Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 86596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
She tips her head up so I can kiss her cheek in greeting, and I let her lead when the hostess shows us to our table.
Seated next to the panoramic window with the city below, I’m convinced it’s the most romantic spot in Illinois.
I order a cocktail.
Molly orders wine.
And then…
We’re alone.
Finally.
“It feels like I haven’t seen you in weeks,” I tell her because it has felt like weeks. Months. Years.
She looks so good. So beautiful and good and kind.
Everything I want…
Molly is so good for me. I just hope I can be good for her.
“It does seem like a long time. We’d gotten used to spending time together,” she states the obvious, not giving me an inch of emotion. Her expression remains neutral—not that I blame her.
I wonder how long I should beat around the bush before getting to the heart of the matter, when the server comes back to ask if we want any appetizers.
“I could do bread,” she tells him. “I’m starving, and if I don’t eat, you’ll have to scrape me off the sidewalk.” Molly laughs.
The server—Brad—nods before rushing away to get the lady some bread.
“Thanks for meeting with me. I wasn’t sure you would.”
Since when are you so insecure, Cohen? I scold myself. You used to be so cocky and full of yourself that it would have taken an act of Congress to stop you from getting what you wanted.
“I think it’s important for both of us to have…” Molly pauses. “Closure.”
Closure.
The word hangs like an anvil between us. What the hell is it supposed to mean? She’s done, done? Or she just assumes we’re done?
I clear my throat and cross my hands, ignoring the crystal cocktail glass in front of me, though I kind of want to eat the cherry.
“So as you know, I took the DNA test and had to wait for Laura to give her own sample, which took forever.” Too long. Too calculated. “Full disclosure, she’d been messaging me a lot after her big announcement, and it’s taken some time to…convince her to stop. I had to push everything through Donna, my secretary, because she’s driving me up a wall.”
I literally cannot stand her, and the idea of having a baby with her is what nightmares are made of.
“I bet she is.” I can’t tell if it’s the light, but Molly momentarily purses her lips as if she’s just sucked on a lemon.
“I handled it. It’s been a few days since we’ve been in contact.”
Molly nods but has nothing else to say, so I prattle on.
“Anyway. The DNA test.”
She nods again, waiting patiently, menu propped in front of her open but forgotten.
“I’m not the father.” My shoulders slump from holding in the news, wanting to tell her in person.
Molly’s posture rightens, and she sits up straight in her chair. “Oh?”
“No. Keith is the father, just as she probably already knew since we were rarely having sex.” I pause. “Sorry to be so blunt about it, but she and I weren’t sleeping together during the end of our relationship even though I had no idea she was cheating.”
“Why would she tell you you might be the dad when she knew you weren’t?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure she knew for a fact; like maybe she had a doubt. But then she saw us at the gala Tripp Wallace invited us to, and something inside her snapped. She was never jealous before, so I have no idea why she suddenly gave a shit about what I was doing—especially considering she’s literally living with someone else.”
“Some women are funny that way. They pee on something, and it’s theirs, even when they don’t want it.” Molly looks up at me, pushing the hair out of her face and behind her ears. “So the test came back, and you are not the father?”
“No. It was like a bad talk show where they reveal the probability of likelihood. She acted all shocked and surprised.”
Molly gives her head a woeful little shake as the server sets the bread down in the center of the table. “Imagine how Keith feels. Betrayed? Angry?”
“Yeah, I do feel bad for the guy.” I consider the relationship he and I had before he was wrapped up in Laura’s drama. “Nice guy, maybe too nice. Too naïve. Definitely has too much money. He barely knows what to do with it. I imagine Laura is bleeding him dry.”
She picks a piece of bread out of the basket and pulls it apart. Steam rises. “And now he’s stuck with her for life.”
Poor bastard.
I shrug again. “He was crushed before learning the results. I don’t think they’ll last much longer. I give it six months before she moves out and hauls his ass to court for child support.”
Molly pulls a face. “Yikes.”
I nod. “Yeah. It will be more money per month than some people make in a year.”