Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
We walked down the hallway together toward her apartment.
“Maybe I should stay in the lobby—”
“No.” He kept his eyes ahead, moving at normal speed.
“We should be diplomatic about this.”
“Diplomatic?” He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. “You think not bringing you is diplomatic? I’m not doing that. You practically live with me, you work with me every single day, so I’m not going to hide you. I don’t care if that bothers her.”
“I just mean right now…since things are a little tense.”
He was still furious about what she’d done, and he would probably be furious forever. “The only reason things are tense is because she made them tense. She gets no sympathy from me. So, buck up, and let’s do this.”
“I’m not scared of her—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I released a defeated sigh.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me along. “Let’s go get my boy.” He made it to the door and knocked.
From the other side of the door, Ryan’s voice was audible. “Daddy!”
Dex’s smile was wider than I’d ever seen it, his eyes full of lighthouse beacons. His hand moved over his heart like it just gave a jolt. “Oh man, Little Dude is gonna kill me…”
Catherine opened the door with Ryan in her arms.
“Daddy!” Ryan immediately reached his arms out.
It was almost too much to watch.
“Little Dude, I missed you so much.” He immediately took him out of Catherine’s arms and pulled him close. “Wow, are you bigger than the last time I saw you?” He tested his weight. “What is your mom feeding you? You’re heavy, man.”
He chuckled a little bit and circled his arms around Dex’s neck.
Dex’s eyes softened before they closed, holding his son like it was the greatest moment of his life.
I looked at Catherine.
She looked at me, her eyes cold but not hostile.
“Give me a kiss.” Dex kept one hand on his back so he wouldn’t fall over, and they shared an embrace. “And look, it’s Sicily.”
Ryan looked at me, his eyes brightening like he recognized me. “Sissy…”
My heart melted into a puddle on the floor, and just like that, I fell in love. I fell in love with him quicker than his father. “Hey, sweetheart. I missed you.”
Dex handed him off to me.
I faltered initially, not expecting Dex to give him up so quickly, especially not in front of Catherine. But I took him, our faces close together. “Your dad wasn’t kidding. You’re getting so big.”
He wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me.
“Aww…” I hugged him back, loving this little mini Dex.
Catherine gave a loud sigh. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“No.” Dex blurted out the answer coldly.
Catherine narrowed her eyes. “It’s going to be difficult for us to co-parent if you won’t give me the time of day. And you aren’t setting a very good example.”
Once she pulled that string, Dex complied. “Baby, I’ll be right back.” He squeezed Ryan’s foot before he joined Catherine inside the apartment. They probably moved into the living room, but their voices were still audible.
“I know you’re mad at me—”
“I think mad is an understatement,” Dex snapped. “And I’m happy to talk about Ryan and anything related to parenting, but I don’t want to talk about anything else, especially this.”
“I just want to clear the air, okay? I want things to be civil.”
Dex was quiet, probably because he had no argument against that.
“So, can we be civil?”
“Yes. We can. I’d like that, Catherine.”
I continued to hold Ryan in my arms as I listened to the two of them talk.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“Good. Long and dirty, but it was worth it.” After a long pause, he said, “I’ll have him back on Tuesday.”
“Dex?”
“Hmm?”
“Despite what you think, I didn’t try to tear you apart. If there was any chance of us being a family, I wanted to try. I thought she should know that, that’s all. I think a lot of people would want to know that.”
He kept his voice low and controlled, even though he was probably pissed. “I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but the three of us are still a family. Together or apart, that doesn’t change. You need to get with the twenty-first century. The fact that we’re not married doesn’t make Ryan a bastard. I know all you really want is another chance to make things work between us, and I understand that, because most of the last eighteen months were spent missing you. But life happens, things change, and even if Sicily left me, I wouldn’t come back. It’s weird to think that if your father hadn’t passed away or I hadn’t been the physician, we’d probably be together right now. It is mind-boggling. We can play that what-if game forever, but it’ll never change what did happen. I know it’s hard, but you have to let it go. And make no mistake, I will always love you, Catherine. When you love someone the way I loved you, you always do, in a way. I’ll always be here for you, I will always be your friend, I will always come to your side if you need help. But…that’s it. It’s over. It’s done. It’s final. I hope you can accept that.”