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“I guess the pool tired her out. We can let her sleep for a bit. She must need it.”
He nods and goes back to studying the pattern of the marble countertop.
I take a few tentative steps forward. “Jimmy, what’s wrong?”
Slowly, he straightens out and faces me. “I don’t even know where to start.” He sucks in a breath, blows it out, his hard chest heaving with the effort. “I called off the wedding.”
Shock knocks me over. I try not to show a reaction, but I know my eyes are wide and my mouth is hanging open. “Wha… what happened? Are you okay? I’m sorry.”
I know I'm rambling like an idiot, but I’m processing the information that Jimmy is no longer getting married. I hate that a selfish part of me is relieved. Jimmy deserves happiness, whether it’s with Adelaide or someone else.
“It was Adelaide who tipped off the press.”
I stagger back and grip the countertop to steady myself. “What? Why? Why would she do that?”
The shock of the surprise doesn’t last long before transforming to anger.
“She says she was doing it to show me that you wouldn’t be able to handle being back in the public eye. And that I’d eventually agree it wasn’t what was best for Monica. Claims she was trying to rip off the Band-Aid rather than letting it fester.”
“Didn’t she think of Monica?” I wish I could rein in my anger. “I can understand her wanting to fuck with me, but Monica is an innocent child!”
“I don’t know what she was thinking. I feel like I never even really knew her at this point.”
The devastation in his voice sets my anger aside. He doesn’t deserve my ire. He had no control over her behavior.
“I can’t believe she did that.”
Silence falls over the room.
“So, you broke up with her?” I ask, trying to feel out whether it’s just the wedding that’s off—for now—or if this is a permanent thing.
“I can’t be with someone I don’t trust.” He locks eyes with me, and my own guilt from my past makes me look away.
“I’m really sorry, Jimmy. I know you probably don’t believe that, but it’s true. I only ever wanted you to be happy.” My hand itches to comfort him, but I can’t. It’d be crossing a line I have no business crossing. So I stay where I am.
He frowns and, to my surprise, squeezes my hand. “I believe you.” His voice cracks with the weight of his emotions, and he holds my hand for a second longer than comfortable.
I pull away first, unable to handle the electric current that still runs up my arm at his touch. “What are you going to do now?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. Thought I could hang out with you guys for a while if that’s okay. Spend some time with Monica.”
“She’d love it.” Monica will love it, but for me, it’s a form of slow torture—being around something I covet so badly but can never have.
“Were you able to handle things on your end?” he asks.
I nod. “I took a leave of absence from work. They were more understanding than I thought they’d be, but in all honesty, I think they’re just hoping they’ll get to rub elbows with you.”
He chuckles.
“I’m serious. School is taken care of for Monica. I’m going to homeschool her a bit, and my neighbor will check on my house every few days.”
“That’s good. Listen, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened.” He pushes a hand through his dark hair with a pained look.
“That’s not true. If I had told you I was pregnant all those years ago, neither of us would be in this predicament. Let’s just deal with the situation we’re in now and do what’s best for our daughter, okay?”
He glances away and nods. “Any chance I can use your phone to order some stuff to the house? I left without taking anything, and I’d rather have Amazon deliver it to the gate than go shopping.”
“Yeah, I’ll grab it for you. We need a few things too, if that’s okay?”
