Chapter 12 #2
“Breathe, baby.” The endearment was out my mouth before I could catch it, but I still didn’t take it back.
“I feel like I’m losing him.”
I lean her head back, pinching her chin so she can stare up at me. “You’re not losing him. What he did was stupid, but at least he didn’t partake in the activities.”
“This time. What about—”
I cut her off. “Don’t drive yourself crazy with scenarios that didn’t happen and may never happen. As of right now, he didn’t drink or smoke.”
She lets out a breath and closes her eyes. “I don’t know how to do this alone. I feel like I’m failing them.”
“You aren’t alone. You got me and you have Drew.” That last part was bullshit, but it was only right I added him into the mix.
She scoffs and shakes her head. “I called him.”
“What did he say?”
Rolling her eyes, she looks away from me. “As always, he blamed me for it and said that I was doing a shit job of keeping the boys on track. Do you know he said that if he’d known I was going to do this bad of a job raising them, he would’ve asked for full custody. Can you believe him?”
It pisses me off how he blames her the way he does, like he wasn’t in the house with them.
He had all the time in the world to parent his sons.
He acts as if he were off at war while she was raising the boys.
If he had a problem with her parenting, he could’ve stepped in anytime. He chose not to care.
And we all know that Drew would never have asked for full custody. He’s too selfish for that. That last line was just another manipulative scare tactic for Ella.
“He’s just talking shit. You know how he gets when things don’t go his way.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I tell myself that often, but I swear sometimes the things he says really hit their mark.” Which is why he says them.
“Don’t let it bother you. You’re doing great, Ella. AJ is a teenager, and this is the most trying time. I was hell on wheels when I was his age. My parents wanted to send me to military school a few times.”
She chuckles, giving me a glimpse of that gorgeous smile. “You weren’t that bad. You were always so sweet to me.”
“If my mom were still alive, she’d have some things to tell you.”
We both laugh before she finally steps out of my embrace. I hated to let her go, but I knew I had to. She cast her gaze down to the ground while scuffing the toe of her shoe on the pavement.
“How was fishing?”
“Not bad. Caught a pretty good haul. I did find out that my ex-wife told my son that he’s annoying.”
“She what?” The fire in her eyes as she asks that question warms my heart. Ella is just as pissed as I am about that bullshit.
I hold up a hand to calm her down. “She didn’t actually say it to him. Apparently, dipshit James was complaining about Jacob being needy and soft, and he overheard their conversation.”
“Well, what did Val say to James? Hopefully, she put him in his place and preferably out her house.”
I shrug. “Jake said she didn’t reply or defend him. But I don’t know. He could have just not heard it. All I know is that I’ll be bringing that conversation to her attention and having a word with James. No kid needs to hear shit like that.”
Her hand against my arm was a gentle caress, but it felt like a match lighting my entire body.
Every time she touches me lately, it has the same effect.
I’ve always had lingering feelings for Ella, but I swear those feelings went on steroids after the divorce.
Now, I can’t be in the same room with her too long without wanting to touch her and kiss her. Hell, even taste her.
“You should definitely ask her about it and talk to James. Did you also let Jacob know that in no way is he too needy?”
I grin. “Yeah. I told him that me nor you have a problem being around him and he wasn’t needy for wanting to hang with us.”
“Good. Maybe he can stay with Cam tonight, and we can watch that new series on Disney+. The one about the camp for Greek gods.”
This is why this woman is so fucking special to me. Despite her own shit going on, she wanted to make sure my son felt appreciated. Ella never left Jacob out of her plans with the boys. Her heart was just too big.
“Sure. I know he’d love that.”
She nods her head and grins. “Well, it’s a date.”
Speaking of dates. “You still plan to go out this Saturday with the dentist who owns a Porsche?”
Per our new arrangement, Ella now has to let me know every time she has a date.
She told me earlier this week that she and the dentist she’s been talking to for a few weeks have finally set something up.
As much as I hate the idea of her dating, I know that she needs this.
Besides, there is no need to fight it. It’s not like I can have her.
“Yeah. We’re....wait. How do you know he has a Porche?” Her brow lifts, and her hands land on her hips. “Tell me you didn’t get Devon to go snooping in that man’s life?”
I chuckled because she already knew the answer to that question. Devon and I played college ball together. He’s one of my closest friends. Like me, after graduation he had to hang up his football dreams. He took the cop route.
“What’s the use of having a friend who works for the police department if you don’t make him run background and criminal record checks on your neighbor's dates?”
She shakes her head and playfully rolls her eyes. “Did he find anything?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you about the date if he had.”
And trust me, I had him look hard. After that last dickhead, I wanted to make sure this guy didn’t have any type of assault or restraining orders on him. The only thing Devon found was a couple of unpaid parking tickets. Looks like buddy is very peculiar about where he parks his fancy car.
She drops her hands to her sides. “Well, if you must know, he and I are going out to see that new art exhibit and then out to dinner at that fancy French restaurant, L’Amour Sombre.”
I grimace. She laughs.
“What? You don’t find my date plans good enough?”
“Hell no. Plus, you’re not that type of girl. You’d much prefer an independently owned restaurant and a walk through the botanical gardens over a stuffy art exhibit and French food.”
This time when I laugh, she doesn’t join me.
“What’s wrong?” I hate the idea that I somehow offended her.
She shakes her head. “Nothing. It just amazes me sometimes how well you know me. Not even Andrew would have thought to take me to the botanical gardens, and I’d been asking him to go since they opened their doors.” She ducks her head, glancing down at her feet.
I lift her face with a finger under her chin.
“I pay attention to things that matter to me, El.”
That powerful pull happens again. The one we had the night she was sitting on my lap.
I know she feels it too because her gaze slips from my eyes down to my lips.
All she had to do was ask, and I swear I’d give her what she wanted.
I know Ella, and I know I couldn’t make the move first. She would have to tell me what she wanted.
I’d let her taste my lips and then I'd spend the rest of the night tasting every fucking inch of her.
When she doesn’t pull away or step back, I place my other hand at her lower back.
With minimal effort, I pull her toward me.
She comes so easily it’s as if she belongs right where she’s at.
Her breath catches and her mouth parts as if she’s just waiting for that connection.
What the hell. There are so many alarm bells going off in my head, but I ignore them. I lean down, ready to take what I want.
A roaring engine has us both jumping apart. Drew’s Benz comes flying down the street. He pulls into the driveway, damn near ramming into the back of Ella’s SUV.
I watch as the woman who was seconds ago so open, nearly collapses in on herself. Right before my eyes, I watched her shrink.
Drew hops out of the car and storms up to us.
“Where the hell is he?” He barks out.
“He’s in the house. I already took his phone and put him on punishment after having a long talk with him.”
Drew scoffs. “A talk? No, he needs his ass whooped. I’m sick of this shit. I’m going to go in there and get him together.” He storms between us, causing Ella to nearly stumble back.
I don’t budge. I’m too busy tamping down on the urge to grab him by the collar and haul his ass back to his car.
Ella turns to me, and I can see it in her eyes: the moment between us is gone, and she’s already regretting it was ever there.
“I should go,” she says.
As much as I want her to stay, I know I can’t ask that. I want to grab her arm and take that fucking kiss despite her ex and my best friend being here. But I don’t. Instead, I simply nod my head and step back.
“If you need to send Jake home, it’s fine.”
“No, he can stay. It will be good for Cam.”
The tension seeps back between us. That pull that doesn’t seem to want to go away.
Even though we have nothing else to say, neither of us are in a rush to walk away.
I get that urge again. The one that demands I say fuck it and pull her back into me.
The moment I reach for her his voice cuts through the air.
“Ella, what the hell are you waiting on?” Drew is back at the door, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t have all damn night for this.”
Done with his tone and his shitty attitude, I turn to ask him who the hell he’s talking to.
Her small hand on my arm stops me in my tracks.
When I look down at her, she shakes her head.
She was probably right. Saying anything to Drew would only end up with me kicking his ass. And we didn’t want that.
“Goodnight, Mitch.” She turns and walks away.
“Yeah, good night, Mitchell,” Drew shouts from the doorway.
For a second his gaze stays on me, and I can tell he’s pissed. It also lets me know him coming to the door when he did was not a coincidence. He may not have known what my intentions were, but he knew he was interrupting something.
His scowl slowly turns into a smug smirk and a raised eyebrow. Without saying a word, I read the non-verbal warning reminding me exactly what he has over my head. I grit my teeth and tilt my head to the side. There was nothing I could do.
“Goodnight,” I say to them both before heading into the house.
I needed space between me and Drew, and a cold fucking shower.