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The only hint I’d been inside my bag at all was the gloss that was only marginally slicked across my lips.
I looked like me. The stranger I rarely showed to the world—and a big part of that was the sadness that lingered in my eyes.
Would I cry over the shit, Linc, that was my daughter’s father? No. He didn’t deserve that. He made the choices he did. I didn’t hold responsibility for his actions, and even if he was dead, I would never give him that power.
More to the point, I didn’t want her to cry over him, either.
I didn’t want her to feel responsible for what he did.
I didn’t want to think about the actions in my family that lead to that.
All thinking about Linc did was lead to the inevitable path of thinking about my family—of my dead mother and sister, of my estranged father.
Of Damien. Of the brother who told me to kill my daughter yet still tried to help me.
Of the brother who was too much of a coward to show his face despite all that pretense…Because that’s all it was. Pretense.
Some things in life were meant to be kept close to your chest. My life was an entire deck of cards meant to be played closely to myself.
No matter what Adrian Potter thought.
I splashed water on my face and grabbed a paper towel to dry it off. The moment’s breather was so welcomed.
From the conversation and from the man who’d instigated it.
Pushing out of the bathroom, I headed back to the table. The kids were both sitting there, eating, and Adrian was leaning across it with a red, squeezy bottle in his hands.
I joined them right as he was done squirting ketchup onto the side of Lola’s plate.
“Thank you.” Lola grinned.
A third of the plate was covered in ketchup.
“Got enough ketchup, Lo?” I asked, sitting down in front of my meal.
She shrugged. “We’ll see in half a burger and a portion of fries.”
Seemed fair.
“Can I have that much ketchup, Dad?” Zac asked, hope glancing his expression.
“No,” Adrian answered.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t have to clean Lola up when she’s done.”
My mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair!”
Adrian shrugged while Lola giggled.
“Move your fries, Zac.” I grabbed the ketchup bottle.
He laughed gleefully and sis as I’d said. No sooner had he released the fries than I squeezed the bottle with all my might, leaving a huge dollop of it on the side of his plate. It was more than enough for the both of them, but whatever.
Payback was a bitch.
So was I when I wanted to be.
Adrian gave me a dark look, but I simply smiled sweetly at him. What was good for him to do was good for me, too. That was how this worked, after all.
Aside from the kids giggling at each other, we all ate in relative silence. Lola lagged halfway through, and I knew she’d be asleep before we even got home. The purple-red bags beneath her legs were growing with every mouthful she swallowed.
By the time they’d finished, Adrian and I had been waiting for a few minutes. I’d studiously ignored him, though, by checking my phone. I’d had enough conversation with him today to last me a week, but that hadn’t stopped him trying.
“Mommy, I’m finished.” Lola pushed her plate toward me. She’d eaten a little over half her plate, which was another reason we rarely came here.
“Tired?” I asked her.
She glanced at Zac and shook her head in the negative.
Not sure who she was trying to convince, but it wasn’t me.
Our waitress came past, and I managed to flag her down and ask for the bill to be split in two.
“One is fine,” Adrian said.
“Two,” I insisted. “Me and my daughter’s will be separate, thank you.”
She hovered for a moment before she paused and nodded.
“Mommy,” Lola whispered. “I need the restroom.”
I sighed. “Do you mind watching my purse again?” I asked Adrian.
His lips tugged to the side. “It’s not really my color, but sure.”
“Funny,” I whispered before getting up and taking Lola’s hand. “Come on, pumpkin.”
I led her to the bathroom to do her business. She was in there for all of two minutes before she left, tugging on her underwear behind her.
“Lola,” I said, bending down and tugging at her shorts. “We sort our underwear out inside the cubicle, remember?”
She looked at me, eyes wide, and shrugged. “I’m tired, Mommy.”
No shit, kid. No freaking shit.
“I know. Let’s go now, okay?”
She tucked her hand into mine and leaned against me. “Okay.”
“I just have to pay.” I took her back over to the table. Adrian and Zac were already standing, their things gathered, and Zac had my purse in his hands.
“Here.” Zac held it out to me.
“Thanks.” I smiled as I took it. “How much was my check?”
“I took care of it,” Adrian said. “I made you come, so don’t worry about it.”
