Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Afterwards, the three of us spent the evening together until it was Kayden’s bedtime and they had to go home. A feeling of sadness bubbled inside me as I watched them leave. I could have gone with them if it weren’t for all these terrible thoughts swirling inside my head.
I liked Kayden, I really did, but could I be a mother to him? I thought about the selfless way Jessica had sacrificed her own happiness for her son’s wellbeing.
Could I? Could I sacrifice like that for Kayden?
Until I knew I could, I couldn’t be a mother to him. That would be unfair to him and to Rex. I knew firsthand how a stepmother could ruin a child’s whole life, and I was not going to do that to Kayden.
43
REX
I spotted Matt at the counter when I entered our favorite bar. I clapped his back, pulled back a bar stool, and slid the wrapped package in front of him.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Homemade fruitcake.”
He slipped it quickly into his jacket pocket. “Nice one. Now where the fuck have you been? It’s like you fell off the face of the earth.”
I laughed. “I’ve been distracted.”
“By what? You’re never distracted,” Matt said. “Wait, it’s not a woman, is it?”
Matt knew me well. We’d been best friends since college, then we started a company together and our friendship had been sealed for life.
The bartender walked to our end and asked me for my order. “I’ll have the same,” I said, pointing at Matt’s beer.
“It is.”
Matt grinned slyly. “Does this new woman have a name?”
The bartender set my beer in front of me on the counter. I reached for it, ignoring the glass and took a sip straight from the bottle. When I set it back down again, I found Matt looking at me waiting for an answer.
“Her name is Willow.”
“Willow.” He said her name slowly, as if tasting it. “Where did you meet?”
“Office party,” I said briefly.
“I thought office parties were only good for a quick fumble in the broom closet.”
“Things have moved on since then, Matt old boy.”
“Shame. I liked my days in the broom closet with Elise Barbery.”
“Elise Barbery. That’s a blast from the past. Whatever happened to her?”
“No idea and I don’t want to know. The past is best left in the past.”
“Talking about the past, I found out I have a son.”
Matt nearly fell off his stool. “You what?”
“Yup, I’m a father. Here, let me show you a photo,” I said, taking my phone and scrolling through it.
“Hang on, hang on. Start from the beginning. When, how, what?”
I told Matt the story, and he shook his head in wonder. “Son of a bitch. She sabotaged your condoms. That’s one dangerous woman, man.”
Matt’s attention was suddenly taken by something going on behind me. Almost immediately his features softened, and I knew who was behind me.
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you that Alice was joining us.”
“Hi,” Alice, Matt’s wife, said, coming to stand between us.
“Hello gorgeous.” I stood up and kissed her on the cheeks.
“It’s been too long since I’ve had a drink. Mind if I join you two gentlemen?”
“Of course not,” I said, moving up one space to make room for her between us. “How have you been?” It had been years since I had seen her, and I wondered what had made her come today.
“I’ve been fine, thanks,” Alice said. We exchanged pleasantries, then Alice gave her order for a chardonnay.
“How was work?” Alice asked Matt and for the next few minutes, I listened as they exchanged highlights about their day.
A powerful longing came over me, accompanied by a feeling of loneliness. Work had always been enough for me. Accomplishing my goals had taken a lot of my time. Since Willow, work seemed a means to an end. It was no longer the end. Now the end had Kayden and Willow in it.
Looking at Alice and Matt, it hit home how much more there was to life. Willow’s face filled my mind. Would we still be in love years from now? If the intensity of my feelings were anything to go by, hell yeah.
Matt jerked his head in my direction. “He’s found himself a new woman… and a son.”
Alice whirled around, her eyes wide with curiosity. “You have a child?”
Matt gave her the condensed version. “Yup. The kid is three years old. The mother only dropped him off now because she’s dying.”
Alice’s eyes became even rounder. “Are you guys teasing me?”
“Nope,” we both said at the same time.
“Okay, the mother is dying. So, who’s the new woman then?”
“That’ll be Willow,” Matt said.
“Well, in that case you better bring her to dinner next week, then. And after that we have to meet your son.”
44
WILLOW
I shrugged out of my jacket just as Melissa was passing by clutching a mug. The scent of coffee wafted up my nose and I decided my first stop would be the small kitchenette.