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“Fair enough. Thanks, Lexi. I know another woman would have taken off in the opposite direction. How are you doing for money?”
“I’m good. I’ve been good. The money you send every month is more than enough. You should stop now,” I tell him even though without the extra cash, I would struggle. As it is, Luna lacks for nothing. And for that, I’ll always be grateful to Declan for stepping in and taking over his brother’s responsibility.
“Don’t forget, this is strictly between us,” Declan says before disconnecting the call.
He’s been very insistent that I should not tell Ace about the money. Not that I would. If I did, I’d have to tell him about Luna too, and I’m not ready.
“I bet Declan wants you to tell Ace,” Vanessa says when I join her near the slide.
“How did you know?” I say.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Vanessa says.
I can’t believe she still can’t see it my way. “Even after what I told you about last night?”
Vanessa shakes her head. “It’s not up to you to decide whether he’ll make a good dad or not. He’s Luna’s dad whether he has PTSD or not. Besides can you imagine how happy he would be to know that he’s a dad?”
“How do you know that?” I ask her. “There are some men who do not want children. He could be one of those.”
“You told me yourself how much he likes holding and playing with Luna. Does that sound like a man who doesn’t want a child?” Vanessa says.
She can’t understand and neither can Declan. It’s different for them. Luna is my daughter. Her welfare comes first. I don’t care about Ace’s rights to her or how happy he’ll be. What I care about is that Luna is happy, and no one hurts her. And that includes her biological dad. If he wants to be part of her life, he’ll have to earn it. Those are my rules.
I change the topic. We’ll never agree on this one.
After the park, the three of us take a walk to the ice cream place that’s on the way home. Luna loves ice cream and I love watching the mess she makes as she tries to lick it as fast as it melts. We all end up giggling, including Luna.
Back home, I decided to drive to Ace’s condo to give him the therapist’s information. It’s the least I can do.
His car is in the parking lot. I inhale deeply as I get out of mine and lock it. I don’t know how he’ll react to seeing me after I witnessed him at his most vulnerable self. I brace myself to being kicked out of his condo.
I take the elevator up and when I reach his floor, I have a moment of indecision. This is the one chance I have to walk out of his life and never see him again. After what happened last night, I know that Ace won’t contact me. I have to make the first move and if I don’t, he’ll stay away.
As I stand outside his door, I know that I don’t want to lose him. Only because of Luna, I tell myself. I raise my hand and knock.
My heart pounds hard against my chest as I wait. What if… Before I can complete that thought, the door opens and he stands there, looking oh so fine. Nothing like the man who had crouched on the floor of my bedroom.
If he’s surprised to see me, he doesn’t show it. He steps to the side. “Lexi, come on in.”
I had planned to shove the paper with the therapist’s details into his hand and make a hasty retreat. Now, it seems rude to do that.
I force a smile. “Thanks.”
I love Ace’s condo. It reeks of comfort and wealth and good living. I choose a chair that has a view of the park. The very same park that Vanessa and I had taken Luna this afternoon.
“Can I get you anything?” he says in a reversal of roles. Usually, it’s me who says that when I’m behind the counter.
“No, I’m fine, thanks,” I tell him. “I came to bring you this.” I reach into my handbag and fish for the piece of paper where Vanessa wrote down the therapist’s address.
He takes it and looks at it. “What’s this?”
I tense. This could go very badly. Ace did not ask for my help and neither did he confide in me that he’s looking for a therapist. “It’s the name and address of a therapist that my sister told me about. He works with people suffering from PTSD. A lot of his clients are soldiers.”
I feel like I’ve worked a twenty-four-hour shift at the bar when I finish talking. Ace contemplates me for a moment. The suspense is unbearable. It suddenly hits me that this is something that could end whatever we have between us.
