teeth and patted my back between my shoulder blades. "I'm glad. I like talking to you too."

"Do you think you and your husband will have kids someday? Sorry, I know that's kind of a personal question, but I just kinda feel like you would be a really good mom."

"Oh, um," she shook her head and wiped up the ring the cold bottle of olives left on the marble counter. "I actually found out a few years ago that I can't have kids, but it's okay."

I stopped what I was doing to give her my attention. "I'm really sorry to hear that. I didn't know."

Maria shrugged with the same soft and tired smile she always had on. "It's life. But I appreciate the nice words."

I nodded as I resumed slicing off a few more pieces of salami for the board. "For what it's worth, even though I'm not sure if you're old enough to be my mom, it kinda felt like you were when we talked these last few days."

"Where is she? Close by?"

"No," I offered a weak laugh. "I have no idea where she is, and I couldn't care less."

Maria didn't press for more details on that, but she did give me the same attention I gave her. "Well, for what it's worth, I am old enough to be your mom, and I think I felt the same way while Mr. Styles was gone. I'm glad he has you. He was lonely before, I think."

When I started to smile, she quickly backtracked and begged me not to tell him I said that, which made me laugh as I crossed my heart. "I won't tell him, but that means a lot to me. Thank you, for everything."

At around 5:15, her husband called her to let her know she was right outside the gate, but because it was raining like this I used the app on my phone to open it so he could come closer to the house.