You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 472

Patricia watched the lace trim on her pajama sleeve sway as she moved. Did she actually feel it brushing over her hand? Yeah, she did. Just barely, though—easy enough to ignore if she wanted.

It was a little like Amber and Emerson’s marriage, at least from Tina’s perspective. Sometimes you let things slide, sometimes you don’t. After thirty years together, their lives were tangled up in ways you couldn’t unravel with a couple of sentences. Anyone who’s spent decades living should know better than to let small stuff mess with what really matters to them. When push comes to shove, people pick whatever benefits them most.

Patricia straightened up slowly and let her arms drop to her sides. Letting things go is easy when they don’t really get under your skin. Amber didn’t bother her much. But if things were different...

A soft laugh slipped from Patricia’s lips. She knew exactly what she was thinking. Just as she turned, she saw someone standing in the doorway.

Oliver was there, watching her quietly in the dim light, not saying a word.

Her heart jumped. She actually stumbled back a step, face suddenly pale.

Seeing her so startled, Oliver quickly walked over and turned on the bedroom light. His voice was low and a little rough. “Did I scare you?”

Patricia was still rattled, her tone sharp. “Why are you standing there without making a sound?”

Mr. Padilla closed the distance and wrapped her in his arms, rubbing her back in gentle circles. His voice softened. “I just got here, not even two seconds ago.”

He tried to lighten the mood with a smile. “Next time I’ll try to make more noise when I walk. I’ll walk like a cat, not a dog, how’s that?”

Patricia pouted and tried to wriggle free, but he only held her closer.

He was clearly teasing—she was always going on about the cats in the garden, how graceful they were and how you never heard them coming. Of course he remembered.

Sara had told her once that before Patricia moved in, Cloud Peak hadn’t even been fully carpeted. It was only a month before she came back that they fixed that. Patricia couldn’t take all the credit—but somehow, Oliver always took the blame.

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