Chapter 10
You Love Her
Eddie
Ionly knock once to announce my arrival before pushing the door open. “Hey, are you around?”
“In the greenhouse,” Deirdre calls.
I wind my way around the porch toward the back.
I know every inch of this place. Hell, it was a wedding gift from her parents—an old farmhouse tucked next to pastureland.
Gorgeous, but it needed a ton of work when we first got it.
I was more than happy to dive into it, bringing it back to life piece by piece.
There are a lot of wonderful memories tied to this house.
The irony is that the restoration lasted longer than our marriage.
But even though the marriage didn’t survive, our friendship did. People find it strange that Deirdre and I still get along, but to us, it makes perfect sense. We were friends first. There never seemed to be a good reason not to stay that way.
Rounding the corner, my gaze lands on the far section of the porch, where the rotted railing has finally given up the ghost and broken clean through. If only I’d mentioned that to Deirdre.
Oh, wait, I did. Repeatedly. But listening and follow-through have never been her strong suit.
With a sigh, I walk the length of the porch and step into the greenhouse. Most people use a greenhouse for plants, but Deirdre had a better idea. She crafted a personal hideaway, just steps from the back door, complete with an inflatable hot tub and picnic table.
Trust me, she hides in here plenty, and today is no exception.
She lifts her wineglass in a lazy salute when she sees me. “Howdy.”
“Hey. I saw the porch.”
She rolls her eyes and lets out a soft laugh. “Yeah, it happened a few days ago. I know, you told me it would, and I didn’t listen.”
“As usual,” I snort. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring my tools next week to fix it.”
“That would be amazing. Thank you.” She takes another sip of wine. “I’ll make you chicken tacos as payment.”
Deirdre isn’t the world’s greatest cook, but she can whip up some mean chicken tacos, and bribery by way of food—and extra time with my son—always works for me.
“Sounds great.”
She points toward the back door. “I grabbed some Saranac. It’s in the fridge if you want one.”
Normally, I would take her up on the offer. Sit for a bit, have a beer, catch up. It’s good for Theo to see us together and functioning as a family unit.
When we split, Deirdre and I agreed that no matter what happened between us, we’d remain a united front for our son. We both knew firsthand how devastating divorce could be to a child. Look at my family. I didn’t know Ori until last year, because of the damage our dad’s affair caused.
Divorces happen. People fall in and out of love all the damn time, but honesty is integral.
Besides, I care about Deirdre. Always have, and I always will.
“You want me to get it for you?” Deirdre asks, pulling herself from the hot tub.
“Can’t tonight, thanks.”
“Dad!” The back door slams open as Theo barrels into me. Hell, I barely have time to brace before he hits me full force. Kid is getting bigger by the day.
“Hey bud. How are you doing?”
Theo pulls a plastic figurine out of his pocket. “Mom got me a… what’s this called again, Mom?”
“Damned if I know,” Deirdre mutters. “A dinosaur?”
“Mom,” Theo whines. “It’s a… brachiosaurus!” He holds it up for my inspection. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
Just like Deirdre, I don’t have a clue. “I’m not sure, Theo, but how about this? We’ll look it up when we get home, okay?”
Theo nods, shoving it back into his pocket. “Can I bring my game system with me?”
I shoot Deirdre a look. “His what?”
Theo, like most kids his age, loves game systems, but we don’t want him growing up in front of a screen. There will be plenty of time for that when he’s an adult. So this is news to me, and not entirely welcome news.
Deirdre climbs out of the hot tub and wraps a towel around herself.
“Trust me, I wasn’t happy about it either.
My parents picked it up for him without my knowledge.
We’ve already had the talk, and Theo knows he’s only allowed half an hour, and only after he finishes his homework.
I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it but work has been hell and I forgot. ”
I can make a big deal of it, but what’s the point? End up fighting with Deirdre and Theo mid-meltdown?
No thanks. I’ve learned to choose my battles wisely.
“It’s fine. The same rules apply at my place, Theo. Grab the rest of your stuff.”
A broad smile crosses my son’s face. “Okay. Dad, are we gonna see Miss Kiki this weekend?”
Yeah, that’s one way to broach the topic of my new girlfriend.
Not the way I would have chosen, but… yeah.
I feel Deirdre’s eyes on me. I know we’re about to get into it.
I crouch down in front of Theo. “Finish getting your stuff ready, okay? Let me talk to your mom for a second.”
Our son looks between us, curiosity written all over his face. His gaze bounces back and forth before he nods. “Okay.”
I wait until the door shuts before sucking in a fortifying breath and turning back to Deirdre.
She’s at the ready, too, a strange expression on her face, a fresh pour in her wineglass in case the news isn’t good. “Who is this Kiki? Theo must have mentioned her a dozen times.”
Now, I can bluff and say she’s my friend, which is true. But it’s not the whole truth, and I have made it a point never to lie to people I care about.
I drag a hand through my hair. “She’s the woman I’m dating.”
That gets Deirdre’s full attention. “You’re bringing her around Theo?”
I raise my hands in surrender. “Kiki and I were friends long before we started dating. That’s how she met Theo.”
“Really?” Deirdre clicks her tongue, wholly unconvinced. “How long has this been going on?”
“The relationship is new. The friendship isn’t.”
“Hmm.” She averts her gaze, taking a long pull from her wine.
Wonderful. One of Deirdre’s non-answers.
“So when you said you and a friend were taking Theo to the dinosaur exhibit…” She tilts her head, pinning me with her sharp gaze. “That was Kiki.”
“Yes.”
She exhales hard through her nose, her fingers tapping against the wooden table. “I don’t know how I feel about some woman I don’t know being around my son.”
“Our son.”
“Don’t start,” she snaps.
“I’m not, Deirdre, but let’s be clear. You’ve brought guys you were dating around him, too. I have always trusted you to make the best decisions for Theo. You’d never bring anyone into his life who shouldn’t be there, right?”
Another sip of wine and a small shrug. “Right.”
“I’m doing the same thing.”
Her fingers continue tapping their erratic rhythm, and I feel anger curling around the edges of my chest.
I know she trusts me. And I trust her, too. But she gets this attitude whenever I date anyone, even if the woman never gets near Theo.
Almost as if she’s jealous of another woman in the space she still claims as hers, which is stupid because, trust me, we tried countless times to make our marriage work.
We kept ending up in bed together, like two horny idiots. Hell, we fucked the day our divorce was finalized. Who does that?
Every time, thinking we could figure it out. Maybe all we needed was space. Time. Another shot.
And every time, it blew up in our faces and made everything worse.
It took us two years to stop doing that to each other. To realize we weren’t in love, and we never had been.
“What is this really about, Deirdre? Don’t get angry. Just talk to me.”
She sighs, her gaze dropping to her wineglass. “It’s just… weird, you know? I mean, you’ve hung out with women, sure, but I’ve never actually heard you use that word before. Dating.”
“There hasn’t been anyone worth using it for. Not until now.”
The second I say it, I know it’s the truth. I’ve hung out with plenty of women for varying lengths of time. We had some fun, some laughs, and then it was over. No hard feelings, no broken hearts.
But it’s different with Kiki.
Since I know Deirdre doesn’t want to hear me wax poetically about Kiki, I opt for a different tack. “Trust me, I know it’s weird. If you recall, you started dating months before I did. Remember Fireman John?”
Deirdre groans. “Why would you mention his name? He was such a jackass.”
Actually, he was more than that. Stocky, loud, and full of himself, the type of guy who walks into a room like he’s got something to prove. I couldn’t stand the son of a bitch.
But I chalked it up to resentment that the woman who was once my wife was now happily screwing another man.
I chuckle at her disgusted expression. “Look, I hated the guy, but he was good to Theo. I saw that firsthand. He was a royal asshat, but he would never let anything happen to our son.”
She considers my statement before nodding. “That’s true. Theo loved him.”
“He did, which I hated even more. How the fuck was my hammer and tool belt supposed to compete with a fire engine? Come on.”
Deirdre drops her towel and climbs back into the hot tub, wineglass in tow. “Don’t worry. No one will ever be as cool as Daddy.”
“Don’t know about that,” I mutter. “How about we set something up? You meet Kiki. Get a feel for her.”
Deirdre arches a brow, already rolling her eyes. “You think I’m going to like her?”
“Honestly, damned if I know.” I run a hand over my jaw, biting back a laugh. “I hope you do.”
She snorts at my brutal honesty. “Just know I’m not looking to be buddies with your girlfriend.”
“Didn’t say you had to be.”
“Fine.” She waves me off. “We’ll figure something out.”
That’s about as close to a yes as I’m going to get.
I glance toward the house and back to her. “We good?”
She leans her head against the edge of the tub, her eyes drifting closed. “We’re good. Have fun tonight.”
I find Theo on his bedroom floor, crouched over his backpack like he’s preparing to smuggle state secrets across enemy lines.
Except the contraband is dinosaurs. A crap ton of dinosaurs. So many dinosaurs, the zipper doesn’t stand a fighting chance.