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“What does she want?”
“To see Jacob, I think.” I leave out the bit about her wanting to see me too. There is no way I’d ever want to go there again.
“Are you really okay?”
I shrug. “I guess. I’ve just got no idea why she would fly halfway across the world when she’s never been bothered before. Makes me think she’s up to something, although I’ve no idea what.”
“How long is she here for? Is she staying on the ranch?”
“We haven’t got that far yet, but no, she’s not staying here. She’ll have to find a hotel.” She nods, and I lower my head, pressing my lips to hers. As I deepen the kiss, someone huffs behind me. Aria must hear it too as she goes to take a step back, but I stop her. Reaching for her hand, I turn to face a scowling Zara, my hand firmly encased with Aria’s. Zara’s eyes drop to our joined hands and she folds her arms across her chest.
“Zara, this is Aria, but I think you’ve already met.”
“I guess that explains why you’d have Jack’s number,” Zara mutters before plastering a fake smile on her face. “But, yes, we’ve met,” she says, her voice louder. “Nice to meet you.”
Nice, my arse. She looks like she wants to scratch Aria’s eyes out. I’ve no idea why. We split up months ago. She has no claim over me.
“Nice to meet you too,” Aria says. She squeezes my hand. “Maybe I should leave you two to talk?”
“I think that’s a good idea. We have a lot to catch up on,” Zara says, smiling at me. I glare back at her, my gaze softening as I look down at Aria.
“I’ll come find you when we’re done. It won’t be a long conversation.” I lower my head and kiss her, not caring that Zara is standing in front of us.
“Do you really think that’s appropriate in front of our son?” Zara asks, and I pull out of the kiss, my whole body tense.
“I should go.” Aria slips her hand from mine and walks backwards toward the stables. “I’ll see you later. Bye, Jacob.” She raises her hand in a wave and Jacob waves back. Turning to Zara, I see she’s scowling.
“What the hell was that?” I bite out through clenched teeth when Aria is far enough away not to hear.
“I could ask you the same question! You can’t honestly think that’s appropriate in front of Jacob?” Her hands go to her hips and she raises her eyebrows in question. My hands clench into fists at my side, and I’m so angry I can barely see straight.
“How dare you!” My voice is raised, but I lower it when Jacob turns to look at me. When he goes back to playing in the garden, my eyes go back to her. “How dare you come here, tomyfamily’s ranch and tell me how to look aftermyson when you haven’t given a fuck about him for the past nine months.” I pace up and down in an attempt to calm down. She takes a step toward me and places her hand on my arm, forcing me to stop.
“Jack… I’m sorry. I was out of order.” Her voice catches and my eyes fly up to hers. I’m taken aback to see tears in them. I never saw her cry the whole time we were together. Not even when Jacob was born. I’m sceptical though, and I brush her arm off. They’re likely crocodile tears.
“Yeah, you were.”
“I’ve been an idiot. I gave up the best thing I ever had.” Tears are rolling down her cheeks, and I sigh loudly.
“You’ll always be Jacob’s mum, and you can still have a relationship with him.”
“He doesn’t even know who I am,” she whispers.
“No, but you can change that. You can’t be in and out of his life though, Zara. It’s not fair on him. You’re either all in, or you’re out. I won’t stand by and watch him get hurt.” I can hardly believe I’m saying this to her, but I’m doing it for Jacob. I want him to have a relationship with her.
“I want to be a good mum.”
“I’ve got to ask, why the change of heart? Why now?”
She shrugs half-heartedly. “My sister had a baby a couple of months ago. Seeing her with Max just makes me realize what I’m missing out on. What Jacob’s missing out on. I messed up, Jack.” She turns to look at Jacob, who’s found one of his toy cars and is driving it along the porch steps. “I went to the house, and when you weren’t there I went to your work. Someone told me you’d quit and gone to the US. I panicked. I thought you’d taken Jacob and left, and that I’d never see him again. That’s when I called you.”
“It’s just an extended holiday, Zara.”
She nods. “Did Libby have her baby?”
I smile. “Yeah, she did. A little girl, this morning.”
“That’s great! Congratulations!” She throws her arms around me in a hug, and I awkwardly pat her on the back before stepping out of her embrace. “It wasn’t just Jacob that I messed up with, Jack,” she says quietly. “I miss you.”
