Was that why I’d offered to marry her?
Is that why I want to punch Clive?
He doesn’t say anything. I don’t either. We just stand there, glaring at each other.
Finally, he says in that polished voice of his, “You’re lucky I don’t condone violence, because I am sorely tempted to punch you.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “You are welcome to fucking try.”
No, I’m not enough of a dumbass to punch my boss.
Plus, the guy is easily ten years older than me. And I’m in better shape, despite my hip. I don’t ever punch down.
So I’m glad he doesn’t give me the temptation by taking the first swing. Decking Clive would feel good, but it’s sure as hell not going to get Holly back in my bed.
Still, there’s a moment when he just studies me, like he’s trying to decide if he can take me.
I don’t have to study him to know he can’t.
He must see that in my glare, because after a minute, he shoves his clenched fists in his pockets and paces the length of the lab between the door and the clean room.
When he turns back in my direction, he says, “If I had known you were going to seduce her, I would never have introduced her to you.”
There’s so much ignorance in that statement, I don’t even know where to start. I ignore it entirely and tell him, “You don’t get to have an opinion on her love life. You’re not her husband anymore.”
“I still care about her.”
“Your emotions are irrelevant.”
Clive takes a step closer to me and I can tell from the way his arm muscles are moving that he is clenching his hands inside his pockets.
“I don’t want to see her hurt. She deserves better.”
“Again, you don’t get to have an opinion. You had your shot. You hadher. And you were too much of a dumbass to keep her.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says.
“If you didn’t want her to get hurt, you probably shouldn’t have slept with someone else.”
He rocks back on his heels. “I didn’t pin you for the type to listen to gossip.”
“It’s not gossip,” I tell him. “It’s common knowledge.”
“Okay, well, here’s what you don’t know. My affair isn’t what ended our marriage. She had an ectopic pregnancy. She lost the baby. It nearly destroyed her. It did destroy us. Our marriage was over long before I ever slept with anyone else.”
Jesus. No wonder she was so desperate to foster kids. And so heartbroken last night when she got the news about the sibling pair.
But one bit of information bubbles up through my surprise. “Did you really just admit to having an affair while she was grieving the loss of your child?”
To my surprise, Clive laughs. It’s the bitter, hard laugh of a man with regrets. “Well, you weren’t wrong when you called me a dumbass. You’re right. I had my shot and I blew it, big-time. I’m not here picking a fight with you because I want her back. I know that’s not ever going to happen. But she deserves better than a guy like you.”
I know he’s right. Because of course she deserves better than me. Does he think I don’t know that?
But I’m sure as hell not going to give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him.
So instead, I say, “She’s a grown woman and she’s smart enough to make her own choices. She deserves to be with whomever she chooses.”
“Yeah. I know that.” Clive scoffs. “I’m just not sure she does. Have you seen her dogs? That stupid parrot of hers that can’t stop plucking out its own feathers? She collects misfits. She prides herself on being able to love the unlovable. And sure, if she wants to surround herself with a whole ark of rescue animals, I’m not going to argue about it. But she deserves better than a misfit boyfriend.”
