One Last Time(62)

I step forward, pulling her against my chest. “It’ll be okay.”

She lifts her head and reveals the tears pooling on her lashes. “How? How is this okay? We haven’t been divorced more than a few weeks, and now he’s marrying his pregnant girlfriend? Then there’s the fact that he got her pregnant when I was still living in that fucking house with him.”

I’m doing my best to let her work through this in her head. Finding out something like this has to be difficult, and I’d be an asshole to push my own doubts on her. Knowing all that doesn’t stop my unease. She has a right to be pissed, but I’m still a guy.

“The situation isn’t okay, but your kids have you. My mom is the only reason I survived the shit with my dad. Trust me.”

She drops her head back onto my chest. I hold her because that’s all I can do. There’s nothing to make this better except be here.

“How are you not running for the hills?” she mumbles into my shirt. “I told you I’m a mess, and now you get to see it all.”

Kristin is the woman I want, and I’ll take everything that comes with her. “I told you before that I’m not going anywhere.”

A tear falls down her face. “You did.” She plays with the button on my shirt. “I just didn’t believe you because it was easier not to.”

“And now?”

“Mommy!” Aubrey yells, and we break apart, moving to opposite sides of the kitchen.

“What, honey?”

The door flies open, and Aubrey runs in, carrying her animals. “The zookeeper didn’t feed them!” Her lips are pursed, and she huffs.

Kristin bursts out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” Aubrey scolds.

“No, not funny. I’m sorry. We should get a new zookeeper.”

Aubrey looks at me and a smile forms. “You could do it, Noah. You could give them cookies and make sure they get two kisses each before bed.”

Oh, Lord. I look to Kristin, but she stands there, covering her mouth with her hand.

I squat so Aubrey and I are eye to eye. “I have to ask my agent if I can take the job, but if he says yes, I’m in.”

“Yay!” she yells and runs out.

I walk back to Kristin, who lets her laughter fly. “I needed that.”

“Hey, I’m her new favorite person,” I inform her.

“Yeah, you fed her cookies!”

But look what it got me . . . a new best friend who thinks I’m awesome. Sure, she knows she can totally bend me to her will, but that’s pretty much any woman.

“Whatever works. Now I’m the zookeeper since you were fired.”

Kristin shakes her head. “I’m sorry our day is ruined.”

“It’s not ruined. Why don’t we do something? Get the kids out of the house?” I suggest.

Kristin raises a brow. “You want to spend the day with me and the kids?”

“What did you think I was going to do?”

This is just one more reason I hate her ex. One minute, she’s brave, ready to take on the world, and then the next, she doubts everything.

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

“Do I lie to you?” I step closer.

“No.”

“Do I ever make you question what I want?”

She shakes her head slowly. “No.”

I take her hand in mine, remembering that some piece of shit spent years trying to break her. “Okay then, let’s take them somewhere. Do something they enjoy, any suggestions?”

Her smile grows slowly and now I’m scared. “I know the perfect place.”





Chapter Twenty-Six





Kristin





“Can you give me a few minutes?” I ask Noah, jutting my chin in the direction of Finn. He’s standing against the wall with a sour face. I’m going to put an end to this.

“Of course.”

“Aubrey, do you think you could show Noah where the map is? He’s never been here before.”

Her eyes brighten, and she takes Noah’s hand and tugs. “Come on! I can show you.”

Noah doesn’t seem to mind, and after a few steps, he lifts Aubrey into his arms as she points toward the information area. Another brick around my heart pulverizes. Seeing him with my children means more to me than anything. They are my heart and soul and him trying matters.

I look back over to Finn and sigh. I don’t want to push him, but I raised him better than this. Noah tried to engage him in a conversation several times, and he was rude. I don’t tolerate my kids being disrespectful.

I nudge Finn’s arm, and he turns to the side a little. “Hey, you ready to go inside?”

“I don’t want to be here.”

My knee-jerk reaction is to tell him too freaking bad, but I would like him to be less of a turd. I hear my mother’s voice in my head, telling me to pick my battles.

“I know you’re angry, and you’re allowed to be, but you’re not going to be rude to my friends, do you understand?” I ask him.

His eyes narrow, and I see the defiance swirling. “Fine.”

“I mean it, Finn. Noah and I are friends, and he wants to hang out with you and your sister.”