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I’M MAKING MY WAY back to the front of the store to check out when something catches my attention. Just as I get to the end of the aisle, I stop and cock my head. I know it’s wrong to eavesdrop, but I justify my actions with the fact they’re talking about the father of my child and the man I’m sleeping with. Anyone in my position would be curious and do the same thing. And if they say otherwise, I’d call them a liar.
Even so, I grab my phone from my pocket and pretend to be looking at something. You know, just in case someone catches me snooping.
“I just miss him so much,” the feminine voice sighs. She sounds familiar. “I’ve only ever been with Judge and Simon. Obviously, there’s no comparison between the two. It’s not really the sex, you know? Although that was phenomenal. I miss the companionship. I miss simply talking to him.”
“We all miss him,” another familiar voice says. “It’s going to take some time, but everything is going to be okay.”
One of them sniffs. My heart starts racing, and my palms turn sweaty against the cart I’m pushing. What are they talking about? Was he having sex with both of these women? The thought sours my stomach.
“I just wish he’d let us get to know them. Judge has been so good to us. I’d love to be able to get to know his daughter.”
“You know why that can’t happen yet, Layla. He wants to make sure they’re comfortable here before he dumps that on Ellie.”
Layla? How do I know that name? It only takes me a moment to remember her from the restaurant that first day. The pretty blonde. Is the other woman who’s talking one of the others who was with her?
My elbow knocks into the shelf and something falls on the floor. Loudly. I wince. The voices stop, and I slowly lift my head. Layla and the woman who was introduced as Jamie come around the corner. When they see me standing there, my face drained of color, their complexions pale to match my own.
When Jamie takes a step toward me, I hold my hand up. “Stop,” I say hoarsely. “Just stop.”
“It’s not what you think, Ellie,” she pleads, her hands twisting in front of her.
“I think it’s exactly how it sounded.” I drop my phone back in my purse, the ruse no longer needed, and turn to leave, but spin back to them. “You both are sleeping with him?” I ask, needing to know.
“No!” they both shout at the same time. They look around to see if anyone heard.
I laugh bitterly. “I heard her.” I point my finger at Layla. “She said she missed sex with him. Phenomenal sex.”
“That was before,” she answers quietly.
“Before what?”
“Before he knew about you. Before you came here with Maisy that first time.”
I nod and turn my eyes to Jamie. “And you? Were you sleeping with him too?” She doesn’t need to say anything. The answer is on her face. “What about the other girl who was with you the other day? Her name was Gillian, right?”
Jamie closes her eyes and nods slowly.
My laugh is harsh. I drag my fingers through my hair, gripping the strands and giving a slight tug. My chest feels tight and it’s hard to draw in breath.
“That’s perfect,” I say sharply. “The man I’m living with, the father of my child, the one who I’m sleeping with is a man whore.”
Layla’s expression darkens with anger and animosity.
“You’ve got no right to judge him,” she says heatedly. “You weren’t in the picture until recently. You’ve had no hold over him. He was a grown man and could make his own decisions.”
“You’re right.” I jerk my chin up, narrowing my eyes. “I didn’t have a hold over him. I still don’t. And he could sleep with whomever he wanted. But it would have been nice to have known he was in a polyamorous relationship from him instead of overhearing it from his women.”
She flinches and drops her gaze to the floor.
“I’ve heard enough.”
I spin on my heel, leaving my shopping cart behind.
“Ellie!” Jamie calls, but I ignore her.
I leave through the sliding glass doors, get in Judge’s car he let me use, and head back to his house. The whole way there, anger heats my blood and pain lances my chest.
How could he do this to me? How could he throw me to the wolves like that? Layla was right, he’s a grown man and could make his own decisions. If he wanted to sleep with all of the female population in Malus, he has the right to make that choice, bu
