Chapter 5 #2
Alex looked the same as he always did, and I couldn’t help but wonder when seeing him would finally stop feeling like a punch to the stomach.
His dirty-blond hair was parted at the side like he always wore it, brushed up and back from his forehead.
He was still in his suit from work, but the tie and jacket had been discarded, the top button at his collar undone, and the sleeves cuffed.
I used to love it when he came home looking like that, still sexy in his suit but a little mussed in a way that made him even hotter.
Now I was comparing everything about him to Micah, a man I was never going to see again.
“Hey there, my little monkey.” He squatted low and opened his arms, picking Ivy up and tossing her in the air until she squealed.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said once he settled her onto his hip. “Can we gets ice cream for supper?” she asked with her adorable little toddler voice that turned all her Rs into Ws.
“Not for supper. But maybe dessert,” he added at the end when she began to pout, making her smile big once again.
“Yay!”
While he gave her a tickle, I let my eyes drift, unable to watch the interchange between them without hurting. My gaze cast to the sleek red Mercedes parked at the curb, then to the brunette sitting in the passenger seat, wearing huge sunglasses like they could actually hide her identity.
I had to bite the corner of my cheek to keep from making a nasty comment about him bringing his former mistress to my house.
Once they were done playing around, he finally turned his attention to me.
“Hey, Hayden,” he said with a shadow of a smile as his eyes swept over me.
“You look good.” I was still in the same clothes I’d worn to Divine Flora: a pair of skinny jeans that were frayed at the ankles and had artful rips in the knees and thighs, and a V-neck camo tee in pale pinks and grays that I had knotted at my waist. It was one of the outfits I’d bought when I purged my closet of all the clothes from my former life.
I’d kicked off the super cute gray wedges I’d worn with the ensemble when I got home earlier, but fortunately the at-home pedicure I’d given myself a few nights back had held up, and my dark purple toe nails still looked good.
I thought I looked good, and I’d felt good all day long, but the last thing I was going to do was thank him for the compliment, especially when he’d brought her to my home.
I bent down and grabbed Ivy’s pink unicorn duffle bag from the upholstered bench just inside the door and passed it to him. “Everything she needs for the weekend’s in there, so you’re all set.”
He took the bag, but instead of saying his goodbyes like I’d expected, he placed Ivy on her feet and said, “Hey, monkey, why don’t you let Krista get you all buckled up in your booster, huh? I need to talk to your mommy for a second.”
My jaw ticked and my hands clenched at the thought of that woman coming anywhere near my child. However, as much as I hated her—and I hated her so damn much—she was going to be my daughter’s stepmom, so I had to shove my animosity aside in order to make the best of the situation for Ivy’s sake.
I bent down and pulled her into a tight hug, then peppered her face with kisses. “I’m gonna miss you like crazy, love bug. Be good, okay? I’ll see you in a couple days.”
“I’ll be super good, Mommy. And love you too!”
I got one last squeeze before she took off toward the car, smiling and waving at the woman who’d just stepped out of the passenger side and was in the process of opening the back door.
Alex cleared his throat, drawing my focus back to him as he reached around to rub the back of his neck in discomfort. “Look, I’m sorry about her being here. I didn’t plan on bringing her to pick up Ivy. She just kind of insisted—”
I held my hand up and shook my head. “Stop, Alex. I really don’t care why she’s with you. All I’ll say is if this is going to be a recurring thing, you need to make sure she knows to stay in the car. I don’t want her stepping foot on my property. You got it?”
“Yeah. Of course.” He let out another sigh as he looked past my shoulder into the house. “So, this is where you live now, huh? It seems . . . colorful.”
“We aren’t doing this,” I broke in before he could say anything else. “We’re not gonna stand on my doorstep and make small talk like everything’s peachy.”
“Hady Cakes,” he said in that soft voice he used to use every time he epically fucked up and wanted me to forgive him without an actual apology. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can still be civil—”
“First, don’t call me Hady Cakes. You lost the right to use that name the very first time you shoved your dick in my best friend. Second, this”—I waved my hand between us—“is exactly how you wanted it to be, so don’t give me that soft voice and those puppy dog eyes.”
“Sweetheart, I still care about you. Divorce doesn’t change that.”
“It absolutely does,” I stated emphatically. “Because I can say with complete and absolute certainty that I don’t give a single shit about you anymore. If it weren’t for our daughter, I’d be more than happy to never see you again.”
He actually had the nerve to flinch like what I’d just said hurt him. “Hayden—” he started again, only this time we were interrupted by Krista.
“Alex, honey? It’s getting late and it’s a long drive. We should get back on the road.”
I looked back to the man I’d vowed to spend the rest of my life with and arched a single brow. “Looks like the boss is calling, Alex. Better get a move on.”
“Hayden, we really need to—”
“Alex!” Krista called again, this time louder and with a hint of frustration.
“Call if there’s an emergency, or if Ivy just wants to talk to me. Other than that, there’s nothing else for us to say to each other.”
With another sigh, Alex turned and started down the cobble path through the front garden that led to the street.
I waited in my open doorway as the car started moving, raising my arm and returning Ivy’s wave until they were gone.
Then I went inside, grabbed my shoes and purse, and booked it to the nearest store.
I was going to need all their wine if I intended to get through this weekend.