Mack Daddy(60)

“Believe me, I want to, but I can’t. I think I need to face Victor in the morning and try to talk it out a little, even though he told me he’d rather not.”

“Okay. I guess you owe him that. I should try to be more understanding, but I’m selfish when it comes to you. Promise me I’ll get to see you tomorrow night.”

“I promise.”

“Seriously, I should be so upset after everything that went down today, but I just can’t be. I’m delirious. I can still smell you all over my sheets. It’s heaven.”

“I can still feel you between my legs.”

“That was what you wanted.”

“It was way better than I ever imagined, though.”

“Things are gonna be shitty for a while, Frankie, but there’s nothing that can wipe this damn smile off my face.”





I should’ve known she wasn’t going to let me off that easy. Being happy without my entire world turning upside down soon after was apparently too much to ask.

A few days after Torrie caught Frankie and me together, I showed up at my ex’s place to find her standing outside with a realtor. A vinyl sign had been planted into her front lawn.

Jonah was out of school. He was supposed to be starting in the public school system the following week until we could find him a suitable private school fairly close to her house. At least, I’d thought that was supposed to be the plan.

“What’s going on, Torrie? Where’s Jonah?”

“The sitter took him to Target.” She spoke to the agent, “Can you excuse us?”

As soon as we stepped inside of the house for privacy, Torrie dropped her bomb. “I’m putting my house on the market.”

“Why?”

“I’ve requested to be let out of my contract.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Okay, let me spell it out for you. My life has been miserable ever since moving to Boston. And after what I discovered about you, it’s even worse. I don’t want to be here anymore. So, we’re moving back to D.C.”

“When exactly were you gonna tell me that you’re planning on leaving with my son?” I yelled it, not giving a shit if the realtor overheard.

“It’s in his best interest. He was never happy here. And quite honestly, you didn’t show me any respect when you started f*cking his teacher, so why should I consult you on this? You clearly don’t have his best interests in mind.”

Fisting my hands, I tried to compose myself before I did something stupid— like trash her house. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I get that you’re upset that I never told you about her, but you can’t take it out on our son.”

“I’m doing what’s best for Jonah. He doesn’t need to see you with her. Now I know why you were so gung ho about moving to Boston. I should’ve known it had nothing to do with us.”

“Seeing me with her is not going to disturb him. Jonah knows about my friendship with Frankie. I’ll explain it to him properly. She won’t even be his teacher anymore.”

“That doesn’t matter. She’s the entire reason for the demise of his parents’ relationship.”

“That’s not true.”

“You told me yourself that you were in love with her even as far back as when Jonah was conceived. I never stood a chance. You were probably thinking of her while you were f*cking me back then.”

Now was definitely not the time to admit that she was right about that.

“She’s not the cause of the demise of our relationship, and you know it. If it weren’t for Jonah, we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we did. We tried, Torrie, but it was never going to work out between us.”

“I tried. You didn’t.”

“I did try...for over seven years.”

“The seven-year itch. Just wonderful. You’d told me once that you never really loved me. Now, I know why.” Her stare was icy. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the realtor.”

Following her out the door, I shouted, “You’re not going anywhere until we settle this. This is a reckless decision. Do you even have a job lined up?”

“I’ll be working for your father again.”

I should’ve known.

I stopped in my tracks. “You told him about this?”

“Yes. I told him everything.”

“It’s none of his f*cking business, Torrie.”

“You are his business. And I needed to know I had a position lined up before leaving this one. I had to tell him why I felt the need to come home to D.C. It made no sense otherwise. Needless to say, he’s not happy.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“Why? Because you don’t want to leave your girlfriend? Stay here, then. No one is stopping you.”

“You know I can’t live away from Jonah. That’s why you’re doing this. You’re doing it to spite me because you’re blaming her for what happened with us.”

“I’m moving home with my son. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you get a lawyer.”





Feeling completely deflated, I drove straight over to St. Matthew’s. I remembered that Frankie mentioned she’d be working late.