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Chris took a sip of his beer, then met Mike’s gaze. “So I came back from my honeymoon to discover that not only was my ex having some guy sleeping over at her house, but that my teenage daughtercaughtthem together. Tell me why I shouldn’t take you out back and beat the shit outta you.”
Mike’s first reaction wasyou and whose army?He was agitated enough to want a good scuffle, but that wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Hazel.
“Well, for one thing, what your ex-wife does or doesn’t do is no longer your problem. You left her for another woman, remember? The one you just married?” Mike’s voice was sharper than he wanted, but damn, the guy had just threatened him with violence.
“What the mother of mydaughterdoes is very much my problem.” Chris glared some more, then sat back with a sigh. “Damn it, man—my daughtersawyou buck naked with her mother. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“I covered myself. It was just a few seconds...” There was no good way to spin what had happened, especially to Hazel’s father. “I’m really sorry. We had no idea she’d be in the house that morning.”
“I know. Zoey made that clear. And so did Hazel.”
“How are they doing? Zoey and Hazel?”
Chris looked at him, his eyebrows rising in surprise. “You haven’t talked to her?”
“We’re on pause or something.” Mike took a sip of his beer. And then another. He had no idea what Chris knew or how much he could trust him. Chris drank his beer, too, and the booth filled with awkward silence.
“I know you and Zoey have been friends since you were kids.” Chris wiped his mouth. “But I didnotsee this coming. Were you two together while we were...?”
“Married? Absolutely not.”
“Was it serious?”
“It was for me. I’m pretty sure it was for Zoey, too.” He hoped that was still true. “You need to know that Hazel was always her top priority. She didn’t tell her because she was trying to protect her from more stress in her life.” It occurred to him that Chris might use this to make a change in custody arrangements. “She’s always put Hazel first.”
“I know,” Chris said. “Zoey was waiting for Genna and me when we got home from the airport. I was ticked off when she first told me what happened.” Chris shifted in his seat, looking out the window. “Hazel was with her, and announced she was moving in with us.”
That must have destroyed Zoey. His heart ached for her.
“You can’t take her daughter away from her.”
Chris’s jaw tightened as he looked back to Mike. “She’smydaughter, too.” He took a breath. “But she’s not going anywhere. She stayed with us a couple of nights, just so the two of them could get a time-out from each other. But she’s back with Zoey now.” Chris leaned forward. “If you’re serious about Zoey, then you need to be serious about building a relationship with Hazel.”
“Hazel’s a great kid, Chris. I want to do right by her. But Zoey’s basically kept us apart since she and I got serious.”
Chris nodded. “That’s her usual fallback position—any threat to the family makes her put Hazel in a fortress to keep her safe. But that kid is tough and smart, and she can handle more than Zoey thinks.”
“Maybe Zoey just thinks Hazel hashandledmore than she should have at thirteen.” Mike’s voice was steady, but Chris got the point.
“I know whatI’vedone to hurt Hazel. I’ve never blamed Zoey for anything that happened in our marriage, not to Zoey and definitely not to Hazel.” Chris looked straight across the table at Mike. “And I’ve told Hazel that her mom deserves to have someone in her life. Is that what you want? To be in Zoey’s—and Hazel’s—life for the long run? Because I think Hazel might accept that now that a little time has passed.”
“There’s nothing I want more.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“Zoey won’t even talk to me.” Mike threw his hands up in frustration. “She won’t answer my calls. She doesn’t want me around Hazel. And now Hazel’s put out that video thing...”
Chris winced. “I told her to take that freakin’ video down, but you know the internet—once something’s out there...”
“...it’s out there forever,” Mike finished. “I know.”
The two men went back to drinking their beer in brooding silence. When Mike drained his glass, he set it down firmly and folded his arms on his chest.
“Why are you here, Chris? If you really wanted to take me out back and beat me up, you’d have done it by now—or at least tried. Are you mad at Zoey? Me? What?”
Chris shook his head. “I’m not mad at anyone. Iwas, at first. Zoey and I made a promise to keep each other in the loop about anything that might affect Hazel’s life, and she broke that promise by not telling me about you.” He shrugged. “But I’ve broken it a few times, too. Good intentions and all that.” He shrugged again. “As far as why I’m here? It seemed like the responsible dad thing to do—to at least talk about what happened. And...” His eyes filled with regret before he glanced away. “Everyone knows Zoey didn’t deserve what I did to her. I should have told her I was unhappy instead of...well...”
“Sleeping around?” Mike offered helpfully.
