It’d taken him time to accept it too, and now he finally felt on an upwards path, ready to get involved with someone else, here she was trying to mess up his life again.
‘Dylan. I don’t think this is intended to upset you or anyone else. Prue seems to realise she made a mistake and ruined what she once had. I don’t think she realised how much she’d miss it. She was scared, I think, always was as a child—’
‘Don’t make excuses for her.’
‘I’m not, but I think she was scared her life had reached a point where it was all mapped out.’
‘Delia, it was mapped out like that because she wanted it that way.’
‘She didn’t get pregnant on purpose!’
‘No, no.’ He patted her hand when her voice rose. ‘That’s not what I meant. The pregnancy was an accident, but once it happened, she wanted the whole suburban life with the huge house, the kids, fancy car. She also wanted the husband in a law firm for the rest of his life, climbing the corporate ladder, but as soon as she realised I wasn’t that guy, she left.’
‘You make it sound like she’s a gold-digger, Dylan.’
The fact Delia wasn’t yelling at him suggested perhaps Prue’s own mom realised what her daughter was like. Prue had a job when they’d first met and she’d worked hard at it, but she’d also been used to Daddy earning money and paying for all the extras she probably didn’t realise she’d never be able to have on her own. And it hadn’t done her any favours. When they’d moved in together and Prue had stopped work to have the kids, she’d become defensive about their finances. He’d not been keeping tabs, but her credit card was linked to his account and when he noticed payments were more than expected, he looked at her statement. She’d regularly spent hundreds of dollars on her hair, on her fitness regime, at clothes stores when she had a bulging up-to-date wardrobe that had no hint of last year’s fashions. One day Dylan had pointed out to her how much she spent on a weekly basis, and when Dylan had left his job as a lawyer, he knew Prue had seen her life as she knew it slipping away. He didn’t blame her, but part of him blamed her parents. They’d encouraged their son in academia, but from his recollection they’d never once alluded to Prue learning to support herself. She’d got a good job, but she’d never really needed the money and consequentially didn’t truly understand the value of it. When his own kids had arrived, Dylan had been determined they’d learn about money, working, saving and becoming self-sufficient in the real world themselves.
‘I don’t think she’s a gold-digger,’ he explained now. ‘But Prue was used to things a certain way and I know that’s why she left me. Prue needs someone hungry to be at the top of their game, to entertain business clients and be a part of the wider world that way. But I was never going to give her that.’
‘Dylan…’ Delia looked at him and held his gaze. ‘I understand how you feel, but perhaps she deserves a second chance. She was a good wife and a good mother.’
He found himself nodding in agreement because to say otherwise would be terrible. Deep down, Prue did love her kids, she’d just never been quite as ready to invest in their lives the way he was. She’d been distant. Maybe she was ready now, perhaps she’d realised how she’d backed away from them, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be with her while she evolved into a better parent.
‘You know I found her crying last week?’ Delia said.
He gulped. Prue rarely shed a tear. Despite her reliance on others, she had always been strong underneath, difficult to break.
‘She’s petrified the kids aren’t going to want her. She’s worried they’re siding with you.’
‘There are no sides, Delia.’
‘Not defined sides, no. But the fact the kids live with you and not her means she’s an outsider.’
‘Delia, she didn’t want custody. It was her decision. Part of her going off and finding herself or whatever the hell it was she wanted.’ He got to his feet now. ‘Are you saying she wants custody of my kids?’
‘Sit down, Dylan. Stop being melodramatic.’ She looked to the doorway. ‘They might hear you.’ She waited for him to sit. ‘No, she doesn’t want custody, but she does want the family back together.’
‘I think we’re too far past that, Delia.’
‘Are you? I don’t see why. Wouldn’t it be worth trying?’
‘I think we’ve moved on.’
‘Is there someone else?’ she asked.
He’d never for one second forgotten the night he’d kissed the woman he’d never met before but felt he could hug to him forever. ‘No, there’s nobody else.’ He wasn’t ready to share Cleo with anyone yet. Not a single, precious detail about her.
Delia stood when Mackenzie and the kids raced in. ‘Think about what I’ve said.’ She reached out and clasped his arm. ‘You’re a good man, Dylan, and a good father. But she’s a good mother too. Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?’
When Delia left, he was roped into a game of Junior Monopoly. Dylan watched his children. They were his life. Could he really say they were better off without Prue? Or did she, and them deserve a second chance?
And if they did, where did it leave him and Cleo?
10
6 ABBOTSWELL DRIVE, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT
Cleo stood in Violet’s kitchen with a pinny on as she helped prepare the feast that would feed nine people this afternoon. She assumed the odd number was because Dylan had been invited but had quite rightly chosen to spend the occasion with his kids. As they’d started the preparations today, Cleo had told Violet all about her business predicament.
