Stevie didn't say a single word on the car ride back to her home. Instead, she sat in silence, eyes focused on the Santa Monica traffic as Karen quietly sang along to the radio.
Even though it wasn't exactly a light hearted karaoke session, the younger woman needed to do something other than dwell on how awkward the afternoon had played out... It was truly miserable for everyone who witnessed it.
It wasn't horrible until Kim and Stevie got into it in the family waiting room, being that they both started blaming each other for Constance asking them to leave. Kim said it was her antics and she insisted that it was his bad attitude, which ended up escalating to them yelling in front of the entire group of people.
Becks was the one that got them to finally settle down, after she'd reminded them that their grandson was watching and their arguing wasn't fair to Constance.
After that, Kim packed up Silas, made sure he mentioned to Stevie that she wasn't capable to take care of him and then he left. It felt fitting that everyone else do the same, since their chances of seeing Constance was slim to none. Only Becks was going to hang back with her sister, which is what she'd requested, even though it partially broke their moms heart.
"Home sweet home..." Karen announced, turning down the volume as they pulled through the gate.
Biting down on her lower lip, she sank down further in her seat when she caught a glimpse of his car in the driveway. "I have a headache already." She mumbled, not at all in the mood to see her fiancé.
He had left a couple of minutes before she did, hoping she'd want to ride with, but after seeing how the day had unfolded, George wasn't really surprised when she kissed him goodbye and rode with Karen... She needed some time to think and she didn't have to keep her assistant entertained.
"He has missed you so much..." Karen let out a soft sigh, already knowing what was going through the blondes mind. "And he was so worried when he heard about Constance." She added, putting the SUV in park when they were in the garage.
Stevie just sat, staring down at her hands as if she were lost and in all reality, she really was.
"I know it's hard for you," she lingered as she leaned back in her seat and glanced over at the older woman. "But he cares a lot more than you realize." Karen's voice was so gentle, trying her best to be as sympathetic as possible.
Stevie chuckled, pushing open her car door and unbuckling her seat belt. "I really know how to mess a good thing up, don't I?" She couldn't help but smirk, more annoyed with herself than anything else.
"I think he'll be more understanding than you think." Karen really did, but if he wasn't, she was there to meditate... She'd stepped in between plenty of arguments and wasn't afraid to do it again.
She was team Stevie, no matter how wrong she was in the situation and sometimes she could be...
"You are my girl." The blonde rubbed her shoulder before she slipped out of the car and let her heels hit the concrete floor.
She didn't waste much time, tossing her purse over her shoulder and trailing in through the door that led to the mudroom of her home, where Lily's barks immediately welcomed her.
"There's my baby." She gasped playfully, bending down slowly to pick up her dog off the floor. "Oh, mommy missed you." She added, keeping Lily tucked under her arm as she set her things down on the accent table.
"Hey..." he was leaning up against the doorframe, the softest smile trailing across his handsome face as he watched her come in.
He had been there for only ten minutes, using his key to come in and let the dog out before she got there.
Looking up, she cracked a soft smile as well. "Hi, honey." Her brown eyes grew very soft as she began to head his way. "I can't thank you enough for being there for us..." she carefully put Lily back done on the hardwood floor to give him all of her attention.
He slipped his arm around her waist, using his free hand to gently push her sunglasses to top of her head. "You don't have to thank me for being there for the woman I love." He leaned in slowly, lips meeting hers for the first time in weeks.
He had missed her a lot, but he had also paid close attention to each encounter she had shared with Lindsey that day as well... It was hard not to when they were practically welded together at one point, right in the center of the room
It was slightly uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to mention it... He didn't know enough about the situation to.
She sank into him, tilting her head to the side for his lips to travel along the curve of her jaw instead. "Honey..." Stevie's hand fell on his chest, silently telling him that her mind was too far occupied to even focus on anything like that. "I am so tired." She was- mentally and physically.
He nodded softly as a subtle sigh escaped him. "Yeah, I bet." George kept her close, relieved when her head met his chest for a moment. "I've missed you..." he had said that every single time that they talked on the phone and a part of her didn't know how... How could he really miss her that much?
"I missed you." She did, but she didn't at the same time... She didn't really have enough time to even think about him while she was gone. "I'm going to make some tea and then get ready for bed." She patted his chest softly, smiling weakly when he took her left hand in his.
Looking down, he couldn't help chuckle lightly, even though it was far from funny. "Where's your ring?" George wondered in a low tone of voice as he glanced back up.
She let out a soft gasp, having totally forgotten all about it. "Uh..." she paused for a moment, heart beating a mile a minute as she tried to remember what she'd done with it. "Oh, my gosh." She felt sick to her stomach when she realized that she'd left it on her nightstand in Hawaii.
Wearing a ring that was gifted to her by another man felt wrong, so one night, while she was writing in her journal, she decided to slip it off and set it right next to the old Tiffany lamp... And she hadn't even thought about it since.
"I forgot that I had sent it to the jeweler before I left to get it cleaned." She lied, even though there was already tears creeping over the horizon.
He paused for a moment, dropping her hand back down. "We'll get it, it's alright." He knew she was lying... She had made it more obvious than she'd realized. "Let's make some tea." He added, motioning for her to lead the way as his jaw settled.
