“No. I’m not reporting you either way. And believe it or not, this isn’t about me. It’s not even about Ashlyn. It’s about Bentley. At the end of the day, he deserves a mother. And I understand if that’s not a job you want to take on. But Ashlyn wants to be a mother more than anything in the world. And she loves our son.”
Nikki blinks back tears as Trish calls over to her.
“We got a big top coming in, Nik. I’m going to need your help.”
“I’ll be right there,” she says, blinking back the tears and finishing off her beer. Then she looks at me. “I’ll see what I can do. For Bentley,” she says before walking away.
And as I watch her switch hats, smiling at the crowd of people and working the room for not enough tips, I blink back tears too. I stand up and pull out my wallet. There was no tab, and I assume the beer was on the house. Or worse yet, it’ll come out of her paycheck. I leave a hundred on the table and walk out.
Chapter 43
Ashlyn
“I thinkwe finally got all the glitter out of the carpet. And off the tables. And the toys,” Hannah says.
“It is pretty amazing that it’s all gone,” Becca says.
“Oh, it’s not gone,” I chime in. “It’s everywhere. My clothes, my shoes, my hair. Even my car seat looks like a unicorn threw up. It’s not gone, it just went home with us,” I say, and everyone laughs.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that craft day was again a success,” Hannah says as we lock up the daycare and head to our cars.
“Thank goodness for that,” Becca says. Then she turns to me. “I hope this isn’t weird. But I think the three of us should go out some time. Grab a glass of wine or appetizers or something.”
“Count me in,” Hannah says. “I love all these little rug-rats, but Miss Hannah needs some grown-up juice.”
“I feel you on that one,” I say as we make our way to our cars. “How about right now,” Becca says. “If you don’t think it’s weird…”
We all look at each other and smile. “Let’s do it,” Hannah says.
“Yes!” Becca agrees.
Girl’s night with my boss and my ex’s soon to be ex? After the week I’ve had? Sure. Why the hell not?
We go to an Asian tapas restaurant and order a bunch of appetizers and cocktails. Honestly, it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while. Between the needed girl time and the booze, we all open up. Becca is impossible not to like, and Hannah is a little wilder than I would have expected.
“So listen to me, girls,” Hannah says as the waitress hands her a drink. She’s already had one. “Being single is the best. And I’m going to tell you why.”
“Why?” Becca, who is buzzy after only one glass of prosecco, asks. “I need some convincing because divorce sucks.”
“Cheers to that,” I say, tapping my iced tea against her glass. Despite alcohol sounding good, I’m honestly still not feeling great and decided to play it safe. But you can’t beat the food and the company, I’ll tell you that much.
“Being single is underrated. I come and go as I please. I don’t have to share a bed. I can starfish any time I want. I don’t have to pretend to like movies or music that bore me. I never have to clean up after anyone else. And when sex gets boring, I just find someone new for a night or two,” Hannah says with a smile. “It’s amazing.”
“But what about love?” Becca asks. “Don’t you ever want to be in love?”
Hannah shrugs. “Maybe someday. But right now, I’m having a great time not worrying about it.”
“Ashlyn, did we upset you?” Becca asks, and I realize I have tears in my eyes.
“No. I mean, maybe. I mean…”
“Awe, your breakup is still really fresh,” Hannah says.
“It is,” I agree.
“Has he tried to make amends at all?” Becca asks.
“Yes. But I’m just not so sure about it yet,” I answer. They know a little because everything is so public about us, and we’ve had small conversations. But I fill them in on the entire picture.
