Randi’s phone buzzed again. “Okay, that must be Sean.” She took her phone out and checked, huffing out an angry sigh. “Dad. Again. He really doesn’t know when to stop.”
There was a tiny part of Paige that felt bad for her ex-husband, but he’d done this to himself. Actions had consequences. What had he expected? That his daughter was going to be okay with him suddenly deciding he was leaving them for a younger man?
Still, if Paige put herself in his shoes, she’d have been desperate to talk to Randi. “Maybe you should talk to him. He’s very persistent. He’ll just keep calling.”
“Yeah, I know, but I am not in the mood tonight. Maybe tomorrow.” Before Randi could put her phone away, it made a different sound. “And now he’s texting.”
She read the text. Paige sipped her wine. This wasn’t her business. Randi was an adult, she could handle things however she wanted to.
Randi shook her head and set her phone face-down on the cushion next to her. “He wants me to call him as soon as I’mable. I can see I’m going to have to explain to himagainthat I’m not interested in having a relationship with him.”
That made Paige’s heart ache in a way she hadn’t expected, but again, this was Randi’s decision to make. She reached over to pat her daughter’s arm. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”
“It’s all right,” Randi said. She sat up enough to give Barkley a scratch, then returned to slouching against the arm. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with it, too.”
“I think you had it worse than I did. He was my husband, but he was your father. You’re tied to him by blood. I’m not.”
“Yeah.” There was sadness in her voice. “But that’s not what bothers me the most. It’s that Liam doesn’t get to have another grandfather. Thank God Sean’s parents are good people. That helps a lot. But sometimes, I think about it, and it makes me mad all over again.”
“I get it.”
She blew out a breath. “Let’s not talk about him anymore, all right?”
“You got it.” Paige did feel bad for Peter, but she could also understand that her daughter was trying to protect her son from the same hurt and pain that she’d gone through.
Paige wished she could have protected Randi from that, but Peter had made that impossible. She ate another grape, the sweetness coating her tongue. Did Peter regret what he’d done? How he’d destroyed their happy life?
Constantly trying to reach Randi seemed to say he most definitely had regrets. Maybe it was the wine, but Paige momentarily considered calling him herself and telling him to leave Randi alone.
There was no point in doing that, though. The man only knew one way to do things. His way. He’d always been like that. Still was, obviously.
And just like that, Paige no longer cared.
Chapter Seven
Blaise was up at dawn as usual, but there was an undercurrent of nerves within her that she just couldn’t shake, even after a long, brisk walk with Beau around the neighborhood.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why she was feeling this way.
She would meet Brick’s son tonight and share a meal with him. Brick had begun to soften a bit, but if his son was anything like him, she was going to have to carry the conversation.
And then there was the other thing. She was setting forth on a brand-new path. Reintroducing herself to the world, as it were. Meeting with Maude was a big step toward doing that.
If Blaise was going to attempt a book deal, she had to have an online presence. More than just a secret TikTok account that she used to doomscroll. She had to befindable.
That’s why she was going to talk to Maude today. Maude was about the only person Blaise trusted to do a website for her that was exactly what she wanted, all while keeping her real motive a secret, at least for now.
Blaise trusted the rest of the Queen Bees, but she didn’t want to broadcast her intentions to the world just yet. No one neededto know, outside of her new friends, that she was going after a book deal.
Because setting that expectation and then not being able to deliver on it would be more than she could take. She’d had enough humiliation being scammed out of her savings.
She had a shower, fixed breakfast, then, at ten, texted Maude.Are you ready for me or is this too early?
Very funny, Maude texted back.I’m here and waiting.Come on over.
On my way.
Buzzing like she’d had too much caffeine, Blaise said goodbye to Beau and hopped in her golf cart.
