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Chapter Sixteen
When Stacy pickedup the kids, he happily told her he was marrying his personal assistant. Her prejudice against people who work was showing when her only response was, “Why?” Only to be matched by an equally disgusted reply when he said they were in love. That hadn’t even been the reason he had married her. Love had never even crossed his mind. It had been a short, hot affair that had ended with an unplanned pregnancy. Even now, he knew he had never loved her.
Still grumbling, she took the two little girls and left. Happily, they were talking about nothing but the woman Stacy was growing to hate. It was Lucy this, and Lucy that as they walked down the sidewalk. It was a good day.
One of the downsides of the day was that Lucy hadn’t been in his bed that morning when he had woken up. Though he didn’t know when she had left, she had left breakfast for him and his kids and had oddly taken all the stained clothes from the day before. He had decided they weren’t worth the effort of cleaning.
Now he was just waiting for Kelly to show up and pick up the older kids. Though both could drive now, she still liked the ritual of picking them up—a big difference between his exes.
“Leo, I hear you’re getting married.” Her voice came from the doorway. She usually just let herself in, and today was no different.
“That I am, to the love of my life,” he said with a grin. He and Kelly were friends now after all these years. Their marriage had been a mistake from the beginning, but their divorce had been almost perfect.
“I hope so. You deserve to find her. New personal assistant of yours? I like her.” Kelly sat down across from him on the other couch.
“I like her too,” he admitted the truth. Was he in love with her? No, he didn’t believe in love after all these years.
“At least she’s better than Stacy. I mean, Stacy would never bring your drunk kid home from a bar. She would’ve left her,” Kelly said, and it was true.
“I’ve talked to Aubrey about that night. The guy she was with was over thirty.” Leo was still relieved Lucy had been there for his kid.
“She says he’s not,” Kelly said, defending her daughter.
“Lucy says he is, and she dated him for a while.” Leo hated to tell her. Lucy’s business was not Kelly’s.
“Your fiancé’s ex is dating your kid?” Kelly’s face was in shock.
“No, because my kid isn’t dating him. He’s thirty,” Leo reminded her.
“I’ll talk to her about it,” Kelly replied, moving over to his side of that argument.
“She said yesterday she wasn’t interested anymore, and I hope she was telling the truth. No need for her to end up with the wrong guy at nineteen.” Leo grinned at her.
“Oh, it wasn’t so bad, Leo. I got two great kids and a great ex-husband from the deal. But maybe I should have waited a few years.”
“We made it work for a while.”
“Until you started thinking like your dad, we were good,” she agreed.
He frowned. “I do not think like my dad.”.
“The minute he talked you in to working with him, you turned into a cheating workaholic.” Kelly leaned back in her chair, waiting for him to defend his dad as he always did.
“He had a heart attack, Kelly.” It had been the reason Leo had given up his dreams to follow his dad’s path.
“And lived for another ten years.” Kelly snorted. She never believed he’d had a real heart attack.
“Did you leave me because I cheated?” He needed to know because he didn’t want his next marriage to end after two years. He was already wanting to be a part of his kids’ lives.
“Yes, and no. You cheated more than once, but I divorced you because I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t want to waste my life with a man who I didn’t care was sleeping around. I wanted one that I wanted in my bed.” They had always had issues in the bedroom— there was too much of a past between them, which was why they were better as friends now.
“And you found him,” Leo said of Bruce, her second husband, the cop. They had been married for a decade now.
“I did. But I want you to find yours. I want this one to work,” Kelly said, and he could tell she meant it.
“Me too. Wedding’s on Wednesday if you want to come.”
“Tell me about her. I know the personal assistant stuff.”
