Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“That bastard Ryan had looked up Jake’s information in a database at work and found his marriage license. He took home a copy of it that night and showed it to Nina before Jake came back.”
“Holy shit. Fuck, man. I’m sorry. She totally thought you were just messing around on your wife, then?”
“She left the apartment and wasn’t planning on ever speaking to me again. I came home to Ryan chastising me about it while Nina was nowhere to be found.”
Mitch scrunched his forehead in confusion. “Where did she go?”
“She’d somehow become friends with Mrs. Ballsworthy’s daughter, Daria. That was strange in itself. Anyway, she moved in with her on the other side of Brooklyn. I had to choke Ryan to get the address out of him. I ended up locating her, and we were finally able to have the talk. But by that time, our relationship had been tarnished.”
“How did she take it?”
I grinded my teeth in frustration, not wanting to recall anything about that conversation. “She was shocked, told me she couldn’t be with me unless I got divorced. But she did understand my needing to take care of Ivy. Nina had too big of a heart to ever question that.”
My sister spoke from behind me. “Those months were horrible for him.”
I hadn’t realized she was listening in.
She handed me a plate even though I’d said I had no appetite. “It took you a long time to garner the courage to tell Ivy you needed to file for divorce.”
“It needed to be done very carefully. Ivy was devastated once I told her I’d fallen in love with someone, mainly because she was sure that meant I’d abandon her. It took some time to hash out all of the legalities. But it was all necessary if I wanted to be with Nina.”
“Where did things stand between you and Nina during all that time?” Mitch asked.
So much for not rehashing everything.
I needed to just explain it as simply as possible and then be done with this conversation.
“Bottom line, things were rough for a while. Ryan continued to be an impediment, too. But Nina and I could never really manage to stay away from each other. Case in point, she got pregnant with A.J. during that time. And that surprise was the miracle that saved us. The past nine years haven’t gone without challenges, but I feel like our love has only gotten stronger.”
I knew Mitch understood where I was coming from because he and Skylar had certainly had their share of drama. They were apart for five years before they finally got their shit straight.
Mitch nodded and scratched his chin. “Has Nina ever met Ivy?”
“No. I don’t think that would be healthy for either one of them. Nina never asked to meet her, and Ivy pretends my family doesn’t exist. It’s the only way she can handle it when she’s even aware enough to think about it. It’s a coping mechanism.”
Mitch Jr. started crying, so Skylar got up to retrieve him from the playpen.
Mitch pointed his finger at me. “By the way, I think we need to tag team, hunt this Ryan down and beat his ass.”
“Believe me, he didn’t escape my wrath. I ended up beating the shit out of him once when Nina was pregnant. But over the years, he’s apologized enough times that I, at least, don’t want to kill him anymore. It’s hard to avoid him because Nina’s parents are still close to his. Ryan and his wife are at a lot of family functions when we go to upstate New York. He married this really cool chick from Australia named Lisa, who clearly has no idea what a dick he can be. She’s way too good for him, though. They just had a son they named after Jimmy. They live not far from Nina’s parents. He works in law enforcement now for the town.”
Skylar was feeding the baby again. “I just can’t forgive him for everything he did, especially what happened after A.J. was born. That was just unconscionable.”
I straightened in my chair, uncomfortable with where this was going. “After A.J. was born? What are you talking about?”
“When he went to Nina’s parents’ house during the week she was staying there with the baby…when your work sent you overseas.”
My insides were twisting. “Say what?”
“Oh, shit. Nina never said anything to you?”
“Apparently, fucking not.”
“I just assumed she did. I’m so sorry, Jake. Crap. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I—”
“Skylar! What the fuck happened?” It wasn’t my intention to yell, but the fact that she knew about something that I didn’t really pissed me off.
“You know how Nina was really depressed, going through all of that post-partum stuff?”
“Of course, I remember. That was exactly why I didn’t want her to be alone that week. She was constantly in tears. A.J. was only a few months old. But I’d just started a new job that I really needed, and they made me go to Germany for training, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to take the position. I drove her up to her parents’ so they could help take care of her.”