Chapter 42
FOURTH AND GOAL
WILL
The next morning came too soon. I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with Natalie all day, putting her in positions only an acrobat could handle.
But I knew she had plans. She was spending the day with James, something she’d been looking forward to since Bebe’s surgery had taken up so much of her time.
Her fingers stroked me lightly, teasingly.
“Okay, maybe a few more minutes,” she whispered.
Those “few more minutes” quickly turned into her straddling me, her body taking over as her breath hitched and her moans filled the air.
I held her hips and met every movement until we both collapsed, out of breath and entirely spent.
She rolled out of bed, her naked frame disappearing into the bathroom. I watched her go, marveling at how she managed to be both graceful and devastatingly sexy. I was a man utterly, hopelessly in love with this woman.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost eight. I had plans with Evan to watch football around 10:30. Natalie stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, her wet hair falling down her back. She picked out jeans and a long-sleeve sweater that hugged her in all the right places.
“You ready for a big day at the amusement park?” I teased as she finished getting dressed.
She laughed, shaking her head. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” she said, walking over to me. I was brushing my teeth, and she stood beside me, looking at our reflection in the mirror as though she couldn’t quite believe it was real. I leaned down and kissed her.
“When can I see you again this week?” I asked.
She thought for a moment. “We have the Christmas concert on Thursday.”
I grinned. “I’ll save you a seat.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing. “How about Tuesday at lunch? I’ll come over.”
“I think I can make that work,” I said, rinsing my mouth. “By the way, Alan wants you at the meeting with his investor for the restaurant project. It’s a big deal.”
“Wow,” she said, her face lighting up. “Count me in. Just let me know the details.”
“Will do.”
Natalie headed downstairs while I showered and got dressed.
When I joined her in the kitchen, she was assembling a yogurt parfait.
She handed me one along with a cup of coffee.
I liked the way she took care of me, like it came naturally to her.
It was a stark contrast to Kelly, who always made me feel like any effort on her part was a chore. With Natalie, everything felt easy.
Once breakfast was done, she packed snacks and water bottles for her and James, adding hats to her bag like she was mentally checking things off a list. “Okay, I think I have everything,” she said.
We walked through her garage to the driveway, where my car was parked. I leaned in to kiss her goodbye, but a car pulled up just as I was about to. It was Jason.
He didn’t look happy to see me.
Natalie noticed him immediately. “Jason,” she said, her tone neutral. “I thought I was picking James up at 9:30.”
Jason got out of the car, his expression cold. “I called and texted you. Bebe forgot a book she needs for her report. I thought I would pick it up and drop off James. He looked at me. “Enjoying my house, Will?”
Natalie stepped forward before things could escalate. “Jason, let’s not do this with the children in the car,” she said firmly.
Jason’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. Bebe rolled down her window. “Is Ivy here?” she asked.
Natalie crouched down to her daughter’s level. “No, sweetie. Ivy isn’t here.”
Jason raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting to see how Natalie would handle this. She opened the car door and said, “Why don’t we all go inside for a minute?”
James looked confused. “Mommy, aren’t we going to Legoland?”
“We are,” Natalie said. “We just need to talk about something first.”
Inside, Natalie gathered James and Bebe in the living room. Jason and I stood awkwardly to the side, waiting for her to speak.
Natalie knelt in front of the kids, her demeanor calm. “I love you both very much and you are my number one priority. You know how Daddy has a friend, Brooke?”
Bebe’s face lit up. “I like Brooke! She sang to me the other night.”
Natalie’s smile faltered for just a moment, but she quickly recovered. “I’m glad you like her. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You know how Daddy and Brooke spend time together because they’re friends?”
Bebe nodded, her little brow furrowing slightly.
“Well, Will and I spend time together too, and he’s very special to me. You’re probably going to see him, Ivy, and her siblings a little more often.”
James tilted his head. “Like…special how?”
Natalie hesitated, glancing at Jason, who remained silent but watchful. “He’s more than a friend,” she explained gently. “We really care about each other, and we enjoy spending time together. Does that make sense?”
Bebe looked thoughtful. “Does that mean Ivy and I will be sisters?”
“Not exactly,” Natalie said with a small laugh. “But you might see her more often. You’re still my number one priority, okay? That’s never going to change.”
Bebe’s face relaxed. “Okay.” She brightened suddenly. “Can Ivy and I have a sleepover here?”
Natalie laughed, glancing at Jason. “We’ll talk about that another time. Right now, we’re just figuring out how to spend time together as a family.”
James shrugged. “Okay, can we go to Legoland now?”
“Almost, buddy. Just a couple more things to sort out first,” Natalie said, standing up. “I’m just going to check Bebe’s room for her book. Why don’t you two spend a little time in the playroom while I look?”
“Yay!” James exclaimed, grabbing Bebe’s hand as they darted out of the room.
As soon as the kids were gone, the tension in the room thickened. Jason turned to me, his jaw tight.
“I should punch you for fucking my wife,” Jason said, his voice low and sharp.
I stood my ground, meeting his glare head-on. “You’re right. What I did was out of line. I’d want to kill someone if they did that to me.”
Jason’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t respond immediately.
The sound of footsteps broke the silence. Natalie returned, her brow furrowed. “What’s going on here?” she asked, glancing between us.
Jason crossed his arms. “I’m not too happy about seeing both of you under my roof when I can’t even get ahold of you.”
Natalie sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Jason, I’m sorry. I know this is hard, and I should’ve been more on top of my phone. But we need to figure out a way to work together for the kids’ sake.”
I stepped in, keeping my tone calm and even. “Jason, I care about Natalie. I don’t want to make things harder for you, Bebe or James. What I did was wrong, and I am sincerely sorry.”
“Jason, you have Brooke and seem happy. Can you find a way to do that for me?” Natalie asked.
Jason’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He looked at me, then at Natalie, and finally nodded. “I can try.”
Natalie gave him a small smile. “Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way… The book is nowhere to be found.”
I spoke up. “I can call Kelly and see if Ivy has a copy we can borrow.”
Jason glanced at me, looking uncertain. “If it’s not a problem…”
“It’s not,” I assured him.
Natalie grabbed her bag. “I’m going to head out with James. I’m confident you two can figure this out,” she said, her tone light but firm as she looked between Jason and me.
I stepped outside and called Kelly.
“Hello, Will,” she said, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Hi, I was wondering if you had a copy of ‘The One and Only Ivan’ that Ivy is working on for her book report?”
“Why?” she asked, her tone sharper than I expected.
“Well, uh, Bebe can’t find her copy. She may have left it at school before the break,” I explained.
“Are you serious, Will?”
“Kelly,” I said, lowering my voice so Jason and Bebe wouldn’t overhear. “It’s for Bebe.”
“You mean Natalie,” she replied curtly.
“Look, Natalie isn’t here with me right now, I’m with Bebe’s dad, Jason. Don’t punish Bebe because you’re upset with me about my relationship with her mom.”
“Relationship?” Kelly said, her voice rising slightly. “I thought I made myself clear about how I feel about her.”
“Kelly, if her ex-husband can accept this, then you can try too. Please, Kelly. Do the right thing here.”
“Don’t patronize me,” she snapped. “I’ll have Madison drop it off at your house.”
Before I could even offer to come pick it up myself, she hung up.
I went back in the kitchen to find Jason. “My daughter, Madison, is going to bring the book to my house. You are welcome to come over and wait for it or I can drop it off.”
“I’ll follow you over to your house,” he said, sounding uncomfortable.
Jason held his car door open for Bebe, while I climbed into mine. As we pulled out of Natalie’s driveway. It was a strange dynamic—one I never thought I’d be part of—but here I was, leading Natalie’s ex and her daughter to my house to borrow a book.
Halfway to my house, my phone buzzed. It was Evan.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Where are you? I’m at your place. Door’s locked, alarms are on… Did you forget about our plans?”
I groaned inwardly. “Sorry, I got caught up. I’m on my way. Just go in through the garage, I’ll disarm the alarm remotely.”
Evan hesitated. “Caught up with what? Are you with Natalie?”
“No, Jason and Bebe are coming over to grab a book for her report. Madison’s stopping by too,” I said quickly, hoping to keep it brief.
Evan laughed. “Jason, as in Natalie’s ex? And Madison? Sounds cozy.”
“Evan,” I said, my tone sharp. “Don’t be a dumbass.”
“Relax, William. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
I hung up thinking about how this was not the day I thought I would be having.
Before I knew it, we were at my house, I turned into my driveway. Jason pulled in behind me, helping Bebe out of the car as I walked over to greet them.
“Come on in for a beer and some apple juice while we wait for Madison,” I said, trying to make Jason feel comfortable under the circumstances.
Jason hesitated for a moment, clearly uneasy, but eventually nodded. “Alright.”
We walked inside, and Evan was already in full football mode, with four different games on the big screen.
“Hey, Jason, this is Evan. Evan, Jason.
Jason extended his hand. “Hey, man. Nice to meet you. What’s going on? Did the Bears just kick a field goal?”
Evan grinned and nodded. “Yeah, Santos nailed it. Right down the middle.”
Jason stood by the couch, still looking a little unsure but loosening up as the game went on. I handed him a beer and gave Bebe an apple juice.
“Can I go play in Ivy’s room?” Bebe asked after a while.
“Absolutely,” I said. Ivy’s room had a Barbie dream house that I knew she loved.
I stood as we watched the game. As a quarter went by, I noticed Jason coming in closer toward the couch, eventually we both sat down.
We started to talk about our fantasy football lineups, and Evan, never one to miss an opportunity, made a few jokes about Jason’s picks. Jason held his own and shot back about his tight end choking this season.
Right before halftime, we heard the garage door open. Madison walked in, dressed in her riding gear, her boots clicking against the tile.
“Hi, Maddie,” I said, standing up. “Thanks for bringing the book.”
I motioned toward Jason. “This is Jason, Bebe’s dad. He needed the book for her report.”
Madison’s brows furrowed slightly, but she quickly recovered. “Hi,” she said politely to Jason, before turning to Evan. “Hi, Uncle Evan.”
Evan grinned, leaning back on the couch. “Hey, don’t you want to hang out? We’re a lot of fun.”
Madison smirked faintly, shaking her head. “No thanks, I’m heading to the barn.”
Jason nodded at her. “Nice to meet you, and thanks for dropping this off.”
Madison said, “You’re welcome. Nice to meet you, too.”
She headed out quickly, still looking a little confused.
Jason glanced at the clock. “I’d better get Bebe back to the house so we can work on this,” he said, standing.
“You’re welcome to stay,” I offered, meaning it.
He looked touched by the offer but shook his head. “It’s all good. I appreciate the beer and the book, though.”
“No problem,” I said.
“Bebe!” Jason called, his voice echoing through the house.
As we waited for her, I saw Jason glancing around the living room. I could tell he was taking in the details, the furniture, the decor. Natalie had done it all, and it was obvious he knew that. He stayed composed, though, not letting his emotions show.
Bebe came bouncing down the stairs. “Ready, kiddo?” Jason asked.
“Yup!” she said cheerfully, heading toward the door.
I followed them out.
As Jason closed the car door behind Bebe, I hesitated before speaking. “Jason,”
He turned, waiting.
“I’m sorry,” I said simply.
Jason looked at me for a long moment before giving a brief nod. “Take care,” he said, then climbed into his car and drove off with Bebe.
I stood there watching them go.
“Well, that wasn’t too awkward,” Evan said, coming up behind me. “He’s actually pretty cool.”
I exhaled, shaking my head. “Yeah, but I still feel like a dick. I was at his house this morning. With his ex-wife. I slept with her in this house while they were married. She decorated my house, and he knows it.”
Evan gave me a look. “Didn’t you say he cheated on Natalie? Obviously, their marriage wasn’t exactly thriving, or she wouldn’t have given your lame ass a second thought.”
“He didn’t have a full-on affair like Natalie and I did. They could’ve worked it out. They might still be together if it weren’t for me.”
Evan rolled his eyes. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. Sounds like he’s moved on. He’s got a girlfriend, right? If they’re both happier apart, then so be it. Now can we get back to the game? Enough of this Hallmark Channel crap.”
I laughed despite myself. “You’re something else, man.”
“Damn right,” Evan said with a grin.
“Thanks for listening,” I added, meaning it.
Evan smirked. “Anytime. Now grab us another round. The second half is starting.”